October, 1910.] . 



321 Agricultural Finance & Co-operation. 



and distributed in the general dividend 

 to purchasers. 



The returns relating to these two 

 groups of societies, obtained by the 

 Labour Department for the year 1908, 

 showed that there were then at work in 

 the United Kingdom 600 co-operative 

 societies formed specially for agricul- 



tural production and distribution, with 

 an aggregate membership of 79,468, a 

 total share capital of £201,367; loan 

 capital amounting to £199,817 ; reserve 

 and insurance funds amounting to 

 £145,119, and sales during the year 

 amounting to £3,222,043, upon which, 

 including interest on shares, a total 

 profit of £33,958 was shown. 





Distribution. 





Production. 



Total. 





Trading, Egg, and 

 Poultry, and Bee 

 Keepers' Societies of 

 all kinds. 



Special farming 

 and dairying 



Si i'h ' i df i oc 

 ODLI Oilier, 



Farming and 

 Dairying Dpts. of 

 Wholesale and 

 lletail Oistributive 

 Societies. 



Agricultural 

 Distribution and 

 , Production by 

 1 Societies of all 

 ' classer. 



1898 



1899 



1900 



1901 



1902 



1903 



1904 



1905 



1906 



1907 



1908 ... 



£ 



296,125 

 ooo,82o 

 380.535 

 385,619 

 440,786 

 498,315 

 532,913 

 589,641 

 841,900 

 1,136,502 

 1,292,503 



£ 



486,317 



dA £T 1 ETC 



045,15b 

 811,302 

 892,249 

 1,039,431 

 1,137,565 

 1,132,087 

 1,387,487 

 1,683,288 

 1,813,602 

 1,929,540 



£ 



228,514 

 307,548 

 397,366 

 427,676 

 478,534 

 427,594 

 401,383 

 402,639 

 473,258 

 477,379 

 494,889 



£ 



1,010,956 

 1,286,531 

 1,589,203 

 1,707,544 

 1,958,751 

 2,063,474 

 2,066,383 

 2,379,767 

 2,998,396 

 3,427,483 

 3,716,932 



Increase of 1908 over 1898 ... 



996,378 



1,443,223 



266,375 



2,705,976 



Percentage Increase 



336-5 



296-8 



116-6 



267-7 



These societies employed 2,267 persons, 

 and paid in salaries and wages during 

 the year a total of £93,839. 



Of these 600 societies, 298 were "pro- 

 ductive " societies, employing 1,659 per- 

 sons, and paying in salaries and wages 

 during the year £65,460, their total sales 

 amounting to £1,929,540 and their profit 

 to £27,878 ; while 302 were " distributive " 

 societies, employing 608 persons and 

 paying salaries and wages amounting to 

 £28,179, their total sales amounted to 

 £1,292,503 and their profit to £6,080, The 

 farming and dairying departments of 

 the 69 industrial societies and of one 

 agricultural distributive society em- 

 ployed 884 persons, paid in salaries and 



wages during the year £46,877, and pro- 

 duced goods to the value of £494,889. The 

 profit and loss on these departments were 

 not shown. 



The marked increase in the past three 

 years is largely due to the development 

 of co-operative agricultural distributive 

 societies in England and Wales, resulting 

 from the activities of the Agricultural 

 Organisation Society assisted by the 

 Board of Agriculture, 



Cattle Insurance Societies. — In addition 

 to the co-operative societies engaged in 

 production and distribution there were, 

 in 1908, 57 societies formed specially for 

 the mutual insurance of the cattle, pigs, 

 Sec belonging to their members. 



Cattle Insurance Societies. 



1904. 



1905. 



1906. 



1907, 



1908. 



No, of societies making returns 



53 



53 



58 



56 



57 



Total Membership ... 



3,505 



3,457 



3,718 



3,780 



3,872 



Receipts during Year: — 

 Contributions 

 Other receipts 



£ 

 1,369 

 377 



£ 



1,457 

 331 



£ 

 1,758 

 561 



£ 

 1,665 

 454 



£ 

 1,641 

 476 



Total Receipts 

 Expenditure during Year : — 

 Benefits to Members 

 Working Expenses 



1,746 



1,788 



2,319 



2,119 



2,117 



1,375 

 204 



1,242 

 250 



1,760 

 520 



1,539 

 421 



2,088 

 364 



Total Expenditure 



1,579 



1,492 



2,280 



1,960 



2,452 



Total funds at end of year 



7,210 



7,491 



7,899 



8,091 



7,868 



41 



