102 AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION 



while that of the other is extraordinarily difficult." The 

 Committee endorsed the recommendation that local associa- 

 tions for the co-operative purchase of farming requisites 

 should be increased, and thought that " in many cases the 

 functions of such an association would form a fitting branch 

 of an existing Farmers' Club or Chamber of Agriculture/' 

 In regard to co-operation for sale they considered that, 

 notwithstanding the admitted difficulties, associations of 

 producers in particular districts for the joint disposal of 

 certain classes of produce would be advantageous ; and they 

 proceeded : 



It is not to be expected, however, that such associations will 

 arise spontaneously. They are only likely to be started, even 

 where they may be most desirable, as the result of an organised 

 and systematic mission to explain the principle of co-operation, 

 the probable advantages of its adoption in each particular case, 

 and the constitution, rules, and procedure which must be accepted 

 and followed if the harmonious and successful working of co- 

 operative associations is to be assured. In short, work similar to 

 that done in Ireland by the Irish Agricultural Organisation 

 Society would need to be done in this country by a purely 

 propagandist body. 



The Committee hesitate, however, to recommend an addition 

 to the numerous agricultural associations already existing, the 

 more so as they are of opinion that the end would be better 

 attained by utilising to some extent the machinery of the Central 

 Chamber of Agriculture, which already stands in some respects 

 in an analogous position to the Irish Agricultural Organisation 

 Society. 



Finally, the Committee recommended the Council of the 

 Central and Associated Chambers of Agriculture to consti- 

 tute a " Co-operation Section," which should comprise all 

 deputies and subscribing members of the Chamber desirous 

 of joining it, and should have power to take action, within 

 defined limits, and without committing the Chambers as a 

 whole, for the promotion of the principle of co-operation in 

 agriculture. 



In the light of subsequent developments, one may well 

 wonder what the history of agricultural co-operation would 

 have been if the movement had been directed and controlled 

 by the Central Chamber of Agriculture as here suggested. 



