GERMANY - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



expressed its opinions on general important problems of economic, financial 

 and social politics, the " German Agricultural Society " {Deutsche Land- 

 wirtschafts-Gesellschaft) , which, in its plenary meetings, and also in many 

 meetings of its various sections, took into consideration questions respect- 

 ing the technique of rural holdings ; and, finally, the " German Association 

 for the Welfare of Rural Districts " [DeutscherVerein fur Idndliche Wohlfahrts- 

 und Heimatpflege) , which, under the presidency of Dr. Thiel, has materially 

 improved the general condition of the agricultural population, and is seeking 

 more especially to check the disastrous exodus from the country. Some of 

 the associations and institutions recently organised show how widely 

 difiused among German agriculturists is the desire to reach a solution of 

 the problems that interest them by means of co-operation and union. 

 Among these, special mention must be made of the " Second Congress of 

 Women Engaged in Agricultural I^abour ' ' {Zweiter Landfrauentag) , promoted 

 by the " Evangelical Union for Young Women " {Evangelischer Verhand 

 zur Pflege der weihlichen Jugend) , held under the presidency of H. E. the 

 Countess of Schwerin-Ivowitz. The chief object of this association is 

 to promote the technical instruction and the moral and religious progress 

 of young women li\dng in the country. The most important event of the 

 whole Agricultural Week was the constitution of the "Society for the En- 

 couragement of the Cultivation and Utilization of VotoXoes" {Gesellscha ft zur 

 Forderung des Baues und der wirtschaftlich zweckmdssigen Verwendung der 

 Karto-ffeln) , of which we shall give further particulars later on. 



Let us now consider in detail some important discussions and de- 

 cisions on economic and social subjects : 



(a) The Work and the Publications of the International Institide of 

 Agriculture. — As after the general assembly' of the International Institute 

 of Agriculture in 191 1, again this year, after the general assembly of 

 1913, the " German Council of Agriculture " (Deutscher Landwirtschaftsrat) 

 expressed its approbation of the '\^•ork of the Institute and passed the 

 following resolution: 



" The German Council of Agriculture desires to express its satisfaction 

 with the prosperous development and extension of the work done by the 

 International Institute of Agriculture in Rome. The Council desires 

 especially to call the attention of the agricultural representative bodies 

 to the publications of the Institute, the " IVIonthly Bulletin of Economic 

 and Social Intelligence" and the "Monthly Bulletin of Agricultural In- 

 telligence and Plant Diseases ", which for the last year have been published 

 also in German, and both of which contain a very large amount of inter- 

 esting information. The Council hopes that the representative bodies will, 

 by securing a sufficient number of subscribers, faciHtate the continuance 

 of the German edition. " 



(b) The Question of Temporary Employment of Foreign Labour. — 

 Among the'^'many questions discussed in the various meetings, one of the 

 most important was that of the employment of foreign labour in agri- 

 culture. The " German Council of Agriculture " {Deutscher Landwirt- 



