INFORMATION RELATING TO CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCL^TION 



33 



RUSSIA. 



FINNISH CO-OPERATIVE DAIRIES IN 1915. — Suomen Osuustoimin talehti ; Helsing- 

 fors, Year 1916, No. 10. 



At the end of 1915 there were 421 co-operative dairies in Finland, 

 twenty-one of them having been founded during the year. These societies 

 had 45,000 members, as against 41,500 in 1914 and 39,000 in 1913. Of the 

 members 38.8 per cent, possessed from one to three cows, 53.9 per cent, from 

 four to fifteen, and 7.3 per cent, more than fifteen. In 1913 the correspond- 

 ing percentages were 38.4, 53.1 and 8.5 ; in 1911 they were 37.8,53.9 and 8.7. 



The following table shows the number of cows belonging to co-operative 

 dairies and the proportion this bore to the country's total herd from 1912 

 to 1915 : 



In igi2 the co-operative societies possessed 250,000 cows or 21.6 % of the country's herd 



" 1913 " " " " 255,000 " " 21.7 % 



1914 

 1915 



269,000 

 288,000 



22.7 % 

 25.7 % 



The increased percentage in 1915 was influenced by the notable reduc- 

 tion in the country's total herd in that year. 



From the 421 co-operative dairies 316 million kilogrammes (i) of milk 

 were obtained while in 191 4 the 396 co-operative dairies supplied 321 mil- 

 lion kilogrammes. The chief cause of the diminished milk production in 

 1915 was doubtless the fixing of too low prices for butter which led to the 

 slaughter of many milch-cows and thus paralysed all measures taken to 

 increase milk production. 



As regards motive power, steam is employed by 266 dairies, h^-draulic 

 power b}' eleven and electricity^ by seven, while fifty-four are content to 

 use human labour and forty-eight have recourse to animal traction. 



The financial position of 330 co-operative dairies at the end of Decem- 

 ber 1915 was as follows : 



(i) I kilogramme = 2.2 lbs. 



