GERMANY - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



five are not subject to any rule of the law on co-operative societies. Only 

 thirty- four reported on their work. 



The total number of their members was 617. Their capital in shares 

 was 413,702 marks, their reserve fund 155,789 marks, their 3'ear's capi- 

 tal 2,240,730 marks and their fixed capital 1,596,860 marks. The capital 

 belonging in their own right to the unlimited liabihty societies was equal 

 to 6.8 per cent, of their year's income. In the case of the limited liability 

 societies, this percentage was 23.7. 



Only twenty-four distilleries have furnished data as to their produc- 

 tion. These had used 324,519 zentners of potatoes, 1,798 zentners of beet- 

 root, and 1,678 zentners of Jerusalem artichokes. Of this quantity' mem- 

 bers had delivered only 290,423 zentners ; the rest had been bought in the 

 market. The co-operative societies had paid 1.79 marks for the potatoes 

 which had been delivered. 



Owing to statutory restrictions production had been less than in the 

 previous year. 



5. Essication of Potatoes. 



Only sixteen co-operative societies of this kind belong to the General 

 Raift'eisen Federation, two of them have unlimited and twelve of them 

 limited liability while two are not subject to the law on co-operative 

 societies. 



All these sixteen societies reported on their activity, as did five otjjer 

 societies which essicate potatoes as an accessory business. They comprised 

 936 members, they had a capital in shares of 341,509 marks, a reserve 

 fund of 96,935 marks, a year's capital of 2,255,748 marks and a fixed cap- 

 ital of 1,278,360. 



The sixteen societies treated 1,216,071 zentners of potates by essica- 

 tion, the other five 138,173 zentners. Of these quantities 938,512 zent- 

 ners were delivered by members and 109,119 zenters by other producers, 

 while 168,440 zentners were bought in the market. The resultant produc- 

 tion was of 339,370 zentners of potato flakes and 32,665 zentners of potato 

 slices. The greater share of these products was remitted to the members 

 and others from whom the raw material had been bought, only 165,161 

 zentner- of flakes and 5,500 zentners of slices being sold in the market. 



6. The Sale of Live Stock. 



Co-operative societies having this object have only existed for a few 

 years and are all in East Prussia where the production of live stock is great- 

 ly in excess of the consumption. 



There were twenty-six of them at the end of 1914, and in 1915 there 

 were three new adhesions while one society retired from membership. At 

 the end of 1915 there were therefore twentj'-eight societies, namely eleven 

 in the Koenigsberg district federation, eight in that of Dantzig, seven in 

 that of Berlin, and two each in those of Coblentz and Ludwigshafen. 



