AGRicrLxr i>:ai. products : trade 1189 



At present the United States Department of Agriculture records the 

 existence of about 500 societies of this kind. There are 200 in Minnesota 

 alone, and the others are found, in decreasing order of number, in the fol- 

 lowing vStates : Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota. 

 Kansas, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. 



The annual increase in the number of trucks forwarded by the different 

 societies proved clearly that farmers have rapidh^ appreciated the advant- 

 ages of these institutions. It is estimated that in Minnesota alone 

 ^6 000 000 worth of cattle were sold in 1914 through co-operative forward- 

 ing and selhng societies. 



The expenses of sale for 1913 and 1914 averaged 33 cents per cwt. 

 to the Lichtfield society. Farmers are of opinion that this cost is from 

 10 to 40 cents per cwt. below the allowance which dealers made the 

 basis of their offers to farmers. Assuming that the allowance imposed by 

 the buyers was only 50 cents per cwt. the Lichtfield association will have 

 saved the forwarders about S 6221 in 1914. 



The simplicity of organisation, and the fact that no capital is required, 

 render the collective sale of cattle ver}^ interesting in rural districts, where 

 more complex forms of co-operative societies are more difficult to establish. 



The principal conditions required for the success of these societies are : 

 an able manager and full confidence on the part of members. The manager 

 must be well known in the region and must be regarded as a man thorough- 

 ty at home in the cattle trade, and one in whom farmers can place entire 

 confidence. 



Practice has shown that in order to avoid possible mistakes it is in- 

 dispensable to number and brand each animal at the forwarding station, 

 even in the case of pigs or sheep, and to make a note of all such particulars 

 as may be required to be taken into account by the manager with a view 

 to a fair distribution of the expenses and profits, or possible losses. 



Farmers were quick to realise that the profits previously made by the 

 cattle dealers thus went into their pockets, because through the agency of 

 the society they really sell at the genuine market price less the actual sell- 

 ing expenses. Moreover, the work of an able societj' manager exerts an 

 influence throughout the region in the direction of improving the methods 

 of cattle breeding, and rendering farmers more familiar with tha real market 

 prices. These indirect benefits are no less important than those obtained 

 direct by the members of different societies. 



1)20 - Control of the Sale of Skim Milk. — Bord.^s I"., in Amialcs ties Falsifications 

 Xos. 90-01, \)\). 146-136. Paris, April-May, 191 6. 



After having rapidly considered the various operations of industrial 

 commercial separating and the chemical and biological characteristics of 

 skim milk, the writer opposes the current opinion that skim milk is simpl)- 

 milk deprived of its fat. He lays stress on the fact that it is an incomplete 

 food which has also lost its glycero-pho.sphoric acid, and been enriched 

 on the other hand with numerous micro-organisms. After a study of the 

 dietetic value of skim milk and a reference to the works published on the 

 question, chiefly in Denmark, the attempt is made to show that the require- 



