Agricultural Finance & Co-operation, 152 



[August, 1911. 



half of which is paid by the State ; the 

 other half is, as a rule, paid by the 

 respective counties. 



Forestry Education. — In addition to 

 the forestry section at the Norwegian 

 Agricultural High School, which has a 

 three-year course, the State supports 

 two elementary schools of forestry at a 

 cost of about £1,100. The coarse lasts 

 one year, and the number of pupils 

 averages forty-eight ; instruction is free. 



There are likewise three county schools 

 of forestry, the expenses of which are 

 paid by the counties in question, but 

 which also receive a grant from the 

 State. 



The State has also instituted several 

 nurseries., which furnish the plants re- 

 quired for the State forests and supply 

 private land owners with plants. 

 Several seed farms have been laid out 

 by the State, whence the seed is derived 

 for the use of the State and for sale to 

 private persons. 



The Norwegian Forestry Association. — 

 In 1898 the Norwegian Forestry Associ- 

 ation was privately formed for the 

 furtherance of forestry. This associ- 

 ation has been strongly supported and 

 has branches in all the counties. The 

 State grant to the Society amounts at 

 present to £6,256, this sum being used 

 mainly in assisting private owners of 

 forests to sow and plant trees and to 

 drain swampy forest land. The grant 

 from the State is paid out through the 

 branch offices, which must prccure a 

 similar amount from the Local Councils 

 or from private persons, as a contri- 

 bution towards the cost of the work 

 that is to be carried out. By the publi- 

 cation of a monthly Journal, and by 

 issuing pamphlets from time to time, 

 the Association endeavours to promote 

 knowledge regarding the proper manage- 

 ment of forests. 



DENMARK. 



A New Bill on Co-operation. 



The May Number of the Bulletin of 

 Social and Economic Intelligence, 

 published by the International Institute 

 of Agriculture contains the text and the 

 introduction of the bill on co-operative 

 societies, recendy presented to the 

 Parliament by the Danish Government, 

 of which we think it well to give some 

 account, in consideration of the import- 

 ance that agricultural co-operation has 

 attained in that country. 



There are, in fact, at present in 

 Denmark more than 3,000 agricultural 

 co-operative societies, a very consider- 



able number for a country of not more 

 than two and a half million inhabitants. 



It was through co-operation that the 

 small aud medium-sized Danish property 

 was able to acquire strength and profit 

 by the methods of extensive cultivation 

 and wholesale trade. Thanks to it, meat, 

 bacon, butter and eggs have become 

 articles of very considerable export, the 

 amount of which has risen, in only 30 

 years, from 30 million to more than 300 

 million crowns. 



In Denmark there was no special legis- 

 lation upon co-operation with the excep- 

 tion of a few provisions in favour of the 

 cattle breeding societies and others 

 intended for the development of agricul- 

 tural credit. Even the present legislative 

 movement is not due to any strongly 

 felt need of the co-operators, but to the 

 necessity of better regulating the limited 

 liability societies ; and, as a law had to 

 be made for these, it was inevitable that 

 the co-operative societies should be dealt 

 with. 



The new bill is very simple. It consists 

 of thirty-six articles and tends to give 

 uniformity as far as possible to the prac- 

 tice of the societies. It defines co-oper- 

 ation as essentially economic ; co-oper- 

 ative societies are such as "without com- 

 ing under the head of those provided for 

 in article 1 of the law on limited liability 

 societies are founded with the intention 

 of obtaining for their members the imple- 

 ments or other articles necessary for 

 their business, selling the produce of 

 their members' industry, and otherwise 

 favouring, but also by economic means, 

 their economic interests." 



The law prescribes the registration of 

 the society in the registers of the co-oper- 

 ative societies. It leaves it to the socie- 

 ties to establish in their rules whether 

 they may or may not do business with 

 non-members. The number of members 

 is unlimited. 



Unless otherwise provided in their 

 rules, the members are jointly and 

 severally liable to the creditors of the 

 society for the engagements made 

 by it. Yet the creditors may take 

 no measures against the individual 

 members until after having tried in vain 

 to obtain satisfaction from the society. 



If the rules provide for limited 

 liability, the amount for which each 

 member is liable to third parties for the 

 engagements of the society can never be 

 less than 100 crowns. In any case the 

 liability of members who have left the 

 society continues for a year from date of 

 their retirement. Other provisions 

 regard the internal life of the society 



