COUNTRY LIFE
Land and Labour
The fixing of the national minimum agricultural wage at Oa. per week, and the reduction of the age of reservation for certain agricultural workers from 21 to 18, are both decisions having the same important significance. Both are an indication of the serious labour shortage on the land. Between the beginning of June and the end of August is concentrated the most intense effort of the farming year. In many districts this not only involves the gather- ing in of hay and harvest, but the picking of soft fruits and hops, for which special casual labour is imported. This year the crop of both strawberries and cherries is excellent, but there is a serious shortage of pickers. In some districts farmers have welcomed the formation of local helpers into Land Clubs, only to see these schemes seriously jeopardised by the demands of local defence services. At the same time, in these same districts, soldiers billeted in farms and farm-buildings have been bored by the empty activity of the long summer days. It does not yet seem to have occurred to the authorities that there is something wrong in keep- ing idle soldiers on land that seriously needs men for the harvesting of food.
Previous page
