CO-OPERATION 125 



is all alive with co-operative bacon factories and dairies, which have 

 brought prosperity to its fields. Germany and France both distil 

 co-operatively their potatoes into " industrial " alcohol, which repays 

 the value of the potatoes and leaves very valuable feeding material 

 over. Seeing that our country is peculiarly suited for potato 

 growing — potatoes being the one crop in which, according to Sir Th. 

 Middleton's exposition, we beat Germany in average yield— it 

 may be hoped that our Treasury will soon see fit to allow potatoes 

 to be used for the production of that useful article which is so much 

 wanted in domestic and industrial economy, but which war prices 

 have made obtainable only at a quite excessive price. Potatoes are 

 a paying crop, and such employment of them would be a decided 

 help to small cultivators. There is also some distilling of sugar 

 beet, which yields the purest form of spirit known, such as is by 

 preference employed for the manufacture of perfumery. There is 

 also much starch and some syrup manufactured out of potatoes. 

 And straw is co-operatively compressed into boards. There is 

 co-operative peat-cutting. There is more besides. And when we 

 come to mere co-operative selling — which is the second stage to 

 production — we have abroad something noteworthy to see. We 

 have at home co-operative sale of fruit and of live stock, though not 

 to anything like the extent to which such commerce is practised 

 abroad. And when it comes to the co-operative sale of grain — 

 grain carefully prepared for market — intent as we are upon grain 

 growing, we are left altogether behind in the race. But some people 

 elsewhere make a good thing of it. 



Now I cannot undertake to enter here into particulars of the 

 several forms of co-operative sale and co-operative production prac- 

 tised. I have dealt with this subject in some detail elsewhere.* 

 But it behoves me to point out in a general way the advantages 

 which such co-operation secures and to show its effects. 



What first suggested co-operative sale unquestionably was the 

 common-sense reflection that if, say, twenty or thirty women, each 

 now carrying her own small basketful of eggs, poultry, vegetables, 

 or whatever the produce might be, to market by themselves, were 

 to combine, one woman would be able to do all the work required, 

 and there would be much time and labour saved. The next con- 

 sideration presenting itself probably was that, by dealing straight 

 with the consumer, a good deal of middleman's toll-taking might be 

 avoided, and so some money saved for the seller. When it comes to 



* See "Co-operation in Agriculture" and "The Future of Our 

 Agriculture." 



