1907.] 



AsPATRiA Agricultural Society. 



755 



some elementary education and more modern ideas of seemli- 

 ness in living, is only to be persuaded to a country life by a 

 decent, habitable, and healthy cottage, with sufficient land 

 attached. The Committee are of opinion that the supply of 

 labour would tend to increase if cottages were detached from 

 the farm lease and made free, as it would make the men less 

 dependent on the farmer and give greater security of tenure. 

 If higher rents were charged for cottages, the labourers in their 

 turn would receive correspondingly higher wages, and the land- 

 lord would receive proportionately less for the farm, but would 

 be receiving the rents for the cottages direct. It would, there- 

 fore, be to the ultimate benefit of all concerned if the tied 

 cottage system were done away with as soon as practicable, and 

 the change is, in fact, being made on many estates with mutual 

 satisfaction without any of the objections that have been 

 advanced being realized. It would be quite easy in the case 

 of a cottage so situated as to be a necessary part of the 

 equipment of a farm to provide in the lease that employment 

 on the farm should be a part of the conditions of occupancy. 



The Aspatria Agricultural Co-operative Society was established 

 thirty-five years ago for the co-operative purchase of fertilisers, 

 feeding stuffs, seeds, and other requirements 

 Aspatria for farmers in the neighbourhood, not only 



cf-opera^^^^ '""'^^^ "^^^''^ obtaining them at a 



Society. reasonable price, but also to secure a 



reliable article. All the cakes, manures, 

 &c., purchased are analysed on behalf of the Society and sup- 

 plied under guarantee. The share capital is subscribed, and 

 hitherto interest has been paid on this at the rate of 5 per cent. 

 In consequence, however, of much of the capital being contri- 

 buted by non-purchasing members, the interest to members 

 whose purchases do not amount to £10 per annum has been 

 reduced to 3 J per cent, members buying more than th^t value 

 still receiving 5 per cent. A dividend of 3d. in the £ on the 

 amount of the purchases was also paid last year. 



An interesting example of the advantages of a careful 

 examination of the feeding stuffs supplied occurred recently in 



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