84 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



made to secure greater uniformity in quality and to provide for 

 the enforcement of standards that will furnish a common lan- 

 guage between consumer and producer and thus tend to place 

 farm products upon a stable basis in the markets. This applies 

 particularly to perishables. It is essential that the purchaser 

 of a given product may know within reasonable limits what the 

 seller proposes to deliver at a given price and it is impossible to 

 rationally fix prices without such knowledge. 



GRADING AND PACKING. 



It has been stated that farmers as a class are not competent 

 to pack their own products. As a rule they have neither the 

 facilities nor the time to prepare their products properly for 

 market and the conclusion is that cooperation is necessary to 

 bring to uniformity any grade and pack. Certainly such uni- 

 formity is exceedingly necessary for successful cooperation. 

 The security of a uniform grade and pack by a cooperative 

 organization requires a good system of inspection. 



BONDING AND AUDITING. 



As a matter of protection and to hold the confidence of the 

 members, it is essential the officers and other employees handling 

 organization funds be bonded and that proper systems of 

 accounting records be kept and frequent audits by competent 

 outside parties be made. 



DIVISION OF PROFITS. 



Of the profits made from the year's operation of a coopera- 

 tive organization, stockholders, in case the organization is 

 founded upon a stock basis, should receive the local rate of 

 interest on the par value of their stock. Part of the balance 

 should be set aside as a surplus fund to increase the working 

 capital or to finance further improvements. The remaining 

 amounts should be divided among the members in proportion to 

 the value of their shipments and purchases made through the 

 association during the year. There should be some provision 

 whereby any member who has failed during the season to live 

 up to his agreement, by not shipping exclusively through the 

 association or by any other breach of his contract, and provided 



