§ 37. Sir R. Glynasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will consult with the United States authorities as to instructing officers in charge of units of the American Army that, before entering upon cultivated land for exercises, due notice must be given to the occupier and the local war agricultural executive committee be consulted; and whether he will consider, with the Minister of Agriculture, setting aside definite areas for exercises in which damage to cultivated land would be concentrated rather than continue to permit large areas being partly damaged and food production hindered?
§ Sir J. GriggBefore any troops hold full-scale exercises the local representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture are informed, and the necessary arrangements are made to pass on the information to the farmers. Ranges and other special training areas are being provided for American troops as for British troops. Manoeuvres involving several formations 1046 require very large areas, and it is possible that the total damage done to the production of food might be greater if the exercises were concentrated in a few areas than if they were held as at present, sometimes in one part of the country and sometimes in another.