THE GENERAL RAIFFEISEN FEDERATION 



All are limited liabilit}^ societies. The}^ regularly sell live stock on 

 commission. Only two of them buy their members' live stock and resell 

 it in the market on their own account. 



Only fourteen reported on their business and they did not give detail- . 

 ed data. 



The number of members was 5,835, the capital in shares 17,750 marks, 

 the reserve fund log, 320 marks, the year's capital 329,950 marks. 



7. Co-operative Threshing Societies. 



There were eightj-two of these at the end of 1914,. and at the end of 

 1915 eighty-three of which fifty-nine had limited and twenty-five unlimi- 

 ted liability. 



The data as to their business were furnished by seventj^-four societies 

 of whom twelve gave few details. 



Their members numbered 1,907, their capital in shares was 10^,072 

 marks, their reserve fund 37,539 marks, the year's capital 646,965 marks, 

 of which the greater part was represented by the value of the machines. 

 The yeai's capital varies notably according to whether a society owns or 

 hires its machines. 



.30 societies closed tlieir books showing a total profit of 11,639 marks 



32 » •) » » » » » loss >' 25,579 )) 



12 » » >' » » neither profit nor loss. 



The losses result on an insufficient use of the machines. They wo^^" 

 ed in 1914 for 36,101 hours, that is on an average 582 hotirs for each so- 

 ciety, instead of 37,835 hours of work and an average of 641 for one so- 

 ciety' as in 1913. 



8. Co-operative Societies for the Employment of Electric Power. 



The first co-operative society of this kind was formed in 1906. At 

 the end of 1914 there were 316 of them, and at the end of 1915 there were 

 315 of which nine had unlimited and 307 limited liability. Only a few 

 societies own their plant : most of them hire their electric power on lease 

 from an enterprise and distribute it among their members. 



213 of them reported on their work in 1914. 



Their members numbered 15,396, their capital in shares was 159,490 

 marks, their reserve fund 8,364,052 marks, their fixed capital 4,991,445 

 marks. 



Ill societies closed their books showing a total profit of 44,365 marks 



97 ,; » ., 1) » » » loss )) ....... 31)584 ' 



5 ,, » a » )) neither profit nor loss. 



The following table gives data as to co-operative societies less import- 

 ant than those with which we have dealt : 



