Co-operative Breeding oe Stock. 



93 



" No member of the society may have the use of one of these 

 bulls until his annual subscription to the society has been paid." 



The bulls are purchased by the society as required. They 

 are kept by farmers in the county, but remain the property of 

 the society. The fees become the property of the person who 

 keeps the bull, to repay him for the trouble and expense to 

 which he is put. Whilst purchasing bulls of good quality and 

 breeding, the society limits the price given for each to thirty 

 guineas, and its experience has been that the loss incurred 

 upon each bull is something like £12 to £14, i.e., the difference 

 between buying and selling to the butcher. So far, no applica- 

 tion has been made for a bull of any breed other than Shorthorn. 



The Leek and District Society has the use of two pedigree 

 bulls, which the owner has placed in charge of the Agricultural 

 Committee of the Society for the benefit of the members residing 

 within the Leek Parliamentary Division. 



The rules of this society are on similar lines to those quoted 

 above, but the fee to ordinary members (subscribing 5s. per 

 annum), and to cottagers or labourers keeping not more than 

 five head of horn stock (and subscribing 2s. 6d. per annum), is 

 5s. per cow. To non-members the fee is 10s. 



Fees are paid at first service ; but it is understood that no cow 

 may be served more than twice, as if she does not hold at the 

 second service she is evidently ^uch an uncertain breeder that it 

 is in the interests both of the society and of her owner that she 

 should be left alone. 



Other rules in force in the Leek Society are the following : — 

 No cow which has cast her calf shall be served by either of the 

 bulls for a period of three months, under a penalty of five guineas. 

 The person who keeps a bull has free service of the same for his 

 cows, and it is suggested that each bull shall stand for three 

 months at a place. 



No limit is laid down by the Leek Society as to the total 

 number of cows which may be served by a bull ; nor is it 

 anticipated that any difficulty will arise from the farmer who 

 keeps the bull using it for too many cows, which might be unfair 

 for the other members. Still, it would probably be better, as is 

 done in the Northumberland Society, to place a limit upon the 

 total number of cows to be served. 



