i;o AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION 



facturers surrendered to the agent, through whom the 

 farmer had to send in his orders as before. Had the 

 farmer in question been a member of an agricultural 

 society for combined purchase, and had this society 

 formed part of a powerful combination, it is certain that 

 the agent would not have gained so easy a victory. In 

 any case, the incident is significant as showing the 

 position in which even a large farmer may be placed 

 when he stands alone. It also shows how a large firm 

 of manufacturers may be forced into a humiliating 

 position by the action of an agent to whom they find 

 themselves tied. 



Under the new regime in agriculture a group of 

 societies twenty, thirty, or more in number will each 

 get to know from the members their individual require- 

 ments in respect, say, to fertilizers, and each will thus 

 announce to the federation the total quantity it needs. 

 Some will want as little as 10 tons, others will want 

 250 or 500 tons, so that a i,ooo-ton order can soon be 

 made up. On the strength of such an order as this, 

 the federation has no difficulty in finding a manufac- 

 turer who is ready to concede the most favourable 

 terms, delivering as may be required, for cash down. 

 In the result the manufacturer is saved a great amount 

 of trouble, and he avoids having to wait six or nine 

 months for his money. As for the societies, the one 

 that orders 10 tons buys at the same price as the one 

 that orders 500 ; while the smallest individual purchaser 

 in the group pays as little as the largest, and he further 

 pays less in proportion than the buyer, however ' large,' 

 who is not in the combination. The purchases, again, 

 are made on the basis of a guaranteed analysis, and are 

 subject to close supervision. 



Not only have the leading British manufacturers 

 of artificial manures been won over to the side of the 



