54 GERMANY 



The local agricultural co-operative societies 

 in Germany are supplemented by agricultural 

 unions, great and small, which have been a 

 material factor in improving the general position. 

 In the report already referred to, the British Con- 

 sul at Stuttgart says, respecting these unions : — 



They are devoted to the collection, utilization, and 

 propagation of the agricultural knowledge and experi- 

 ence gained by theory and practice, and to the furtherance 

 of the interests of agriculture in its commercial and eco- 

 nomical aspects. . . . The great measure of success 

 which has hitherto crowned the efforts of the agricul- 

 tural unions is principally owing to the method of 

 organization, which seeks to unite all the different 

 branches into large and powerful corporations with well 

 defined and similar objects. Beginning with the small 

 local unions, there follow branch, district, and county 

 unions, all these being united together in the central and 

 provincial agricultural corporations of the smaller States 

 and provinces. These are again united into the highest 

 agricultural corporations of the larger States, which often 

 possess a semi-official character — for instance, in Prussia 

 the Land Economy Council, in Bavaria the Agricultural 

 Council, in Saxony the Land Cultivation Council, and so 

 forth. The apex of the whole organization and the 

 highest condensed expression of German agricultural 

 wishes is embodied in the Imperial German Agricultural 

 Council. In addition to these semi-official representative 

 agricultural bodies, there exist other special associations 

 which have been formed for the purpose of furthering the 

 interests of special branches of agriculture or agricultural 

 industries. 



