1905.] Agricultural Imports of Cereal Year. 341 



" In addition to removing friction and disseminating knowledge, such conferences 

 would give a powerful stimulus to the movement towards co-operation, by bringing 

 under the notice of agriculturists concrete instances of the advantage of aggregating 

 their consignments, and generally in the making ot combined arrangements for the 

 distribution of their produce. 



"I hope therefore that you will favourably consider my suggestion that such con- 

 ' ferences should be held at different agricultural centres in your system with one of 

 the chief officers of your Company. I should always be glad, if desired, to arrange 

 for the attendance for one of our Inspectors, and to do all in my power to promote 

 friendly relations between agriculturists and the Railway Companies. 



" Yours faithfully, 



{Signed) " AilwYn E. Fellowes." 

 P-S. — We would of course invite agriculturists to attend any conferences which 

 might be thus arranged. 



The replies which Mr. Fellowes has received from the Chair- 

 men and General Managers are of a very cordial character, and 

 there is complete unanimity among them in expressing their 

 willingness to take part in conferences of the description pro- 

 posed whenever they may be thought desirable. 



Mr. Fellowes desires to bring these circumstances under your 

 notice, and to suggest for your consideration that if any of your 

 members are experiencing difficulty in disposing of agricultural 

 produce owing to delay in transit or heavy cost of carriage, or 

 if any of them are adversely affected by an inequality or 

 anomaly in rates, or by the insufficiency of facilities at their 

 disposal for the carriage of agricultural produce by rail, you 

 should communicate with the Board, giving particulars of the 

 difficulties or anomalies in question, with a view to the holding 

 of a conference between some of your members, and representa- 

 tives of the Railway Companies, and one of the Inspectors of 

 the Board. 



I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 



T. H. Elliott, 



Secretary. 



AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS OF THE CEREAL 



YEAR. 



The close of the period known as the cereal year (1st Sep- 

 tember to 31st August) affords an opportunity of considering 

 the extent to which during the past twelve months this country 

 has relied on foreign supplies of grain to supplement the home 

 harvest of 1904. 



