on the spot where the crop is to be consumed.”
It appears that, taking the whole of England and Wales,
there was an allotment holding for one household in
twelve before the War. On May 1st, 1918, one
household in five held an allotment. In the county
boroughs before the War one household in thirty-two
possessed an allotment, now the proportion is one
household in nine, and the process is going on.
It is the most encouraging development, whether looked
at from the economic point of view or from the point
of view of national health and happiness, that has
taken place within living memory. The urban allotments
are regularly worked by persons who are engaged in
various forms of industry during the greater part of
their time, and it is found that the allotments must
be small, usually about fifteen to an acre. They
ought to be as near as possible to the homes of the
people who work them. One of the reasons pointed
out for the slow development of the system, even where
it has been so successful as in Nottingham long before
the War, was the distance of the allotments from the
homes of the workers. In town planning there
should be an attempt wherever possible to arrange
for allotments close to the new small dwellings which
are erected. It will be essential, however, to
insist (i) on more permanent tenure for those who
work their allotments properly and keep them in good
condition; (ii) that the land required should be obtained
on reasonable terms. Some landowners have themselves
voluntarily taken the matter in hand, but in other
cases compulsion will be necessary, and, as already
stated, it will be right that where the land has been
agricultural or vacant land, bringing in a small or
even no return, the price or rent paid for it should
be based on its agricultural value plus some reasonable
addition, and not on the enormously enhanced value
of the land as land which has become building land
owing to the growth of the urban population in the
neighbourhood. It will be desirable to arrange
by co-operative or municipal action for the supply
of seeds, plants and fertilisers, and also for the
sale of any surplus produce not required by the holder
for his own use.
The admirable work which is being done by the Board of Agriculture in encouraging allotments ought to be recognised and supported in every possible way.
CHAPTER XXI
AFFORESTATION
Thou, too, great father of the British floods, With joyful pride survey’st our lofty woods, Where towering oaks their growing honours rear And future navies on thy shores appear.—ALEXANDER POPE.
We shall use the word afforestation here to denote the steps to be taken for promoting the growth of timber on a large scale. The original sense in which it is employed in any historical or legal work is quite different. There it means turning a track of land into a forest, and a forest did not