AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATION IN GERMANY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8150, 6 July 1906, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERA-TION IN GERMANY.

A bulletin' just issued by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland contains particulars as to co-opera-tion in Germany—especially as regards agricultural societies - collected by Mr il. de F. 3lontgomery, D.L. (a member of the Agricultural Board). It is estimated that there are about 2,500,000 independent farmers in the German Empire, and that of these over a million are members of co-operative societies, the most popular form being credit societies. The bulk of these credit societies are small local associations, receiving deposits from their members, usually at B_t to 3J per cent, interest, and making advances on loan to them for short periods lip to two or three years upon any reasonable security—often the security of a well-known good character is sufficient—at rates of interest usually about •! to per cent. For longer periods members can obtain money on mortgage at about the same rate of interest. The management of these local societies is 1 usually under the control of unpaid committees, the only paid oiticial being the accountant, who receives a nominal salaiy of about 50s per annum. The actual work, however, is usually done by the local schoolmaster, as in most of the small villages there is no one else who can do it, or, iit any rate, do it nearly as well. The local societies are assisted by district central banks, to which they are affiliated, these receiving the surplus capital of the local societies, and making advances on loan to them when the local funds are insufficient to meet the demand for loans. The district banks in Prussia are further assisted when necessary by loans from the Prussian Central Co-operative Jiank, whi.'h has been endowed by the State with Prussian consols to the amount of id,") 00,000 for the assistants of liona-lide co-operative societies of all kinds—agricultural and other. In the report statistics are epiotod from which it appears that ori July 1, 190-1, there were 22,-100 co operative societies of all classes in Germany, of which 18,309 were connected with agriculture, wlulo on March Ist, 190G, the number of agri cultural societies had increased to 19,703.