90 THE RURAL PROBLEM 



sary. But here again England still keeps far behind the 

 rest of the agricultural world, and here again Denmark 

 easily takes the lead. 



The advantage of co-operative methods of sale to the 

 countries adopting them can be clearly traced by comparing 

 over a course of years the export figures of Denmark to 

 some neutral market like our own with similar figures for 

 other countries where such methods have not been adopted. 

 In the last 17 years the export of butter from Denmark 

 to the United Kingdom has increased enormously, while 

 that from France has declined by more than one-half. 

 Eggs from Denmark have multiplied threefold in that 

 period ; eggs from France have declined four-fold.* Co- 

 operation is undoubtedly the cause of the great advance 

 made by Denmark in comparison with France in the export 

 of dairy produce. In France the farmer makes his own 

 butter and takes it to the local market, where it is bought 

 by a commission agent, who disposes of it to the wholesale 

 merchant. The merchant then blends in a mill the produce 

 of a whole district. The price of the butter is thus loaded 

 with the profits of the agent, the merchant, and the cost 

 of blending, and the farmer has to be content with a smaller 

 return. The Denmark farmers have no middlemen to pay ; 

 they do their own blending and reap the whole profits 

 themselves. 



In England, too, there is a marked move in the direction 

 of co-operative sale.f The East Anglian Farmers, Ltd. 

 (London), returned a bonus of 2\ per cent, to the members 

 of the Covent Garden branch on the produce sold during 

 1912. The Pershore Co-operative Fruit Market, Ltd. 

 (Worcestershire), held its first sale as recently as June 17th, 

 1909, yet for the year 1911 it showed a turnover of £10,799, 

 paid 5 per cent, to the shareholders on capital invested, 

 25 per cent, to a reserve fund, 5 per cent, to employees, and 

 a bonus equal to 1 \ per cent, of the profits on the value 

 of the produce sold. The Wiltshire Farmers, Ltd., had a 

 turnover of £66,000 in the first half of 1912; and during that 

 year seven new dairy and egg societies were registered. 



* See Appendix L. 



t See Annual Reports of A.O.S. 



