Mr. Hudson occupies one of the most vulnerable of all
Government posts. The mistakes of a Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, in that they mature slowly in the womb of time, cannot be either remedied or concealed. Other Ministers may be able, before exposure comes upon them, to alter mis- conceived plans or hide the evidences of ineptitude. Not so Mr. Hudson. He cannot turn back once he has committed himself, and his mistakes are proclaimed by Nature herself. It is inevitable therefore that he should arouse much criticism and make many enemies. And yet there is the feeling today that we have a strong man at the agricultural helm. That feeling has spread from the War Agricultural Committees into the farms and fields. A new energy has come out from Whitehall. One of the most striking symptoms of this energy is the ever-growing success and popularity of the Women's Land Army. It may be true that at first many girls, who were not suited by nature to the strain or loneliness of agricultural work, joined from romantic motives and thereafter proved either inefficient or unhappy. These misfits have now been weeded out, and the farmers have come to learn that girls are often better than men at handling animals and that for all but the most heavy types of work they are efficient workers.
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