Wasted Wood The prospect of fuel rationing, though it will
hardly affect the very poor has turned the attention of villagers to wood. It is generally said— and I think with truth—that the timber lying on the ground, or so old as to demand felling, is enough to keep the whole parish warm throughout the winter. It will, as things are, remain unused, not from any greed or carelessness in the owners, but from lack of labour. I remember that after one great gale the soldiers -were called in to clear up the fallen elms, and they did their work with gusto in a surprisingly short time. Everyone was benefited. The precedent is well worth remember- ing. Among soldiers who are actually working on the farms are the guards of Italian prisoners, but they are a little nervous about the view that will be taken officially of their most beneficent activity. A soldier, is not a worse soldier because he handles axe or saw or hoe in his else idle hours.
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