6. CULTIVATION AFTER THE WAR

6.1 One of the problems with which the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is concerned is the question of whether allotment holders intend keeping on their allotment after the war, it was thought that some allotment holders were unwilling to undertake further cultivation and improvement of the soil if they thought that they would lose their plot after the war. It was decided, therefore, to ask allotment holders whether they intended keeping on their allotment after the war and a parallel question was asked to gardeners as to whether they intended growing vegetables in their gardens after the war. These questions also showed to what extent cultivation had been accepted merely as a war time measure, or how far it had become established as a national habit.

6.1 1 ALLOTMENT HOLDERS

96% of our allotment holders sample said that they intended keeping on their allotment after the war. The proportion was about the same in almost all occupation groups, except skilled clerical workers where it was 82%, compared with 95% in unskilled manual workers and 97% among retired people.

6.1 2 There was no significant difference between the urban and rural samples.

6.1 3 The regional analysis, although showing small differences appeared to bear out some of the tendencies noted in other analyses. The Midlands, South, South West and Wales had a rather higher proportion, - 96% - than the North and East and South East, - 90% and 93% - who intended keeping on their allotments after the war.

6.1 4 There was no significant difference between families of different sizes.

6.2 GARDENERS

86% of our gardeners said that they intended to continue growing vegetables after the war. As in the case of allotment holders, the proportion was a little lower in the clerical workers groups and higher in the other groups. This may be compared to 58% who were growing vegetables before the war. (Paragraph 2.16 3 and Table 6).

6.2 1 The urban sample had a rather higher proportion who intended to continue the cultivation of vegetables than the rural sample, - 91% compared with 85%.

6.2 2 The regional analysis showed the same general tendency as the regional analysis of allotment holders. The Midlands, South, South west and Wales had the highest proportion - 93% and 90% - whereas the north and the East and South East had the lowest proportions, 76% and 85% respectively.

6.2 3 The differences between families of different sizes were very small and hardly significant.