HC Deb 28 June 1963 vol 679 c175W
Mr. Swingler

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how many pedologists are at present engaged on research under Government auspices; and by whom they are employed.

Mr. Denzil Freeth

There is here a difficulty over nomenclature. Taking pedology to mean soil science excluding soil mechanics, the numbers employed and their Departments areEight—by the Department of Technical Co-operation, often overseas. Three—by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. One—by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Seventy—at stations under the auspices of the Agricultural Research Council and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.

In addition, 42 soil chemists of the National Agricultural Advisory Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food undertake some relevant official research and experimentation in the course of their duties. The staffs of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Ministry of Transport also include people with a knowledge of soil mechanics.

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