192 BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS 



tity to the neglect of quality, such a state of affairs 

 cannot be permanent. Consequently, any temporary 

 success or failure now is very little guide as to 

 whether you are going to meet with permanent suc- 

 cess or failure. Dealing with surpluses without 

 regard to quality is, on the whole, a problem better 

 left to State action. But if, under the stimulus of 

 war conditions, it is possible to lay on sound lines the 

 foundations of a local co-operative society which 

 would not otherwise be started, that is a worthy and 

 admirable goal to which local effort may be directed. 

 The principle of co-operative dealing is absolutely 

 sound economically, and its financial advantages are 

 probably its most striking feature. But co-operation 

 has a further advantage which the financially suc- 

 cessful great joint-stock companies cannot lay claim 

 to, and that is this: co-operation once started among 

 producers for the protection and furthering of their 

 interests not only preserves the individual pride of the 

 producer in his own produce, but leads to the re- 

 placing of suspicion by confidence and of isolation by 

 ideals of mutual help. This has actually been shown 

 most undoubtedly in the case of Ireland to be the 

 effect which follows in the wake of successful co- 

 operation. Not only have good crops been produced 

 where there were bad crops before, and prosperous cot- 

 tages built in place of hovels, but the intellectual and 

 moral life of the community has enormously improved 

 in many ways. The introduction of a co-operative 

 society has, in fact, resulted not only in bringing 

 more money to the community, but in increasing its 

 social activities and generally has tended to re-cfeate 

 rural life. The evidence of this in different parts of 

 Ireland is so widespread and striking that it cannot 

 be ignored. English rural life has never been in 

 such a bad condition as that of Ireland was thirty or 



