1912. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1261 
AGRICULTURAL CREDITS IN EUROPE. 
No. 7. 
. Having discussed farm mortgage 
credits at some length, we now come 
to personal credits for the ordinary 
everyday requirements of farm busi¬ 
ness. The machinery for mortgage 
credits is found in the Landschaften, 
or associations of borrowers, who 
pledged their united holdings singly and 
severally for the money needed in order 
to get it at a low rate of interest and 
for long terms of years, and also in the 
mortgage bank, specially chartered and 
safeguarded by law so that its deben¬ 
tures or notes would sell readily at a 
low rate of interest to supply the money 
for the farm mortgage. 
In personal credits there is of course 
no mortgage, and the land enters as'a 
factor in it only as one of the assets of 
the borrower. The machinery for per¬ 
sonal credits in Germany are the 
Raiffeisen system and the Schulze-De- 
litzsch system, and the principles on 
which these systems are founded have 
been adopted and applied to local con¬ 
ditions in the other European countries. 
The Raiffeisen system is- to personal 
credits in many ways what the Land¬ 
schaften is to mortgage credits, while 
the Schulze-Delitzsch system is to per¬ 
sonal credits what the mortgage banks 
are to the realty credits. The Raiffeisen 
banks were formed exclusively for rural 
credits; the Schulze-Delitzsch was in¬ 
tended principally for town people, but 
always included a small percentage of 
small farm credits. Both systems are 
founded principally on personal credit. 
The loans being made on personal credit 
or on personal property, are usually 
short-time loans. The rural system 
originated with Frederick William Raif¬ 
feisen a century back on behalf of small 
farmers who found it difficult to secure 
personal credit on any terms, and who 
secured it at all only by usury rates to 
the money lenders. The Raiffeisen banks 
were established on the principle of 
societies of borrowers, pledging un¬ 
limited liability, confining the operation 
of each bank to limited areas and econo¬ 
mizing expense through gratuitous serv¬ 
ice of its members in the management 
of its business. He also established a 
rigorous moral and educational code 
for the membership. By unlimited lia¬ 
bility he established confidence in his 
modest originations by which he secured 
saving deposits and credits. He re¬ 
stricted or confined membership to 
neighbors who knew one another, and 
in that way avoided making bad loans. 
Each member, being personally responsi¬ 
ble, would be unwilling to make loans 
where there was reason to doubt that 
the debt would be repaid. Moreover, 
the loans were made only for produc¬ 
tive purposes, and the members could 
see that the money was properly used 
by the borrowers, as his operations were 
under daily observation by his fellow 
members. Gratuitous management, of 
course, eliminated expense and waste. 
Originally the Raiffeisen banks had 
no capital and no membership fee, but 
later on imperial law obliged cooperative 
credit societies to provide a foundation 
capital. Raiffeisen responded by making 
the capital shares nominal. Some of 
his followers did not see the necessity 
of Raiffeisen’s rigid rules and did not 
wish to mix his spiritual doctrines with 
their business affairs. Consequently, 
they used the foundation principles of 
his system, but modified his rules to 
suit themselves. This resulted in a 
chain of credit societies differing in 
many features from the pure Raiffeisen 
societies. These formed a federation 
of their own, but later all the banks 
of this type were united in a national 
federation. The individual societies, 
however, yet differ in minor details. 
They are all obliged now to have an 
incorporated capital, but in some cases 
the capital share assumes some propor¬ 
tions while in others it is merely nomi¬ 
nal, being as low as $2.50 per share or 
even less. Some of them have no en¬ 
trance fee, while others have established 
an entrance fee, which goes at once 
into a reserve fund. 
Being a neighborhood organization, 
the management of these societies is 
simple. They have a committee of man¬ 
agement, a supervising council and a 
treasurer, all appointed by the members 
in general meeting. The treasurer alone 
draws any salary. The expense of 
management is trifling, in some cases 
1/25 of one per cent, of the business 
done, and in no case exceeding one-half 
of one per cent. 
The working capital of the banks 
comes from the share capital, the re¬ 
serve, deposits from members and other 
amounts paid in on current account by 
borrowers, and money borrowed from 
their own central bank, from independ¬ 
ent banks and from individuals. In 
1909, the last available report, these 
banks in Germany had a working capi¬ 
tal of about $460,000,000 and loans out¬ 
standing about $377,000,000. There were 
15,158 banks and about 1,200,000 mem¬ 
bers. Only about 11 per cent, of 
the money needed was borrowed, the 
bulk of it coming from members either 
in payment of capital shares, reserves or 
deposits. However, while the figures 
are large in the aggregate, it will be 
noted that the capital per bank is not 
large and the average loan per member 
would seem trifling to us. There is no 
attempt to make big profits on these 
banks. Few of them pay any dividend 
on the stock, and those that do pay 
only the current rate of interest—four 
per cent. Yet the net profits for the 
year last reported was $1,750,000. This 
went to the reserve fund of the banks. 
JOHN J. DILLON. 
MEETING OF N. Y. STATE COMMITTEE 
ON CO-OPERATION. 
The meeting of the Committee on Co¬ 
operation of the N. Y. State Agricul¬ 
tural Society, held December 5, at the 
Board of Trade rooms in New York, 
was well attended, and great interest 
and enthusiasm were shown. 
The chief objects of the commit¬ 
tee’s work are to learn where improve¬ 
ments and economies can be made in 
the wholesale and retail distribution of 
foods, in large and small markets, and 
to develop a practical, concrete working 
interest in the matter. 
Both consumers and producers have 
been nearly helpless so far as the N. Y. 
City trade was concerned, because of 
the extortionate amounts taken by the 
transportation companies and middle¬ 
men, and the lack of retail markets at 
all commensurate with the size of the 
city. 
Among the subjects discussed were: 
Regulation of the commission business, 
proper grading and packing of products 
to meet the needs of family trade, and 
the establishment of a market system 
convenient to consumers, and yet much 
more economical in its workings than 
the present cumbersome plan of hand¬ 
ling by means of numerous wholesalers, 
jobbers and various hangers-on in the 
produce business. 
Mr. Driggs, of the market commis¬ 
sion appointed by Mayor Gaynor to in¬ 
vestigate the city end of the question 
spoke of the plans the commission has 
prepared. They include a large termi¬ 
nal at Fourteenth street and Hudson 
River, where all the produce of the city 
would come in, the cost to be about 
$10,000,000. It is planned to use elevated 
lines to carry freight cars to other 
terminals along the Hudson River. 
The conference opposed this plan of a 
single market. It favors the establish¬ 
ment of receiving terminals along the 
water front of the North and East 
River, and a sufficient number of retail 
markets for the handling of foods, in 
locations accessible to the population in 
the more crowded districts of the city. 
The city should furnish the sites and 
buildings for such terminals and retail 
markets, to be operated by a coopera¬ 
tive company of producers and con¬ 
sumers, paying the city a rental ap¬ 
propriate to the investment actually 
made. The committee’s plan is the or¬ 
ganization of a cooperative corporation 
of 100,000 shares of $5 each, and ' $1 
per share as a surplus, no individual to 
hold more than 100 shares, and to have 
only one vote for his holdings. The 
purpose of the company will be to 
handle the produce of local cooperative 
associations, and of other individuals 
who will comply with the grading and 
shipping conditions established by the 
company or State. Out of the profits 
of operation no more than six per cent, 
dividend shall be declared on the stock, 
the balance of the profits to be dis¬ 
tributed to the cooperators in propor¬ 
tion to the business they do with the 
concern. A resolution covering this 
plan was adopted, and a committee con¬ 
sisting of John J. Dillon, chairman; 
Mrs. Julian Heath, William Church 
Osborn, Ezra S. Tuttle, George W. 
Sisson and Hon. Seth Low were au¬ 
thorized to perfect a charter for the 
company and have it ready for filing at 
the meeting of the N. Y. State Agri¬ 
cultural Society in Albany, January 
13-16 next. 
Mrs. Julian Heath, president of the 
Housewives’ League, spoke of the pos¬ 
sibilities. of getting producers and con¬ 
sumers into direct contact by means of 
properly systematized lists of names, to 
which inquirers in each class could be 
referred, the producers’ organization 
to guarantee the quality of the goods 
and the Housewives’ League to guaran¬ 
tee payments. 
Hon. Seth Low, who has a large farm 
near Bedford, Westchester County, re¬ 
ferred to the work done by the local 
farmers’ cooperative society. “Last 
year we took care of 21 abandoned 
orchards. We sprayed, pruned and 
brought the old orchards back into bear¬ 
ing, and now for the first time in many 
years, Westchester County apples are 
being sold in New York through a co¬ 
operative system of distribution. We 
have built an evaporator for drying the 
apples not sold, and are going to put 
up a vinegar factory. YVe expect to 
bring back into production most of the 
orchards of Westchester County and to 
plant new ones, and propose to organize 
our own system of selling direct to the 
consumer in New York City. YVe have 
a capital of $135,000 now, and are going 
to use it for benefitting ourselves and 
the consumers, instead of the middle¬ 
men.” 
A resolution was adopted recommend¬ 
ing to the Legislature the creation of a 
food commission, similar to the present 
Public Service Commission, to establish 
markets in consuming centers, and to do 
everything possible to promote closer 
relations between producer and con¬ 
sumer. The meeting strongly endorsed 
the regulation of commission men by 
law, and a committee of three, includ¬ 
ing the chairman, was appointed to con¬ 
fer with Senator Franklin Roosevelt 
and assist him in drafting a bill to be 
introduced in the Legislature, covering 
this matter. 
A resolution was adopted, requesting 
the State Agricultural Society to secure, 
if possible, a liberal appropriation to 
further the work of cooperative move¬ 
ments looking to the economic distribu¬ 
tion of food products in the interest 
of the people of the entire State. In 
support of this resolution the chairman 
urged the fact that we have precedent 
world wide and centuries old in asking 
this appropriation. We are not asking 
the State to extend further educational 
or financial advantages to the people, 
but we are asking the State to 
come forward in the interest of its 
producers and of its consumers, to ef¬ 
fect an organization by which we can 
save the whole people of the State a 
lot of money. This has been done by 
the governments of England, Germany, 
France, and practically all the coun¬ 
tries of Europe, and some have gone 
further and lend very substantial aid 
to the organizations after they are ef¬ 
fected. YVe do not ask that and do not 
want it, because we think a cooperative 
organization is -better, more vital and 
more virile if it finances its own opera¬ 
tions, but we think this initiative step 
to help organize the producers is a 
proper one for the State. We think the 
State ought to help and believe it will. 
VERMONT FRUIT GROWERS MEET. 
The Vermont Horticultural Society held 
its eighteenth annual meeting at Middle- 
burg, November 19-21. The fruit exhibit 
was of high quality. Varieties that showed 
highest development, aud apparently the 
most perfect adaptation to the district, 
were McIntosh, Northern Spy, Fameuse 
and Rhode Island Greening. There were 
some fine exhibits of Baldwins, though they 
are not considered so well adapted. Barrels 
and boxes were about evenly divided in 
numbers of entries, a high degree being 
shown in each of these packs. 
Some rather unusual topics discussed 
were: The honey bee in horticulture, by 
Prof. M. B. Cummings; the care of bees 
for orchard purposes, by Mr. Larrabee; 
and deer and orchards, by State Commis¬ 
sioner J. W. Titeomb. The deer are ap¬ 
parently a nuisance in Vermont orchards, 
browsing off the green shoots, and they are 
said to go through or over any ordinary 
barbed wire fence. 
E. H. West of Dorset spoke on a spray 
for the apple maggot. Mr. West has prac¬ 
tically eradicated a severe infestation of 
this insect during the past season. The 
spray used is a solution of potassium ar¬ 
senate, syrup and water. One gallon of 
the arsenate and four gallons of the syrup 
(Karo being used by Mr. West) are used 
in 45 gallons of water, making a total of 
50 gallons of spray. This is applied to 
the apple foliage about July 1 and again 
September 1, since there are two broods. 
This! insect has been considered beyond the 
reach of spraying, because the egg is laid 
inside the apple and the larva remains in¬ 
side, tunneling the flesh, until its growth 
is completed. ■ The vulnerable point is with 
the adult, as a period of about three weeks 
elapses after the adult emerges before egg- 
laying begins. During this period it is 
readily poisoned by a sweetened arsenical 
bait. Mr. West found 29 adult flies that 
had died and fallen overnight on a single 
piece of cloth, six by 10 feet, spread under 
a tree immediately after the first spraying. 
On account of the danger of burning the 
foliage with the soluble arsenical, the first 
spraying was done only on the lower 
branches. Since no material burning re¬ 
sulted. however, the later application was 
sprayed all over the trees. 
Dr. Jarvis of the Connecticut Station 
spoke on orchard management, and the 
writer on orchard fertilization and the 
lime-sulphur spray. In his'talk Dr. Jarvis 
recommended the development and adop¬ 
tion of a distinctive package for New Eng¬ 
land apples. j. P. STEWART. 
Penn. Expt. Station. 
MICHIGAN STATE HORTICULTURAL 
MEETING. 
The annual meeting was held at Grand 
Rapids, November 11-16. 
The main problems that face the Michi¬ 
gan growers were brought out in the dis¬ 
cussions : Cooperative distribution and es¬ 
tablishing a standard for various kinds of 
apples. The blame for low prices was 
jointly attached to the general farmer who 
paid but little attention to his fruit, and 
the buyer blamed for seeking the inferior 
quality of goods, that he might make a 
wider margin of profit. 
Among the speakers were Robert Thomp¬ 
son, St. Catharines, Ont.; R. G. Phillips, 
secretary of the International Apple Ship¬ 
pers' Association, Rochester, N. Y. ; Thomas 
S. Smith, Chicago; Luther Hall, Bangor; 
Robert A. Sm.vthe, Coloma; Profs. H. J. 
Eustace, O. K. White, C. P. Halligan, A. 
J. Patten and R. H. Pettit, Lansing; Hon. 
II. It. Graham, Gx-and Rapids; Mrs. Paul 
Rose, Elberta ; J. E. Merritt, Manistee; 
Horace Sessions, Shelby; Paul Rose, El¬ 
berta, and W. S. Pullen, Hillsdale. Those 
who led discussions were F. J. Overton, 
Bangor; George Friday, Coloma; C. B. 
Cook, Owosso; Edward Hutchins, Fenn- 
ville; Supt. F. A. Wilken, South Haven; 
Oscar Barman, Grand Rapids; Charles B. 
Welch, Douglas; President Farrand, Eaton 
Rapids, and Charles F. Hale, Grand Rapids. 
Prof. White of Michigan Agricultural 
College advised in pruning trees to avoid 
crotches. “The first two years are import¬ 
ant in forming the tree, whether it is to be 
headed high or low, open or compact, 
strong or weak. The conveniences of the 
low headed tree are in pruning, thinning 
fruit and gathering, while if headed a little 
higher it enables the ground to be culti¬ 
vated more carefully. A tree with a low 
trunk is more stable than a high one. The 
lowest limb should not be below 2*4 feet 
or above feet. Many growers prefer 
one-year-old trees beeaxise they can govern 
distribution of top and avoid crotches. In 
pruning I prefer to pay attention to buds 
that have not been formed in branches. 
Four or five limbs should be left in a dis¬ 
tance of about 18 inches, and these limbs 
should be three or four inches apart. The 
secrets of cultivation are to break up the 
crust of the soil, kill weeds and reduce 
soil to line particles ” 
Mrs. Paul Rose of Elberta talked of fruit 
growing from the woman's standpoint. She 
explained how both she and her husband 
had their individual work to do in handling 
their fruit crops. Her duties were to handle 
the packers, and she distinctly informed 
the employees when they were hired as to 
the work they had to do. They were well 
paid and were so treated they returned 
year after year. 
Thomas S. Smith of Chicago, in speaking 
of varieties from the commercial stand¬ 
point, declared the Spy the best and most 
popular market apple. “Steele’s Red and 
Northern Spy,” he said, “will not turn 
brown in storage. Greenings keep a month 
longer without turning brown, if from 
Michigan, than from other States.” 
J. E. Merritt of Manistee described the 
developing of 800 acres of land for fruit 
growing. He said: “Success in clearing 
land on a large scale lies in doing it sys¬ 
tematically, and keeping busy continually. 
We first cut brush and small trees down to 
2% feet, we burn the brush, then with 
teams aud chains we snag as many of the 
stumps as we can, then we use the tackle, 
after which wo use the stump puller on the 
most obstinate ones. We pile our stumps 
in piles 40 feet high and burn.” 
W. S. Pullen of Hillsdale, Mich., dis¬ 
cussed the renting of orchards. He said 
there were 10 men in Hillsdale County 
handling orchards by the tenant system, 
and that if the owner would take his or¬ 
chard and apply the same methods as the 
professional orchard tenant does, he could 
make a greater profit than the one renting 
the trees. Robert Thompson discussed the 
benefits of cooperative associations. He said 
it enabled the fruit grower to secure his 
suplies at a much lower figure. They bought 
their supplies and paid cash for them. They 
effected this by going to members of the 
association and ascertaining the amount 
they would invest in material and take 
their notes for the amount they would 
buy. These were endorsed by the associa¬ 
tion and banked. In turn the banks would 
loan on these notes their face value. Hi; 
said no manager of an association can pro¬ 
duce results without having good directors 
and stockholders at his back. Rev. A. 
Bentali of Northport described the fruit 
growers’ association, which was organlzeu 
at first among the members of his church. 
A charge of five cents a barrel was made 
for marketing, and the net returns to the 
grower are $1.85 a barrel. 
In discussing spraying Prof. Pettit ad¬ 
vised applying the spray warm. Prof. 
White declared that commercial lime-sul¬ 
phur. if applied at the right time, would 
control apple scab. Copper sulphate is 
recommended for peach leaf curl. Prof. 
Fettit said the codling moth demands 
prompt spraying, and a few hours or a 
day or two insure success or failure. The 
spray must be forced between the stamen 
bars to accomplish results. However, this 
spraying period can be lengthened about a 
week or 10 days if a pump is used dis¬ 
tributing a spray under 200 pounds pres¬ 
sure. 
The following officers were elected : Presl 
dent, ,T. P. Munson, Grand Rapids; secre¬ 
tary, Charles E. Bassett, Fennville; treas¬ 
urer. Robert IT. Sm.vthe, Benton Harbor; 
executive committeemen, three years, Paul 
Rose, Elberta; one year, W. F. Hawxhurst, 
Saline, and F. A. Wilken, South Haven. 
Prof. L. A. Clinton, who for the past 10 
years has been director of the Connecticut 
Agricultural Experiment Station at Storrs. 
has resigned and accepted a position with 
the Office of Farm Management of the U. 
S. Department of Agriculture. Prof. Clin¬ 
ton’s work with the department will be to 
have charge of the farm management in¬ 
vestigations for the North Atlantic States. 
Bridgeport market worth at the present 
time 4#. cents per quart; Bordens, the last 
I knew, was 8% cents. Butter is 32 
cents; eggs, 45 cents per dozen at the 
door; onions. $1 per bushel; Winter tur¬ 
nips, 50 cents; potatoes, 70 cents. Ap¬ 
ples—Spies, $2.50; King, $2.50; Baldwins, 
$2; Greenings, $2. w. w. p. 
Botsford, Conn. 
