202 AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION 



In this same year the manager of the East Sussex Farmers' 

 Co-operative Society made an arrangement with a merchant 

 to purchase the members' hay on favourable terms, the 

 annual report of the A. O. S. saying in regard thereto : 



On being notified by the manager that a member has hay to 

 sell, the merchant will send a representative to view it, and will 

 give full market price for it, besides allowing the society a small 

 commission on the transaction. 



It is very difficult for a farmer who only sells his hay or grain 

 once a year to deal on equal terms with a merchant who is 

 constantly buying and selling, and it is an immense advantage 

 to be able to sell through a society which has the same knowledge 

 of the market as a merchant, and will place that knowledge at 

 its members' disposal. 



A still further increase in the number of societies selling 

 for their members the commodities mentioned was reported 

 in 1910. " The advantages," remarked the A. O. S. 

 report for the year, " of being able to get in touch with 

 sound firms who are prepared to give the full market value 

 for produce have enabled the societies to assist their members 

 to an extent not hitherto possible." The business done 

 by the Eastern Counties Farmers' Co-operative Association 

 in the sale of members' produce has undergone steady 

 expansion and has now assumed considerable proportions, 

 additional accommodation having had to be provided 

 for dealing with seeds. 



F. ORGANISATION OF THE WOOL INDUSTRY. 



The imports of sheep's or lamb's wool into the United 

 Kingdom in 1911 amounted in value to over 33,000,000, 

 those from Australasia alone being calculated at close on 

 22,000,000. The number of sheep in various large pro- 

 ducing countries of the world in the years stated was as 

 follows : 



COUNTRY. YEAR. NUMBER OF SHEEP. 



Australia 1910 91,676,231 



New Zealand 1910 24,269,620 



Argentina 1908 67,212,000 



United Kingdom . . . . 1910 31,184,587 



