§ Sir D. NEWTONasked the Minister of Agriculture whether his Department have disposed of their farm at Methwold, Suffolk; if so, for what reason, and to whom; and whether a profit or loss has been made, and, if so, what, during the Department's occupancy of this land?
Mr. WOODThe experimental farm at Methwold, which has been in possession of the Ministry since Michaelmas, 1919, has been transferred to the Forestry Commission. The farm was used for experiments in the cultivation of the light sandy lands of East Anglia, and particularly to test on a large scale certain results which appeared to have been obtained on a small scale from an experiment conducted previously under the Development Commissioners. The large scale work has been expensive; and when it became apparent that in the present state of scientific knowledge no scheme could be devised for the economic farming of land of that type, it was decided to abandon the experiment. A full report, dealing also with the finance
1860Wthe proportions home produced and imported. These estimates must be regarded only as approximations. As regards the last part of the question, I am consulting the various agricultural interests, and shall consider in conjunction with them any proposals that may be made for the stimulation of agricultural production in this country.
of the experiments, is being prepared and will be published as soon as possible.