68o 



Notes on Agriculture Abroad. [nov., 



Sale of Machinery through Peasants' Credit Associations in Russia. 

 — Some details as to the peasants' credit associations in Russia are 

 given in a report by H.M. Vice-Consul at Kharkoff (Mr. C. Blakey). 

 It is stated that these associations are becoming an important factor 

 in the economic life of the country by raising the peasants' standard 

 of living. The members' deposits amount to ^5,300,000, and the 

 annual turnover at ^21,000,000. The associations have a liberal bank 

 credit; they give loans for the purchase of land, cattle, and imple- 

 ments, or for the building of houses, and they advance money on 

 grain. In the trade in seeds, artificial manures, agricultural imple- 

 ments, roof iron, and ironmongery, they are likely to supplant to 

 some extent the Zemstvos. At present the associations cannot pur- 

 chase on their own account, but only on account of individual members 

 who may be helped by the joint credit ; the associations can sell on 

 commission, however, and they obtain goods from factories willing to 

 send such goods on commission, and return those unsold. The dis- 

 advantages in connection with these arrangements for purchasing goods 

 are that the individual members cannot see the machinery, &c, before 

 purchasing, and the manufacturers have not sufficient confidence as 

 to the safety of their wares to send large quantities of goods for 

 sale on commission. To obviate these disadvantages, the Ministry of 

 Agriculture have drawn up a form of general contract, by signing 

 which firms on the one side and associations on the other enter into 

 reciprocal obligations which control any transactions between signa- 

 tories with regard to agricultural machinery transactions. According 

 to an investigation made by the Ministry, the number of associations 

 which could accept agricultural machinery and the estimated number 

 of implements which could be sold in each year between February 

 and September are as follows : — 



Implements. 



Association which 

 could accept 

 machinery. 



Estimated number 

 of implements which 

 could be sold. 



Ploughs 



433 



22,514 



Harrows, cultivators 



108 



1,702 



Sowing machines 



183 



2,672 



Harvesting machines ... 



182 



4,405 



Mowers ... 



29 



675 



Horse rakes 



18 



382 



Threshers ... ... ... ... 



140 



1,046 



Winnowing machines ... 



287 



5»525 



Chaff cutters 



90 



1,153 









There are a few rich credit associations which own money inde- 

 pendently of the members' deposits, which they are permitted to 

 use for speculative trading. Such associations, as, for instance, those in 

 Berdiansk and Melitopol, do a large trade, and purchase for their own 

 account machinery, both for cash and on credit. (F.O. Reports, 

 Annual Series, No. 4537.) 



