We have already seen that the needs of the war transcended all other considerations in the opinion of the War Office officials, who commandeered many horses and vans from the Society at the outbreak of war and later. The difficulties of delivery thus created the directors endeavoured to overcome by the use of motors for delivery. But even machinery will not go on for ever without requiring repairs, and as breakdowns became more frequent increasing difficulty was being found in having the necessary repairs done, because of shortage of labour of the necessary skill, and because also of the shortage of the necessary material. Another delivery difficulty had a different cause. The shortage of labour was general, and the retail stores were as greatly handicapped as were other businesses. In 1916, with the view of overcoming this handicap to some extent and at the same time ensuring as far as possible that the shops should not be open in the absence of skilled supervision, the societies adopted the policy of closing their shops during the lunch hour. To some extent this policy attained the object which the societies had in view, but as soon as it was put into operation the Baking Society found their delivery difficulties increased, for their vans had to stand idle while the shops were closed. Representations on the subject were made to the various societies, which gave very favourable consideration in most cases, and the practice grew up of leaving one employee in each shop to take delivery of goods which arrived during the lunch hour. Early in 1916 the societies gave tangible form to their recognition of the strenuous work which was being imposed on the directors by circumstances brought about by the war; this tangible recognition taking the form of an all-round increase in salaries and allowances for committee work. Yet strenuous as had been their work during those first two years of the war, and great as had been their difficulties, the two years on which they were about to enter were to provide even more strenuous work and to produce difficulties which were so great as to prove almost insurmountable. They were to provide conditions of bread baking which were to change loaf bread from being one of the most palatable forms of food into for the time being one of the most detestable and detested. While the Congress was meeting at Leicester in 1915, the news arrived that Mr Duncan M‘Culloch, who had done so much to build up the Baking Society, had passed away, and fitting reference was made to his decease at the quarterly meeting in June, and also at the annual meeting with the representatives of the Irish societies in July. His death removed a man to whom the shareholders of the Baking Society, and particularly the shareholders in Ireland, owed much, and many were the expressions of regret when the news became generally known. CHAPTER XIX. BREAD BAKING UNDER CONTROL.