August, 1911.] 



151 Agricultural Finance 8c Co-operation. 



forms, however, an exception, as it is 

 supported entirely by the State. The 

 State grants to the agricultural societies 

 amount to about £11,000 per annum. In 

 most of the six hundred communes in 

 Norway there are agricultural asso- 

 ciations which are subsidiary to the 

 Societies. 



Attached to the agricultural societies 

 are a number of travelling officials, 

 whose work it is to advise and instruct 

 the country population in their country 

 in regard to agricultural and kindred 

 matters. The country agriculturists, of 

 whom there are at present thirty-four, 

 consequently act as advisers in questions 

 regarding agriculture and domestic 

 animals, and the country gardeners, who 

 now number twenty, in those relating 

 to horticulture. 



In certain communes, district agri- 

 culturists and district gardeners have 

 also been appointed. They are paid by 

 the respective communes, and their 

 work corresponds to that of the country 

 officials, with the difference that their 

 work is limited to one or two country 

 districts. One-half of their pay is 

 furnished by the State. Their number 

 is at present thirty, of whom twenty- 

 five are gardeners. These appointments 

 are of comparatively recent date and 

 only exist, as yet, in five counties. 



There are also travelling instructors 

 in cow-keeping, dairying, and pig- 

 breedicg, who are appointed by the 

 agricultural societies or by private 

 associations. 



Of other organisations that have been 

 formed to watch agricultural interests, 

 may be mentioned the Norwegian 

 Farmers' Association, to which farmers 

 from all parts of the country belong. 

 This association is not financially sup- 

 ported by the State. 



Agricultural Education. — The agri- 

 cultural schools have contributed largely 

 towards the advancement of agriculture. 

 An Agricultural High School was 

 founded in 1897 with the object of pro- 

 viding instruction— on a scientific basis— 

 in agriculture, dairying, forestry, horti- 

 culture, and surveying ; there are, at 

 present, about 150 students. The Budget 

 of the school, which is financed entirely 

 by the State, showed in 1910 an expen- 

 diture of about £23,000 and a revenue of 

 about £11,000. 



More elementary instruction in agri- 

 culture is afforded by seventeen agricul- 

 tural schools belonging to different coun- 

 ties and by three private schools. Three- 

 quarters of the expenses of the country 

 agricultural schools are defrayed by the 

 State and one-quarter by the respective 



counties. About 500 pupils are passed out 

 of these schools every year. There are 

 also four private agricultural schools, 

 with an aggregate of about 150 pupils 

 per annum. 



There exist, also, twenty schools for 

 domestic science, which are supported 

 by the State and the " amts." The State 

 grant for all these schools amounts to 

 about £20,000 per annum. 



In 1909 the State established a school 

 for women teachers in domestic economy. 

 About forty students a year pass 

 through the courses at this school, and 

 the grant in 1910 was about £1,660. For 

 providing instruction in horticulture 

 and dairying, the State has started 

 seven schools for each subject. The 

 State grants in 1910 were £1,740 and 

 £1,600 respectively. 



State Aid to Forestry. — About the 

 middle of the nineteenth century it be- 

 came apparent that the forests were 

 being badly managed and were decreas- 

 ing in value; men were therefore sent 

 abroad, principally to Germany, in 

 gradually increasing numbers to study 

 the science of* forestry. In 1857 a board 

 of scientifically trained foresters was 

 formed with the main object of manag- 

 ing the State forests. In 1863 a Forestry 

 Law was passed. It does not restrict 

 private owners in the use of their forest 

 land, but it contains rules regarding 

 the regulation of the rights of using 

 forest land, the management of common 

 land, and of forest land belonging to 

 official residences, and regarding ecclesi- 

 astical endowments and other forest 

 lands appropriated to Church livings 

 or belonging to the State. The Law of 

 1893 contains regulations restricting the 

 use of fire in woods and fields, and the 

 Law of 1893 regarding the preservation 

 of forests gives Local Councils the right 

 of prescribing rules, which must be 

 sanctioned by the King for the manage- 

 ment of private forests. This was 

 amended in 1908. 



The staff of the Board that manages 

 the State forests consists of four inspec- 

 tors of forests, twenty-five forest bailiffs, 

 and five assistant foresters, one forest 

 valuer, and one assistant valuer, all 

 trained foresters. There are also eleven 

 tree planters and 451 rangers who assist 

 in the management of the forests. 



In twelve counties foresters are main- 

 tained, whose duty it is to advise private 

 landowners in the treatment of their 

 forests. The salaries and travelling ex- 

 penses of these officials amount, at 

 present, to about £2,778 per annum, one- 



