Agricultural Finance & Co-operation. 240 



[September, 1910, 



Associations for co-operative dairying 

 have also been formed at Kilmanrs and 

 Kilmalcolm, 



The organisation of the poultry indus- 

 try continues to make progress, both in 

 the formation of new societies and in 

 extension of the work of those already 

 existing. The Executive Committee have 

 co-operated with the Highland and Agri- 

 cultural Society in the expenditure of 

 that Society's grant of £50 towards the 

 improvement of poultry in the High- 

 lands, and they report that this expen- 

 diture promises to yield excellent results, 

 ,*i tid that the improvement of marketing 

 organisation and the improvement of 

 poultry breeding are processes mutually 

 helpful to one another. Very substan- 

 tial increases in the price of eggs have 

 resulted from the Society's work in 

 Orkney, in Lochaber, and in other 

 districts. 



Apart from these two special indus- 

 tries, the Report of the Society for 1909 

 states that the district Societies have 

 been enabled to assist their members to 

 obtain very substantial advantages, 

 either in the price and quality of seeds, 



manures, feeding stuffs, implements, and 

 other requisities, purchased or in the 

 sale of produce. In almost every in- 

 stance where district societies have 

 taken to buying collectively the agricul- 

 tural seeds, manures, feeding stuffs, 

 implements, &c, required by their mem- 

 bers, an immediate effect has been not 

 only a direct advantage to the members, 

 but a considerable lowering of the prices 

 quoted for these commodities by local 

 traders and merchants ; and on the other 

 hand, wherever the produce, such as 

 milk, or its manufactured products, eggs, 

 and certain products of the fishing in- 

 dustry, such as crabs, lobster, &c, have 

 been collectively put on the market, 

 higher prices have been obtained, with 

 the effect of stimulating local traders 

 also to offer increased prices for such 

 produce. It is remarked, however, that 

 there are too many farmers who are 

 content to take advantage of the bene- 

 fits which the co-operative movement 

 has conferred, without doing anything 

 themselves to strengthen or help the 

 work of organisation. 



The Society has issued eighteen leaf- 

 lets, four of which are in Gaelic. 



EDUCATION. 



COURSES OF READING AND 

 EXAMINATIONS IN PRACTICAL 

 AGRICULTURE, 



(Prom the Imperial Department of Agri- 

 culture for the West Indies. No. 1, New 

 Series, February, 1910.) 



Reading Courses have been established 

 under the direction of the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture for the pur- 

 pose of enabling overseers on estates, 

 and others engaged in the practice of 

 Agriculture, to acquire, from reading, 

 knowledge that they can apply in con- 

 nexion with their practical work. 



Examinations will be held periodically 

 at various cent res in the West Indies, at 

 which times, persons who have previous- 

 ly been registered as students in the 

 R eading Courses may become candidates. 



Examinations will be held during 

 October and November each year. 

 Tnere are three examinations in the 

 series :— Preliminary. Intermediate and 

 Final. Each examination consists of 

 two parts, written and orai. The oral 

 part is intended to bring out the candi- 

 date's knowledge in its practical appli- 

 cation to his work and, in the Inter- 

 mediate and Final Examinations, this 



part will be conducted by representa- 

 tive planters at each centre, who may 

 from time to time be willing to assist 

 the Department in this service. 



The Preliminary Examination requires 

 a general all-round knowledge and edu- 

 cation, such as might be expected of 

 an intelligent young man about to 

 begin his caveer in the planting pro- 

 fession. Candidates who have passed 

 the Cambridge Senior Local Examina- 

 tion iu Agricultural Science, or the ex- 

 aminations in Agricultural Science at 

 Harrison College, Barbados, or who 

 aie in possession of any other certifi- 

 cate which may be deemed by the Im- 

 perial Commissioner of Agriculture to 

 be an equivalent, will be excused from 

 takirg the Preliminary Examination. 



The Intermediate Examination is of a 

 standard to require such knowledge of 

 planting work and the general principles 

 of Agriculture as might be expected of 

 an intelligent overseer of a few years' 

 experience. 



The Final Examination requires such 

 knowledge as might be expected from a 

 man capable of being entrusted with the 

 management of an estate. 



