§ Major CHAPPLEasked the President of the Board of Agriculture what amount of land has been reclaimed from the sea, reclaimed by drainage, and reclaimed by fertilising respectively since the outbreak of war, and at what cost per acre in each 1260W case; whether any revenue in money or food has yet been produced; what is the prospect of production; and whether any discharged soldiers have been placed or used on such land?
§ Sir R. WINFREYSpeaking generally, no extensive schemes of land reclamation have been carried out during the War, in view of the necessity of using the limited supplies of labour and fertilisers available on land already in cultivation. Certain water-logged areas which could be improved by manual labour in cleaning out watercourses have been dealt with by prisoner or soldier labour in 1917, and it is estimated that from 40,000 to 50,000 acres have already been brought into cultivation or improved by this means. No complete figures are as yet available as to the cost, but in the case of Rhuddlan Marsh, in Denbighshire, 1,200 acres have been reclaimed since October, 1917, at a cost of 30s. per acre, and in the West Riding an area of 2,750 acres at Tickhill has benefited at a cost of only 2s. 6d. an acre, the work being started in May, 1917. None of this land has been used for the settlement of discharged soldiers. As regards land reclaimed from the sea, the reclamation of 555 acres at Wingland by German prisoners, begun in June, 1917, has just been completed at a cost of about £1,082. Three hundred and twenty-four acres belong to the Crown, and of this over 200 acres have been sown with spring corn. The reclamation of a further area of 300 acres of foreshore is being proceeded with.