61. Mr. Baker Whiteasked the Minister of Agriculture if he is yet in a position to make a statement on the extent of damage done to fruit, vegetable and other crops by the storms and frosts of 24th and 25th April.
§ Following is the statement:
§ Snow and frost were widespread on 24th, 25th and 26th April, snowfall being especially heavy on high ground in South-Eastern England, while there was hard frost in the Wisbech and Cambridgeshire areas.
§ Vegetable crops were not seriously affected. Early peas suffered a set back in Essex and Somerset, largely because of the cold winds. There was also some damage to frame-grown crops in one or two areas. It is difficult to assess the damage to fruit so early in the season. Blossom on some varieties of apple, pear and plum trees was badly affected in the Wisbech area and in West Cambridgeshire. Gooseberries also suffered in these districts. Damage was not serious in the other main fruit-growing areas, although snow caused the branches of many fruit trees to break on high grounds in Kent.
§ Frost damage to the early potato crop is reported from a number of areas, particularly Lincolnshire, but the ultimate effect on the crop cannot be estimated at present.