CULTIVATION OF WASTE LAND IN TOWNS.
[To THE EDITOR OF THU "SPEOTATOR."J SIR,—You are always so willing to encourage all movements of a patriotic character that I feel sure you will find space for a brief account of the scheme which has been set on foot in Wimbledon to get hold of all the vacant plots of land in the district and let them out to those who wished to cultivate them. In December a local War Agricultural Committee was formed with this object, with the result that thorn are now thirteen acres under cultivation in the district, which on the not over-sanguine estimate of £100 an acre will bring in £1,300 worth of foodstuff. What I want to ask is : Cannot some general action bo taken to set on foot similar movements in all urban districts ? Is such a means of increasing our food supply, which is becoming such an urgent problem, to be left to the chance of other districts possessing individuals with the energy and enthusiasm of the Chairman of our local Committee, Mr. G. W. Dampney ? The scheme has two distinct advantages. Land and labour are utilized which otherwise would remain unproductive (men of all classes have taken up the scheme in Wimbledon, glad to devote their spare hours to such an object) ; by the production of food on the spot the very serious difficulty and expense of transport is avoided. The scheme seems simple and obvious, yet I understand Wimbledon is the only urban district in Surrey which has appointed a War Agricultural Committee.—I am, Sir, &a.,
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