§ Mr. Mathersasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deer forests existed in Scotland at the commencement of this war and how many now exist; the acreage in both cases; the extent of the land in these forests now used exclusively for grazing sheep; and the extent of such land now brought under cultivation?
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Mr. JohnstonAt the beginning of the war there were 193 subjects in Scotland classified as deer forests, covering some 3,287,000 acres. Steps have been taken to increase the use of these forests as grazings for sheep and cattle to the extent to which suitable additional stocks are available. The increased use of deer forests for grazing cannot be expressed in terms of acreage, but the numbers of stock on deer forests as at 4th June this year is in process of compilation and I will communicate with the hon. Member at an early date. No details are available about the area of land on deer forests brought under cultivation, but from the nature of the land the area cannot be large.