CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES' IN GERMANY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume V, Issue 1, 15 July 1912, Page 32

CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES' IN GERMANY.

According to the latest official statistics available, there were in the German Empire, on the Ist January, 1909, 28,141 registered co-operative societies with 4,579,740 members. Of these societies 21,459 are chiefly rural in character. The most widespread co-operative movement is that of the credit societies ; of . these there are 16,641 co-operative credit organizations, no less than 14,596 being rural in character. There are 1,919 cooperative societies for the purchase of farm requisites, 393 for threshing, and 27 for steam ploughing. The number of agricultural co-operative sale societies is 349 : 133 for the sale of cattle, 114 for poultry-improvement and the sale of eggs, 88 for the sale of corn, and 44 miscellaneous cooperative marketing societies. There were, further, 3,584 agricultural cooperative manufacturing and marketing societies: 3,070 being dairies, 194 wine societies, 199 distilleries, 104 societies for the sale of fruit and vegetables, 4 slaughterhouses, 9 fishermen’s societies, and 4 forestry societies. We find, finally, 232 co-operative societies for improvement of cattle. Of the . 28,141 co-operative societies considered in the statistical report, 24,404 are members of federations, whilst only 3,737 belong to no federation. The central co-operative societies are 117 in number, divided as follows : 64 co-operative banks, 2 for the purchase of necessaries, 20 for the purchase of farm requisites, 25 for the purchase of agricultural produce. Of the 117 central co-operative societies 102 were affiliated to inspecting federations.

The central co-operative societies have altogether 23,966 members, 16,246 co-operative societies, 232 corporations, and 7,488 individual members. The total amount guaranteed by the liability of the members of the central co-operative societies is 325 million marks (£16,250,000) ; the liability of only one central society is unlimited. « Counting also the Central Agricultural Loan'Bank of Germany, which, although not of the ordinary form of a co-operative society, is conducted on co-operative principles, it may be stated that 21,764 co-operative societies, with 3,183,783 members — is, 75 per cent, of the total number of. co-operative societiesare affiliated to the central co-operative societies.