l6 SWITZERIAND - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



The average edition of each number of the Revue des marches (Review 

 of the Markets) is of 85,471 copies of which 74,406 are in German and 11,065 

 in French. In 1915 the average edition was of 79,060 copies. The review 

 has been inserted in ten German and two French agricultural journals. 



In 1916 the oihce had to confine itself to following the course of prices 

 in the interior. The movement of foreign markets has been paralysed by 

 the impositon of maxinuim prices, the prohibition against export, and in 

 general by circumstances due to the war ; and therefore their importance 

 has compared with that of Swiss markets is quite secondary. Nevertheless 

 the abundance of material obliged the editor of the Revue des marches 

 to publish three double numbers in the German edition. 



The Office of Information as to Prices also sent the following notices 

 to the journals subscribing to the Revue des marches : 



A communication explaining the provisions as to the price of milk and 

 cheese ; 



Two comnumications as to the price of milk for consumption ; 



Two communications as to dairy production ; 



Eight reports on the market for fruit ; 



One publication as to the Swiss cereal and potato harvest ; 



One communication as to the placing of agricultural labour by the Swiss 

 labour offices ; 



Two reports on the world's cereal harvest in 1916. 



As in former years the chief conclusions derived from the statistics 

 as to prices, which were drawn up by the office, were placed at the disposal 

 of the Federal Statistical Office which published them in the Swiss Statistical 

 Yearbook. 



In the beginning of the year a complementary report was drawn up as 

 to the valuation of live stock in view of the war tax, and this report was 

 sent by the Peasants' Secretariat to the Federal Department of Finances. 



The Office of Information has been occupied by preparations and 

 deliberations with reference to the price of milk and cheese, and has 

 forwarded a large number of pertinent requests. 



During the autumn of 1915 an enquiry was undertaken in order to 

 discover the increase in the area planted with cereals and potatoes as com- 

 pared with 1914. A new enquiry in June 1916 aimed at discovering the 

 modification of such area since 1915. The office received relevant reports 

 from 850 correspondents in all parts of the country. As compared with 

 1915 the increase in the cultivated area was one of 9.7 per cent for cereals 

 and 13.5 per cent, for potatoes. As compared with 1914 it was 20.8 per 

 cent, for cereals and 32.2 per cent, for potatoes. 



An enquiry was also begun as to the average harvest yields per hec- 

 tare, to provide a basis for the annual estimates of the cereal and potato 

 harvests made by the office. For this enquiry' the office made use of for- 

 mer pupils of the schools of agriculture, most of whose societies have pro- 

 mised their co-operation. 



For the first time this office made the attempt of conducting an en- 

 quiry among producers in order to discover the harvest yield calculated 



