CO-OPERATION AMONG FARMERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 41, 16 February 1872, Page 2

CO-OPERATION AMONG FARMERS

To The Editor op the Nelson Evening Mail. Sir, — I have read with much interest the various articles ' and paragraphs connected with this subject which you have from time to time re-published from | other New Zealand papers, and from these, as well as from my own experience in different parts of tbe colony, I have arrived at the conclusion that the time has come for carrying out the co-operative principle among the farmers of Nelson. I may state that I am not a farmer myself, but I take no little interest in country pursuits, and for some time past I have watched with considerable attention the struggle of our agriculturists to obtain a bare living* The little luxuries which a man has a right to expect will be at his disposal after a lifetime of hard work and careful economy are entirely out of the question, and it is with the greatest difficulty that the farming population of Nelson eau contrive to find food and clothiDg for themand their children. Under the circumstances, then, the finding of a certain market for farm produce, and the question of whether an additional two or three pence a bushel can be obtained for the corn grown becomes a serious matter, and it is with this view that I venture to make a suggestion which seems to me to be worthy of consideration, and, while I admit that my present ideas on the subject are exceedingly crude, I am in hopes that the publication of it may lead to a discussion which; if carried out in the same earnest spirit in which I now write will, perchance, lead to the alleviation of the present depressed condition of our country settlers.^ To come to the point at once, I would state that the establishment of a market in Nelson ! under the patronage and control of tbe farmers of the Wairoea, Motueka, and the, suburban districts, appears to me to be exceedingly desirable. I. shall probably., be laughed at. for making such a suggestion, aod shall be told that .the experiment has already been \ tried and proved a Jailure, but for my own part, I am not in the smallest degree disheartened by this fact, as I look upon

it that the want of success that attended the attempt some years ago was entirely owing to two causes, both of which may easily be remedied. In the first place ihe site of the market was an unfortunate one, being so far removed from the business part'of the town, and secondly, there was no methodical or reliable management of the affair. Under the same system, and iD a similar spot, a market now would prove quite as great a failure as it did then, but there is no- reason whatever why an improvement should not be made under both these heads. At Canterbury we were recently told that the establishing of a regular market has resulted in a rise of sixpence per bushel, while the consumers possess advantages that they never had before. They can go to a certain spot where the grain raised in the surrounding districts is exposed for sale, and are in a position to make their selection from a large quantity of every quality, and thus one great advantage is gained that is so sadly wanting in Nelson, namely, that the grower and consumer are brought into direct contact one with ihe other. Here, you will occasionally see a load of corn or hay brought in from a distance of several miles, and hawked about the town, until wearied out with his want of success in disposing of the produce that has cost him so much labor and anxiety in the raising, the unhappy owner, who possibly, has a bill coming due in the course of a few days that must be met at any hazard, i is compelled to sell his grain at an utterly unremunerative figure. Should such things be ? I am quite sure that they | should not, and am very much disposed to think that they need not. A building i might surely be obtained in some central port of the town that would serve the pur- ' pose of a market, and the. management enI trusted to some thoroughly practical salesman, in whose hands should be placed, either small samples, or larger parcels of grain, potatoes, hay, or other produce, and it would be for the farmers ' to decide whether they would club together | and guarantee him a fixed salary for attending the market for a certain number of hours on each day that it might be open, such salary to bo provided for by each in proportion to the amount -of produce he had for sale, or whether they would prefer to pay him a fixed per centage on the amount of their receipts. The rent of such a building as would be required I might be met by allowing producers of garden stuff, fishermeD, &c. to occupy stalls for the disposal of their wares. As I said before, I am not prepaied to lay any elaborated scheme for an institution of this kind before our country settlers, but I merely make suggestions which I think if carried into effect would tend to their advantage, leaving it to them to fill in the necessary details. The Stoke Farmers' Club has ever Jbeen ready to deal with subjects bearing upon the interests of the agriculturists of the province, and to the members of that really valuable institution I would offer the hint that they might very profitably employ an hour or two in discussing this matter. lam sure, sir, that you who have ever displayed a large amount of interest in the welfare of the farming community will lose no opportunity of furnishing such information as you may chance to meet with in the numerous local journals that come under your notice. Many obstacles, I am aware, may be found to stand in the way of establishing such an institution as that I am advocating, but Ido not think that, if dealt with by really practical men, they would Dot be found to be insuperable. lamj'&c, /■•'-'■ Bucolic.