§ VISCOUNT BLEDISLOEasked Her Majesty's Government (1) to what extent the application of chemical fertilisers to farm crops in Holland, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden exceeds that to comparable crops in Great Britain, and whether the resulting output is proportionately augmented; (2) whether the contemplated grant of chemical fertilisers to farmers in Great Britain will be extended to include lime (although not a fertiliser) applied to acid-reacting soils in the West of England and Wales whose productivity would be thereby enhanced.
EARL ST. ALDWYNI am unable to give a detailed comparison of the application of chemical fertilisers to farm crops in the countries mentioned. The consumption per acre in these countries, with the exception of Sweden, is substantially greater than in the United Kingdom. But it must be borne in mind that their farming is on a more intensive scale than in this country where there is a wide variety of systems of husbandry and of soils and climatic conditions. As to the second part of the Question, the Exchequer is already paying a subsidy of 60 per cent. of the cost of buying and spreading lime, and I have every reason to believe that farmers in the West of England and in Wales are taking full advantage of this assistance.
House adjourned at ten minutes past seven o'clock.