§ Major Thornton-Kemsleyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the estimated percentage loss of last season's potato crop owing to shortage of labour for lifting; and in which counties this loss was highest?
Mr. JohnstonExceptionally wet and broken weather conditions in some districts delayed the grain harvest and, consequently, the lifting of the largest acreage of potatoes ever grown in Scotland. Spasmodic demands for supplementary labour were thus created, but were met as rapidly as possible and, on the whole, successfully. A short spell of frost early in November caused slight damage. While it is not possible to separate the loss attributable to labour shortage from that due to weather conditions and disease, the total loss in last year's potato crop is estimated not to have exceeded 3 per cent. The areas most affected were in the counties of Perth, Orkney, Dumfries, Argyll and the Western Isles.