124 AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION 



grants, upon such terms as the Board may determine, to any 

 society having as its object or one of its objects the promotion of 

 co-operation in connection with the cultivation of small holdings 

 or allotments. 



As the result of this new legislation considerable demands 

 began to be made upon the A. O. S. for assistance in the 

 formation of co-operative small holdings and allotment 

 societies, and the greater part of the time of the staff was 

 engaged thereon, although the organisation of agricultural 

 co-operative societies in other directions called for increased 

 energy and was pushed forward with, if possible, still greater 

 vigour. 



It was evident that, under the Small Holdings and Allot- 

 ments Act, the scope, purpose and future working of the 

 A. O. S. would be very materially affected, and that, unless 

 the Society were enabled to control larger funds than were 

 then available, it could not possibly show itself equal to 

 requirements. An application for a grant was made to the 

 Board of Agriculture, which eventually agreed, with the 

 consent of the Treasury, to a grant of 1,200 per annum for 

 a period of three years from April ist, 1909, provided that 

 the income of the Society from subscriptions and donations 

 in each year was not less than 1,200. In the event of the 

 income of the Society exceeding that sum the grant to be 

 made by the Board was to be increased by a corresponding 

 amount, with a maximum of 1,600. Further conditions of 

 the grant were that the Society should have a Committee of 

 Management of twenty-four members, including six to be 

 nominated by the Board of Agriculture and two by the 

 National Poultry Organisation Society ; and that the 

 Society should appoint at least three organisers for the 

 promotion of co-operation in connection with the cultivation 

 of small-holdings or allotments, one of the three to be 

 conversant with the organisation of co-operative societies 

 for the production and sale of poultry and eggs. 



The six members of the Committee of the A. O. S. nominated 

 by the Board of Agriculture were : Mr. E. J. Cheney and 

 Mr. M. T. Baines (Small Holdings Commissioners), directly 



