Pastures Research Dietetics Research Investigation into the Utilisation and £3,249 17 10 1,597 4 8 71 0 0 Marketing of Milk and Milk Products Grants from the Empire Marketing Fund in respect of the cost of these schemes were continued in 1927, and in addition, grants from the Fund were given to meet the cost of schemes. for improving methods of marketing eggs and for poultry nutrition research. 6. ADVANCES FROM THE DEVELOPMENT Fund. The following expenditure was defrayed out of grants made to the Board from the Development Fund during the financial year 1926, viz. : For Extension of Milk Recording For Research in Animal Breeding For Research in Plant Breeding, including .... For Advisory and Local Investigation Work For Capital Expenditure at the Rowett .... For Maintenance Expenditure of the Animal For Research Scholarships £2,950 0 0 1,693 12 1 748 18 8 6,358 14 10 7,500 0 0 11,500 0 0 2,200 0 0 1,315 4 1 For Travelling Fellowships and Representa- .... .... For Development Work of the Scottish For Scottish Women's Handicrafts Guild Rural Institutes 94 3 2 For Schemes of Special Research in Agri cultural Science 1,149 19 9 The accounts relating to this expenditure are published in the Appropriation Accounts for 1926, pp. 251-3. With the exception of Extension of Milk Recording, grants from the Development Fund were continued in 1927 for all purposes for which assistance was given from this source in 1926, and in addition, grants were given in aid of capital expenditure at the Animal Breeding Research Department, Edinburgh University, and in aid of maintenance expenditure of the Dairy Research Institute. II. ESTABLISHMENT. A scheme of re-organisation of the Surveying staff of the Department was put into operation during the year with the approval of the Treasury. In connection with the Board's scheme of agricultural economic investigation, Mr J. S. King, B.Sc. (Econ.), B.Sc. (Agr.), has been appointed to the post of Advisory Officer on Farm Economics. The following statement shows the average numbers of staff, excluding industrial staff, employed by the Department during the last five calendar years : III. LAND SETTLEMENT. COMMITTEE ON LAND SETTLEMENT IN SCOTLAND. During the year a Committee was appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland to enquire into the question of land settlement in Scotland. The terms of the reference to the Committee were: "To enquire into the settlement of small holders in Scotland under the Small Landholders and Land Settlement (Scotland) Acts, with a view to reporting upon the cost incurred by the State in carrying out such settlement; the value of the results achieved, both economic and social; the defects, if any, in the procedure under the said Acts, with suggestions for such amendments as the Committee may deem expedient; the desirability of devolving upon Local Authorities any of the powers and duties under the said Acts; and whether any amendment of the law is desirable as regards the valuation for rating of small holdings within the meaning of the said Acts." The Committee was constituted as follows: Sir John Gordon Nairne, Bart. (Chairman), late Controller of the Bank of England; J. R. Campbell, Esq., formerly Assistant Secretary to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Ireland; Joseph F. Duncan, Esq., General Secretary to the Scottish Farm Servants' Union; Norman Reid, Esq., late Member of the Scottish Land Court; John Speir, Esq., Chairman of the National Farmers' Union of Scotland; with W. N. M'William, Esq., Board of Agriculture for Scotland, as Secretary. Much of the Board's time during the year has been occupied in the preparation of memoranda, including financial and statistical statements, for submission to the Committee. SMALL LANDHOLDERS (SCOTLAND) ACTS, 1886-1919, AND Land SETTLEMENT (SCOTLAND) ACTS, 1919 AND 1921. The Board's records show that 406 fresh applications were received during the year from applicants desirous of securing settlement on the land. Of this total, 196 were from ex-service men. During the same period the Board have formed and given. applicants entry to 75 new holdings and 17 enlargements of existing holdings. In addition applicants have been settled on 62 new holdings and 2 enlargements which were originally formed by the Board and subsequently vacated by the tenants. The total number of applicants settled during the year is thus 156.* From 1st April 1912 to the end of the past year the Board had formed a total of 2,874 new holdings and 1,641 enlargements of existing holdings, and had in addition given applicants entry to 389 new holdings and 11 enlargements vacated by tenants subsequent to their settlement. The total number of applicants settled thus amounted to 4,915. Appendix No. 1 shows the position with regard to the 22,530 applications received by the Board since 1st April, 1912. As stated above 4,915 have been satisfied through the settlement of applicants; 9,389 have been withdrawn subsequent to lodgment, either by the applicants themselves or by the Board; while 8,226 remained on the Board's lists pending settlement. men. In their last Report the Board mentioned that they had received authority to modify the preference hitherto accorded to ex-service men, and that henceforth the selection of tenants for holdings would be made solely on the merits of the applicants, a preference being given, other things being equal, to ex-service With this freedom of selection the Board were under the necessity of considering afresh the demand from non-service men whose applications had perforce lain dormant on the Board's lists during the period when priority was being given to exservice men. With a view to clearing their lists as far as possible of all non-effective applications, the Board issued a circular on 1st September to 2,496 applicants, service and non-service, for new holdings in the non-crofting counties. Of this total 668 replied that they desired to continue their applications, the remainder either replying in the negative or nor at all, or having left the addresses from which their application was originally made. As a result of the circular the Board authorised the withdrawal from their lists of the names of 1,828 applicants. This action largely accounts for the reduction in the number of outstanding applications from 10,288 at 31st December 1926 to 8,226 at 31st December 1927. *As certain minor adjustments have been made in the figures for previous years, a comparison of the total of settled applicants in Appendix No. 1 with that given in the Board's last Report shows a net increase of 145 new holdings and 9 enlargements instead of the totals of 137 and 19 respectively given above. An attempt is made in Appendix No. 1 to classify the outstanding applications for new holdings into various categories. Applicants suitable for settlement as soon as suitable land can be made available number 1,297; 1,389 applicants are not in the meantime suitable for various reasons, but their circumstances are likely to improve at any time and so to render them suitable; 416 are reported to be definitely unfitted for settlement; while 1,822 applicants had not been reported on by the Board's officers. The remaining 3,302 outstanding applications are for enlargements of existing holdings. No classification of these has been carried out since it is generally the case that the demand of the highland townships for enlargements from neighbouring lands is real, though varying circumstances may make it impossible for the Board to satisfy the demand at present. Notwithstanding this classification of applications and the constant revision of the lists, it is doubtful whether the numbers of outstanding applications form or can form an altogether accurate index to the actual demand for settlement. The circumstances of applicants are constantly changing; they go abroad, secure permanent employment or obtain holdings by their own efforts and neglect to inform the Board, with the result that the lists continue to carry a proportion of noneffective applications which are not apparent until the actual offer of holdings is about to be made to applicants. Against this must be set the proved fact that when a scheme is projected a volume of applications from the district is forthcoming from a good class of applicants who have not hitherto made application owing to the lack of any definite prospect of settlement. SETTLEMENT ON PROPERTIES ACQUIRED BY THE BOARD UNDER THE LAND SETTLEMENT (SCOTLAND) ACTS, 1919 (PART I.) During the year the Board have acquired the following properties : Dounie (Ross and Cromarty).-This farm, on the Balnagown Estate, situated about one mile from Edderton station, was purchased by the Board at Whitsunday. It extends to 278 acres, of which 183 are arable, and will ultimately be subdivided into five new holdings, varying in size from 43 to 62 acres, and one enlargement for the benefit of an existing holder. The scheme was put into effect during the year except for one new holding which still remains to be formed. Killeonan (Argyll).—This farm has been considered by the Board on several occasions since 1919 in connection with the demand for small holdings in the Kintyre district of Argyll, and the opportunity was taken of acquiring the property during the year when it was known that the sitting tenant was about to renounce his tenancy. The farm lies about three miles from Campbeltown, and extends to 627 acres. It is hoped to form eleven holdings at Martinmas next. Lochend (Caithness). This farm, in the parish of Dunnet, was purchased by the Board at Whitsunday when it was vacated by the tenant. The property embraces 2,240 acres, of which 924 are arable, and was subdivided into eleven holdings at Martinmas last. Glencorse (Dumfries). The arable portion of this farm, which is situated in Closeburn parish and extends to 203 acres, has been purchased from the Forestry Commission, who are retaining the remainder for afforestation purposes. Three holdings will be formed at Whitsunday next. Humbie (Midlothian).-This farm lies about nine miles west of Edinburgh and within one mile of Midcalder station. The area of 195 acres acquired by the Board is suitable for subdivision into 15 new holdings, of which 13 will be of a small type intended for pig and poultry rearing, and the other two of large size suitable for dairying. Applicants were given entry to four of the holdings during the year. North Kirklands (Renfrew).-This is an arable farm of 120 acres in the parish of Eaglesham, about seven miles from Glasgow. It is hoped to form 13 new holdings, ranging in area from 4 to 50 acres, at Martinmas next. Rhodes (East Lothian).-During the year the Board concluded a bargain for the purchase at Martinmas 1928 of part of this arable farm which adjoins the burgh of North Berwick. The portion acquired extends to 235 acres of arable land and is suitable for the formation of five new holdings. Appendix No. 3 gives particulars of all properties acquired by the Board, and shows the progress made in the subdivision of these into small holdings. Apart from the properties taken over from the Congested Districts Board in 1912, the Board had in their possession at the end of the year 71 separate estates, covering a total area of 315,834 acres. Of this area, 250,119 acres had been allocated to applicants either as new holdings or enlargements of existing holdings; 63,174 acres consisted of crofts and other small subjects, woodlands, etc., unsuitable for land settlement purposes; 621 acres were under the Board's management pending allocation to applicants; while the remaining 1,920 acres consisted of farms in the occupation of tenants holding under lease, which will become available for land settlement as the leases expire. During the year the Board continued the development of land settlement schemes on properties owned by them and formed thereon 46 new holdings and 2 enlargements. The chief settlements were as follows:-Tomich and Broomhill (Ross and Cromarty) 6 new holdings; Humbie (Midlothian) 4 new holdings; Cairnorchies (Aberdeen) 3 new holdings; Lochend (Caithness) 11 new holdings; Thirdpart (Fife) 5 new holdings; Dounie (Ross and Cromarty) 4 new holdings and 1 enlargement; East Fortune (East Lothian) 3 new holdings ; and Gretna (Dumfries) 3 new holdings. |