Village Clnha and Association a. 13 



village, absolutely unheard of unless the local papers printed a 

 In-ief report of their annual dinners, until a great deal of 

 interest was manifested in agricultural co-operation and the 

 Board of Agriculture turned its attention to this indigenous 

 form of rural association. Yet clearly the pig clubs have been 

 at once the most spontaneous and the most numerous of village 

 associations, other than those dealing with human insurance. 



The membership of a pig club is usually confined to one 

 village, or to a small clearly defined area surrounding a large 

 parish. It varies considerably in number, the average being 

 about 40, rising to 100 or falling to about 20. As a rule the 

 majority of members are labourers, the others being small 

 tradesmen and small farmers. But a recent development of 

 the pig club at Calne shows that other classes of pig-keepers 

 may avail themselves of the advantages off'ered by mutual 

 insurance. 



Some clubs meet at public houses, others in schools or 

 public rooms. The executive usually consists of a committee 

 of some half-dozen members, including a secretary, a 

 treasurer and a president. The committee is generally elected 

 at the annual meeting of the club, but sometimes the rules 

 provide that all members shall serve on the committee hy 

 rotation, or be subject to a fine. Where a club having a 

 number of branches is semi-centralised other arrangements are 

 made. At Kineton, where the kennels of the Warwickshire 

 Hunt are situated, there is a large society with a record of good 

 management. It covers five villages which contain a popula- 

 tion of about 2,300. " The number of members is unlimited, 

 but membership is confined to working men — a somewhat 

 indefinite term, as the actual membership shows. Any 

 working man maj' become a member on the payment of an 

 entrance fee of sixpence and a quarterly subscription of three- 

 pence, payable in advance. The group of members belonging 

 to any particular village is self-contained for certain purposes. 

 Each group elects two representatives to sit on the central 

 committee, and these are responsible for the collection of sub- 

 scriptions and insurance fees, for the inspection of pigs before 

 insurance, and for the assessment of claims within their own 

 village area. At Kineton, however, the village members 

 appoint six representatives, thus the central committee of the 

 society consists of six members from Kineton and two from 

 each of the other five villages. This committee has control 

 over finances, subject to the rule that the funds shall be 

 deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank : it also decides 

 all claims for benefit." ' 



^ From a detailed description of this Society in Journal of Agricultural 

 Co-operation. January, 1914. A.W.A, 



