* * * * Underwood Industries A sparse untidy patch
of woodland with a tangled under- growth of oak, spindle wood, guelder, ash and hazel, perhaps with thorn and elm among the edges of it, presents little prospect of profit to the casual passer-by. It looks to be no more than a roosting-place for the starlings which stream in at dusk from every direction and, even when daylight has gone, keep up a busy chattering. It will probably contain a fox's earth, perhaps house a colony of badgers, and its margins will be full of rabbit burrows. Yet there is profit for the countryman in this apparent waste. By March ditches have been cleaned and hedges laid. The general labourer on the farm is now least urgently employed. He may be doing repairs to buildings, implements and gates, and helping fogger and shepherd. If the farmer has a copse on his land, he may put his men to work on it.
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