VARIOUS CO-OPERATIVE AND SEMI-CO- 

 OPERATIVE UNDERTAKINGS 



Co-operative use oj Agricultural Machinery. — Several co- 

 operative societies have been formed for the purpose of joint 

 purchase and use of steam or motor threshing machines. A 

 loan is usually raised on joint liability at a local savings bank ; 

 when this has been repaid the expenses of keeping and working 

 the thresher are apportioned according to the number of 

 bushels of corn threshed for each member. Drills and other 

 sowing machines, mowers, harvesters and self-binders are often 

 used jointly on co-operative lines. By an official inquiry,! 

 pubHshed in 1910, but referring to information collected in 

 1907, it was found that of the total number of agricultural 

 holdings in the country on which the machines named were 

 used, the following percentages correspond to the number of 

 holdings where the farmers were co-operative users of the 

 machines : — 



steam threshers ... 

 Electro-motor threshers 

 Other motor threshers 



56 

 36 

 44 



Drills ... 



Mowers 



Self-binders 



32 

 19 

 13 



Some societies own and work machinery for cleaning and 

 sorting corn and seed of roots, grass, and clover. 



Co-operative Electric Generator Societies have been formed 

 to the number (in 1916) of 271. In 1914 the number was 

 officially^ stated to be 199, all being in the country districts. 

 It is a question whether co-operative action in this field has not 

 had the effect of splitting rather than of combining, and whether 

 it may not have caused many local works to be built where a 

 few central works would have produced the electricity more 

 economically. 



1 Statistiske Meddelelser, 4 Roekke, 34 Binds 2 Hoefte. 

 « Statistisk Tabelvoerk; 5 Roekke, Litr. A., No. 7. 

 150 



