asked the President of the Board of Trade the principal sources within the Empire of industrial alcohol from prickly pear, coffee pulp, acorns, sweet potatoes, and molasses, specifying the countries of origin; and what steps His Majesty's Government proposes to take to increase the output within the Empire?

I have been asked to take this question. So far as I am aware, alcohol is not produced within the Empire from any of the products named except molasses, from which it is produced in certain parts of the Dominions, British Guiana and Mauritius. All information, together with the results of research on possible new sources and processes, is distributed by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in all quarters where it is likely to be of advantage.