12 



BULLETIN 547, U. S. DEPABTMENT OF AGBICULTUBE. 



a strict interpretation of the definition of cooperation, it has been 

 thought best to include all of those in which the benefits of the busi- 

 ness to some extent accrue to the farmer patrons, which benefits 

 would not have been secured from a private company, owned and 

 operated for the sole purpose of making money in the business. 



There are undoubtedly a number of organizations whose names and 

 addresses have not yet been secured, and probably some of those that 

 failed to reply are actively engaged in business; consequently this 

 survey does not cover all of the organizations. It is believed, how- 

 ever, that those included represent most of the going concerns, and 

 that the information secured is fairly complete. Many cooperative 

 associations reach the point of organization only, as is shown by the 

 large number of letters received by the Department of Agriculture 

 from farmers, stating that an association had been formed in their 

 community, but as yet had failed to do business to any considerable 

 extent. 



DESCRIPTION OF TABLES. 



The information secured from the survey has been summarized 

 and is presented in Tables I to III, inclusive. In Table I the total 

 number of farmers' organizations reporting to the Office of Markets 

 and Rural Organization, for each class of business, is shown by States 

 as well as for the United States as a whole. (See also Charts 2 and 3.) 

 The column headed " Grain elevators and warehouses" includes the 

 grain warehouses common in the North Pacific States as well as the 

 regular grain elevators. Creameries and cheese factories have been 

 grouped together because in a number of instances one plant makes 

 both butter and cheese. As many associations handle both fruit and 

 produce, these two forms have been grouped in the same manner. 

 The miscellaneous class includes the enterprises that could not be 

 grouped in any of the other classes. Of the 5,424 organizations in- 

 cluded in this report, 1,637 are grain elevators and warehouses, 1,708 

 creameries and cheese factories, 871 fruit and produce, 213 cotton, 

 275 store, 43 tobacco, 96 live stock, and 581 miscellaneous associations. 



Table I. — Total number of farmers' organizations reporting for each class of business, 



by States. 





Total 

 number 

 report- 

 ing. 



Kind of business. 



State. 



Grain 



elevator 



and 



warehouse. 



Cream- 

 eries and 

 cheese 



factories. 



Fruit 



and 



produce. 



Cotton. 



Stores. 



Tobacco. 



Live 

 stock. 



Miscel- 

 laneous. 





51 



7 



89 



197 

 53 

 20 

 5 

 69 

 55 

 59 



203 







26 

 3 



63 

 124 



28 

 3 

 1 



55 

 5 



17 



11 



19 

 1 



15 

 2 



1 





1 



4 











3 







1 

 20 

 13 

 14 



3 



3 

 11 

 1 







7 











34 





3 







8 









3 















1 







2 



44 









12 









2 

 1 



2 







4 





9 

 192 



6 



34 







26 



Illinois. 







24 



