20 JULY 1918, Page 16

Allotments for All. By Gerald W. Butcher. (Allen and Unwin.

2s. net.)—A survey of the allotment movement, which will be of special interest to those who, in Mr. Butcher's happy phrase,' " perceive in their plots of land the tangible symbol not only of an individual adventure but of a common campaign." Mr. Butcher traces the movement from its remote and rudimentary stage, when plots of land were first granted as " fuel allotments," down to the present time, when almost all the waste places of our great cities approximate to Piers Plowman's "fair field full of folken." Whether or no the provision of war allotments has awakened the " land hunger " of which Mr. Butcher is so confident, there is no doubt of the enthusiasm of allotment-holders, an enthusiasm which has stood the test of two seasons at least of strenuous digging, constant care, and perseverance under all sorts of weather conditions. It seems probable that this enthusiasm will lead the majority to demand, as Mr. Butcher predicts, the continuation and extension of the move- ment after the war. He urges allotment-holders to form themselves into societies with this aim in view, as well as for the co-operative working of their present allotments.