Agricultural Work for Women

From the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 3rd February 1916.

EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN ON THE LAND.

14,000 START WORK ON FARMS DURING WAR.

SPECIAL UNIFORM TO BE WORN BY VOLUNTEERS.

Women on the land are, in future, to wear a specially designed uniform, officially approved of by the Board of Agriculture, which will be as distinctive and as important as the familiar Voluntary Aid Detachment outfit.

This announcement was made yesterday by Miss La Mothe, of the Board of Trade, at a conference of men and women interested in girl labour in the land.

From 12,000 to 14,000 women had gone on to the land since the outbreak of war, she said, and now that the farmers were won over, their next task was to see they got the right type of girl.  That was going to be the making or marring of the scheme.  Two of the most successful farm hands were tailoresses from London.  They were now doing splendid work on an estate in Sussex.  Each girl got £l a week and a joint cottage, with other perquisites, and both said that they would not go back under any consideration to the old town life.

“As milkers and stockwomen,” said Miss La Mothe, “girls beat the men hollow.  A cow that has always been milked by a woman is always better tempered and gives more milk.”

WOMEN TO THE RESCUE.

Mr. F. Floud, of the Board of Agriculture, said that over 200,000 men engaged in agriculture were now in the army.  Still more would have to go, and three men would have to do the work of five unless women came to the rescue.  The admirable way in which women were doing their work had a great educational influence on the farmers.

There was a great future in poultry farming, went on Mr. Floud.  He knew of only one man in this country who was making poultry farming, as distinct from any other branch of farm work, pay.
Miss Rogers, of the National Political League, said that her organisation had succeeded in placing practically all the suitable girls who had applied to them, and further applications from women willing to go on the land were wanted.

Miss Macqueen, representing the Women's Farm and Garden Union, explained the herb growing scheme, by which it was hoped to encourage country dwellers to grow those herbs used for medicinal purposes for which we had had to depend on Germany in the past.