§ Mr. Cormackasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the total effect of Dutch elm disease during the last three years.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartThe Forestry Commission estimates that of the 23 million elm trees in the area mainly affected by the disease, some 2.1 million (9.1 per cent.) have recently died or are dying. There are also roughly 0.8 million other dead elms in the area, the majority of which have been killed by elm disease in the last three years. The number of elms felled because of elm disease during this period is estimated to be of the order of 0.3 million.