62 



applications and send in a quarterly statement hereon to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture (Production Office). Other applications are for- 

 warded to the Department for decision after the society has expressed 

 its opinion thereon. 



According to the new regulations of the 2oth November 1920 the 

 State supports land-cultivation in the following ways: 



1. By cheap loans from the Land-cultivation Fund (Jorddyrknings- 

 fondet). 



2. By contributions for the reduction of interest on loans from Savings 

 Banks and from Norges Kreditforening for Land- og Skogbruk 

 (Norwegian Credit Society for Agriculture and Forestry). 



3. By direct grants. 



From the Land-cultivation Fund loans are granted for cultivation 

 operations that have been planned, but not yet carried out. The loans 

 are not given, as a rule, in larger amounts than Kr. 5000 and are 

 not granted to persons assessed . for taxation on a larger capital than 

 Kr. 50,000. The loan is exempt from repayment of capital for the first 

 5 years, and the repayment thereafter takes place during the following 

 15 years by means of equal annual instalments. The rate of interest is 

 2Vz per cent per annum. Loans can be made up to the amount at which 

 the cultivation work is estimated, but not exceeding Kr. 5000 per hectare. 



For reduction of interest on loans obtained for purposes of land- 

 cultivation from savings banks or from The Norwegian Credit Society 

 for Agriculture and Forestry the State makes a contribution correspon- 

 ding to the difference between the rate of interest prevailing from 

 time to time for first-mortgage loans from public funds and the rate at 

 which loans from the Land-cultivation Fund can be obtained. This diffe- 

 rence in rate of interest at present amounts to about 3 per cent. Otherwise 

 the same rules apply for these loans as for loans from the Land-culti- 

 vation Fund, except that the limit for capital possessed by applicants 

 for loans is in this case raised to Kr. 100,000. 



For cultivation work that has been planned but not executed the 

 State makes a direct contribution of i-4th of the cost of the work, 

 but not over Kr. 1250 per hectare. To this may be added a contribution 

 from the district. The grant is made only to persons who are not asses- 

 sed for a larger capital than Kr. 25,000 or for a larger income than 

 Kr. 4,000. 



Colonisation (the creation of new holdings) will, according to 

 the new regulations, be supported by the State by means of grants to colo- 

 nisation societies, amounting in general to 3 times the sum the societies 

 have been able to raise by other means, not including any contribution from 

 the State. In special cases the grant from the State may exceed this 

 limit. 



The local authorities can also act as colonisation societies. 



The colonisation generally proceeds in such a manner that the 

 societies or companies buy up stretches of uncultivated land and con- 

 struct the roads and main-drainage-trenches that are necessary in 



