WOMEN ON THE LAND.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14213, 2 February 1917, Page 3

WOMEN ON THE LAND.

146,500 NOW ENGAGE!) IN FARM WORK. LONDON, Dec. 17. The suitability, of women to perform many of the branches of farm and horticultural work, has now been established, but, according to the Board of Trade Gazette, the progress made m the substitution of women for men m agriculture has been slow, and is m no way commensurate with that achieved m industrial and commercial occupations. The difficulties attendant on the work have been most serious. Prejudice on the part of the farmers, reluctance on the parit of the women, insufficiency of housing accommodation, lowness of wages, have all proved serious obstacles. Alter completing thirty days' service on the land, registered women are entitled to wear a Government armlet of green bai»e with the Royal Crown m scarlet-; 72,021 certificates and 62,000 armlets have been issued. Close upon 140,000 women have been registered with committees. The following is a list of occupations m which women have been and are now engaged m various parts of the country : General farm work: Cleaning land, stone picking, weeding, thistle 'cutting,, manure spreading, singling and hoeing turnips,' potato setting and lifting, vegetable planting and transplanting, ■milking, stock tending and rearing, butter making, cheese making, poultry ■rearing, haymaking,' harvesting; sheep -shearing, thatching, stacking, ploughing, loading 1 and unloading, threshing, fruit picking, hop picking, reed stripping, bark peeling, timber felling and gardening. • The experience gained during the Avar fgqes to prove that some women can do anything and everything on the- land, and do it well, but that the* average woman is useful chiefly for' general f dffm work and gardening. In milking and stock tending and rearing they have shown themselves paa-ticular]y successful.