§ Sir G. RENTOULasked the Minister of Agriculture what was the acreage of land in England and Wales under wheat and oats for 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, and 1928, and a similar Return for Scotland?
Mr. BUXTONThe following statement shows the acreage of land under wheat and oats in England and Wales and Scotland, as returned by occupiers of holdings exceeding one acre in extent on the 4th June, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1928:
tions to him from grants to landlords to enable them to drain their lands under the scheme published by him on 14th August last; how many of these applica- 639W tions have been granted; what is the total acreage and total amount of money-involved; and what percentage this acreage represents of the total acreage in England and Wales referred to in the Report of the Royal Commission on Land Drainage as in need of proper drainage?
Mr. BUXTONSeven county councils, have submitted 14 applications for grants in aid of field drainage schemes on a total area of 243 acres. Up to the present seven of these applications affecting an area of 141 acres have been approved, the total estimated cost of the work being £2,020. The area reported to the Royal Commission on Land Drainage as being in immediate need of drainage was 1,755,000 acres; this, however, relates to arterial drainage, so that a comparison of the two figures would not be relevant.