32 INFORMA.TION REI,ATING TO INSURANCE AND THRIFT 



SWITZERLAND. 



THE SWISS SOCIETY OF AGRICUI^TURE AND INSURANCE AGAINST THE ACCI- 

 DENTS OF AGRICUIyTURE IN 191 6. — Jahresbericht des Schwdzerischen landwirt- 

 schaftlichen Vereins 1916. Brugg, 1917. 



The yearly report of the Swiss Society of Agriculture for 1916 (i) has 

 just appeared. Before we notice, as we have done in previous years (2), 

 the matter in this report especially concerned with insurance against the 

 accidents of agriculture, we will give some facts regarding this society. 



It was founded in 1863 and arose from the fusion of the Society of Swiss 

 Agriculturists and the Swiss Central Society of Agriculture. It is concerned 

 with the general interests of agriculture and is responsible for the distri- 

 bution of federal subsidies. It practises some special forms of activity, 

 such as insurance against accidents, the experimental organization of 

 cultures, the importation of hogs, etc. Its organ is the " vSchweizerische 

 landwirtschaftliche Zeitschrift ". 



At the end of 1916 it comprised twenty-nine sections and 62,390 mem- 

 bers. At the end of 1915 the members numbered 60,967 ; and the increase 

 in the ensuing year was therefore one of 1,423. The Federation of Swiss 

 Goat-keeping Consortia left the societ}^ on 31 December 1914 but rejoined 

 it on 9 December 1916 ; and therefore the Federation of the Goat-keeping 

 Consortia of Zurich, which joined the society in 1915, no longer appears 

 as an independent branch. 



* * 



As regards insurance against the accidents of agriculture we should 

 note that while in the two years before 1916 a continuous diminution is 

 found in the number of insured persons, in 191 6 insurance again began to 

 increase to a remarkable degree. 



In 1916 there were insured: 



4,403 men, 

 113 women, 



in all 4,516 persons, of whom 1,035 were employers, 444 members of families 

 (417 men and 27 women) and 3,037 employees and journeymen labourers 

 (2,951 men and 86 women). In addition 491 farms were insured. The 

 total number of the insured was thus 5,007 as against 4,829 in 1915, giving 

 an increase of 178. 



(i) Jahresbericht des Schweizerischen landwirtschajtlichen Vereins, 1916, Brugg, 1916, 



PP- 59- 



(2) See for the report for 1915 our issue for October 1916. 



