ORGANISATION. 197 



with a simple binder. Investing the money saved by its 

 use in new machinery, it has by degrees accumulated an 

 entire equipment of all that is required on a modernised 

 farm, and does decidedly well with such outfit. At Stot- 

 fold, in Hertfordshire, the local Small Holdings Society 

 own even their horses in comm.on and find it answer. All 

 those inconveniences and frictions, the fear of which was 

 so freely expressed before this form of Co-operation came 

 into use, have in practice been found easily avoidable. 

 There can be little doubt that the same form of Co-operation 

 will also in the post-war development of our Agriculture 

 be very much resorted to. And there can be no doubt 

 whatever that it will prove a boon. 



There are other objects still for which Co-operation in 

 the form of common work has been, and may wdth advantage 

 be, employed. We are not likely to require those co-opera- 

 tive fumigating installations to keep the frost off the fields 

 at night, which are much used in French vine-growing 

 districts, and also in the United States ; nor yet, and even 

 less, those co-operative sky-bombers which either truly 

 or only in imagination disperse hailclouds, either chasing 

 them away altogether, or else bringing down the hail in 

 them in the innocuous shape of something resembling soft 

 snow. But we have already found Co-operation useful 

 in the matter of water supply — for instance, in the North 

 Riding. In America Co-operation is freely impressed for 

 purposes of irrigation. In France the associations syndi- 

 cales — meaning thereby those not of the official order — 

 which group together neighbours in some more or less wide 

 district for a variety of common work, are at times found 

 very serviceable indeed. In Germany such special associa- 

 tion is not necessary, because farmers are already sufficiently 

 associated together for all kinds of common work, more 

 particularly in the Raiffeisen societies, which make a point 

 of providing co-operatively for all the wants of their 

 members. 



Attention has already been called to the remarkably 

 stimulating effect which Co-operation is generally found to 

 exercise upon the pursuit of Education. But the matter 



