66 THE GREEN RISING 



ister of Agriculture in Great Britain, has directed 

 attention to another retarding influence on the co- 

 operative selling of farm products. "The British 

 farmer/' says Mr. Buxton, "is a bad seller because 

 he has a good market. It is too near his doorstep. 

 He has always been able to get rid of his goods, but 

 the slump has convinced him that a change is neces- 

 sary." In urging cooperation he directs attention to 

 the necessity of grading of all kinds of agricultural 

 produce as a means of insuring a larger fixed de- 

 mand. "One of the main difficulties affecting bacon 

 factories in this country/ 7 he says, "is the supply 

 of the right kind of pig. Only a uniform standard- 

 ized bacon can successfully compete with the reli- 

 able type imported from Denmark." He makes the 

 same observation with reference to egg distribution 

 and the sale of fruits and vegetables. 



Agricultural writers in Europe have become some- 

 what alarmed for fear the agricultural movement 

 might be carried too far. Helen Douglas Irvine, in 

 her recent book on The Making of Rural Europe, 

 directs attention to the fact that there are three 

 groups of farmers who are affected by, and who 

 affect, economic welfare through cooperation. The 

 first includes those farmers who are too poor for 

 successful cooperation because of inadequate leisure 

 to think through the details of the plan. The 

 second includes the capitalist farmers whose coop- 

 eration on a large scale may prove a danger to 

 society through monopolistic tendencies. The third 



