4- 



JAPAN - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



It must first of all be observed that the figures for 1910 are rather 

 low, because they refer to business conducted up to the end of August and 

 the very much more important purchases for the winter supplies, always 

 conducted in autumn after the harvest, are not included. Not less inter- 

 esting than the above figures are those in the following comparative table 

 of the purchases made by the Commissariat Department from the 

 co-operative societies and from private persons. 



Comparative Table of Purchases of Cereals made by the Separate Commissariat 

 Office of Ujina, from Co-operative Sale Societies and from Private 

 Persons (in yen). 



The most important conclusion to be drawn from the figures given 

 above is that since 1909, the Ujina commissariat has made its purchases of 

 rice, the most important of the articles of consumption it bought, entirely 

 from the co-operative societies, absolutely abandoning the system of pur- 

 chase from private persons. 



§ 4. COLI.ECTIVE SAI^E OF BARI,EY AND OTHER CEREALS. 



In recent years, among the many industries that have assumed great 

 importance in Japan, one of the principal is brewing. In 1912 there were in 

 Japan 950 large and small breweries and sake factories. But it is chiefly 

 of the large breweries making beer of European type we shall now speak. 

 In 1902, they produced little more than 160,000 hi : in 1912 the amount had 

 increased to more than 330,000 hi. The barley grown is now naturally 

 almost entirely absorbed by this new industry, the requirements of which 

 increase from year to year. Consequently, if the supply in any way did not 

 correspond with the demand, either the interests of the industrials or of the 

 farmers would suffer. To prevent this, certain agricultural societies have 



