Women and War Work
re would be at an absolute standstill on
the Board of
years before the war women had been very little used on the land in certain parts of England and Wales. In Scotland
ying a good rate for them. Groups of women were also organized for seasonal work by various voluntary organizations, two of these being the Land Council and the Women's National Land Service Corps. The Women's Farm and Garden Union also did good work. The Land Service Corps made one of its most important objects the organization of village women into working gangs under leaders. One inte
ry house and the War Office provided bedding. The Y.W.C.A. undertook the catering at the request of the Cor
es and the closing of the Port of Riga, it will be necessary to put many more hundreds of acres
stables and exercising the horses. One of the latest interesting developments of wo
enable them to do their work. As the submarine menace developed, and the supply of grain in the world w
y twelve weeks of our supply, and even t
must fill up the ranks, and in the first official appeal of the Go
Agricultural Committee set up in each county who look after production, use of land, procuring use of motor machinery, etc., and of Women's Agricultu
y all merged in the Board of Agriculture's organization. The Women's Branch of the Food Producti
rged in the new Land Army of the Board and to cease to exist as a separate
d who were able to forego the benefits of free training, outfit and travelling given under the Government scheme. Over 100 members of the Corps did enroll and th
ies for the Counties or Assistant Secretaries, or are
or a general supervision of the work in all the villages in her district. Each village has a woman to act as Registrar and her duty (with assistants, if necessary) is to canvass all the village women and girls for volunteers for whole and part time work, and for training, and to canvass the farmer to find out what labour he ne
rs. The Board of Agriculture appoints to each County for work with the
the direction of their women heads, arranged a series of meetings and work of
e market towns on market day and the farmer and his wife came in to hear after the sales. We had to assail the prejudices of some of our farmers pretty vigorously and of the women,
d with girls!" This objection was met by the Board of Agriculture arranging training centres in every county. Some of the training was done at the Women's Agricultural Colleges and among places tha
ged a great many training centres at big farm
wed as to suitability and references by the Selection Committee. They must have a me
TO TH
E A STRONG
gaiters or puttees, and soft hat, breeches, etc., cut to measure for each girl. Training and maintenance are free and there is always an instructor on the farm in addition to the f
duration and in some cases longer, and over 7,00
6, and in January and April, 1917, when the Women's
th lion rampant in red and a certificate of honour. The Land women are the only women who
ferent part of the country with great success, and the girls showed they could plough, and weed a
of the farm and garden work in which women are successfully employ
has them now, is always quite pleased and generally cherishes a profound conviction that the
sonal work has been a problem, but it has been done
estigated by the Board organizer, and the representatives of committ
in charge of three counties ea
actors for ploughing, and for women who understand ho
o pieces of work-measuring trees when felled, calculating the amount of wood in the log, and marking off for sawing,
ry much in this. A great deal has been done by work in allotments, plots of land taken up by town dwellers and cultivated. In one part of South Wales alone 40,000 allotments have been worked and the allotment holders are organizing themselves co-operatively for the purchase
t our shipping and making our burden heavier-so we must produce everything possible. It has improved the physique of our girls-they like it, and many will permanentl
ith the Turks and the captured German aeroplanes and guns, the munition girls and the Land girls marched. No group in all that