32 ITALY - CO-OPERATION .\ND ASSOCIATION 



II. — MISCEIvIvANEOUS NEWS. 



1. — Legislative provisions in behalf of consortiums for the 

 DEFENCE OF VITICULTURE. — These Consortiums, founded amongst the 

 owners of vineyards, in provinces ravaged by phylloxera, in conformity 

 with articles 2,3 and 4 of the final text of the laws of June 6th., 1901 no. 

 355, and of July 7th., 1907, no. 490 approved by Royal Decree of May 17th., 

 1908, no. 343, were founded, as we know (i), for the following ends : {a) 

 to watch against the spread of phylloxera and supervise the work of 

 defence against the scourge ; {b) to examine the vineyards carefully for the 

 possible existence of infection; (c) to found nurseries of vines capable of 

 resisting it and reconstitute the vineyards with these plants ; {d) to diffuse 

 information with regard to phylloxera and the use of vines able to resist it. 



In order to realise these objects, the owners or occupiers of vineyards 

 included in the district of the Consortium must pay a yearly contribution, of 

 not more than one franc per hectare. 



A law of June 26th., 1913, no. 786, authorizes the grant of loans to 

 these consortiums, to be repaid in instalments in 25 years, the object being 

 to place them in a position to start a plantation of American vines for the 

 reconstitution of vineyards attacked or destroyed b}"^ phylloxera. 



The funds required for the purpose will be advanced by the Deposit and 

 Consignment Bank at a rate of not more than 4 %, and cannot be more than 

 3,000,000 frs. a year nor altogether more than 16,000,000 frs. 



In conformity with this law, several consortiums of the same province 

 or region may unite in a federation, which could then contract several 

 loans together in the interest of the consortiums requesting them. 



Article 7 lays down the principle that no compensation is due to pro- 

 prietors for vines the destruction of which has been decided on, but admits 

 that the Department may grant special subsidies when the destruction 

 is carried out on land belonging to small viticulturists, or cultivated directly 

 by small metayers or tenant farmers. 



(Summarised from the Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno cC Italia, Rome, no. i68, 

 July 19th., 1913)- 



* 



2. — Legislative provisions in regard to the constitution of 



consortiums of proprietors for DEFENCE AGAINST PLANT DISEASES. — 



The law of June 26th., 1913, no. 888, authorizing measures for preventing 

 and fighting plant diseases, provides for the foundation of special 



(i) Cfr. Bulletin of Economic and Social Intelligence, February, 1913, pp. 13 and 14. 



