24 INFORMATION RELATING TO CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



which will give technical advice as to plantations and value the products, 

 and also an office which will give legal advice as to the application of forest 

 laws and rules. 



Further the propaganda of the agricultural committee of Casalmaggiore 

 has led to the foundation in the low district of Cremona of some consortia 

 of agriculturists which will conduct in common, by exclusively mechanicgil 

 methods, corn harvesting and ploughing. Six consortia have been legally 

 constituted. Their sphere of action comprises altogether a cultivated area of 

 more than 15,000 Cremonese perches (i). 



These associations preceded to buy various petrol engines, and the agri- 

 cultural committee voted a notable financial contribution to the consortia, 

 and has already done what is necessary to unite them for purposes of thresh- 

 ing, in order to obtain the government aid fixed by a recent decree. 



Finally a new co-operative dair}^ has been installed at Casalbuttano 

 in the province of Cremona. It owes its formation to the Federaziorie delle 

 latterie cooperative (Federation of Co-operative Dairies) of this province, 

 acting in agreement with the Unione nazionale delle latterie sociali (Nation- 

 al Union of vSocial Dairies). 



vSWITZERLAND. 



THE CO-OPERATIVE CORNMqjjf AT 1,EMAN. — International Co-operative Bulletin, 

 official organ of the International Co-operative Alliance, loth year, No. 6, Eondon, June 

 1917. 



The co-operative societies in Western Switzerland have recently acquir- 

 ed possession of a cornmill at Iceman, this being the second such enterprise 

 to be controlled by co-operators. 



The initiative in regaid to the purchase of the mill was taken by the 

 co-operative societie: at Vevey and Lausanne. The mill was put up for 

 sale at a public auction and purchased by Lhe societies for a sum of 73,050 

 francs, this bid exceeding that of a private mill-owner by 50 francs. In 

 comparison with the real value of the mill the price paid must be considered 

 to be very small. The premises are of much more modest dimensions than 

 those of the cornmill at Zurich but are fitted with modern equipment. Only 

 a year ago the mill was oflered for sale at 170,000 francs. It is situated on 

 the banks of Lake Geneva, at a few minutes' walk from the village of Ri- 

 vaz. It has its own quay, to which in normal times all its corn supplies 

 can be sent directly, by water from Geneva. 



The weekly production of the mill is at present from 500 to 600 sacks 

 of flour, but in normal times when a few new machines have been added, it 

 can be brought up to about 900 sacks a' week. This would enable the mill 

 to supply the needs of a large number of societies in the west of Switzer- 

 land.All necessary preparations are now being made to allow the mill to 

 begin to work as soon as possible. 



(i) I Cremonese perch = 966.451 sq. j'ds. 



