NEW ERA FOR ENGLISH VILLAGES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 261, 31 July 1919, Page 2

NEW ERA FOR ENGLISH VILLAGES

MADE POPULAR BY LAND GIRLS, An inquirv/into the number of English women ivorkers who intend to remain on tho lnn'.l-a number that is amazingly large—roveals incidentally an astonishin" growth, amounting almost to n social .revolution Tn litrTe, 01 women's clubs or institutes in the villages. ' _ • These arc formed under a. National. Union, aro multiplying fast, and may. soon'bo numbered in thousands. The women are taking village life in hand in a serious nihnnor. Someone brought tho idea over in '1913 from Canada, where the extreme loneliness of women on tho farm made necessary tho arrangement of regular meetings. But tho idea is moving quicker in England and growing bigger. Thoro is § a famous women's institute in Cricciotli which already turns over a large sum of inonoy in its co-operative schemes. There aro institutes in the Homo and Eastern Counties which, according to'the verdict, of residents, have made a new thing of women's life and holpcd the country to rival the town in social interest. It is characteristic of women not to over-capitalise things, and these insti-. tutes, which do an astounding amount of practical work in the villages, demand of their members a subscription of 2s. o year. Did ever clubs do so much on so littlo money? English villages generally aro much gayer and livelier places since tho war. A 'number of villages, for example, now have one or two regular dances a week, and games are reviving rapidly; but Iho wnmon'ti institutes have led the way in tho joint activities of "food and fun" production, i:i starting parish jam factories and shows of vegetables, needlework, and wliat not, A groat campaign for their multiplication is being organised, and even such serious establishments as boards of education and agriculture have Iwgun to lend a hand in the promotion of this new influence in country life. The 809 or 900 now in being are found chiefly in villages where, horticulture flourishes, but thero is scope for them in almost ovory hamlot in tho country.—"Daily' Mail."