Spirit-sale revenue given to the Agricultural Societies:
Calendar year Annually, kronor
1856-1860 . . . . . . . . . 183143
1861—1865 ........................................ 240 520
1866—1869 ........................................ 247 224
Sale year
»/» 1870—s%> 1875 '.................... 364 334
Mo 1875—="/» 1880 ........................ 860 224
o f years nearly all the financial support received by agriculture was that bestowed
by the Agricultural Societies, the State contributing very little by means
of direct grants for this purpose. During the last few years, however, State
grants for the promotion of agriculture have become more and more liberal,
but these, too, have, on the whole, been distributed through the Agricultural
Societies. For example, nowadays, the societies receive State grants towards
premiums for agriculture, cattle, horses, and swine; for the fisheries administration
and the promotion of fisheries; for arranging courses of instruction for small
farmers, and journeys for the purpose of agricultural study; for pig-breeding
associations and pig-breeding stations; for the support of seed-control offices,
farm-agency- and agricultural book-keeping offices, and for the appointment of
agricultural experts and ambulatory farming instructors. Since the beginning
of 1913, the Societies have also received a State grant towards locai investigations
for agricultural statistics and preliminary reports for fishery-statisties, A number
of Agricultural Societies receive grants from County Councils, too.
The revenue and expenditure of the Agricultural Societies since the beginning
of the year 1882 '—- the earliest date from which there are full data are
shown by Table 31, and their share of the spirit-sale revenue received before
that date by the Table in the text.
The largest income of any of the Agricultural Societies in 1911 was that §>f
Malmôhus Lan’s Agricultural Society, amounting to 353 807 kronor; the least
was that of Kalmar Lan (north) 57 220 kronor.
The accumulated capital of the Agricultural Societies amounted to:
Kr.
At the close of 1880 ................... . . . ; .................... 3 454 831
» » » » 1890............................................................ 3 658 209
> » - > » 1900............................................................ 5 414198
» » » » 1910 . • .................................................. 7 347 839
» > > » 1912 ....................................—. . . . . 8 233 576
Inclusive of the funds for special purposes (formed by , donations or otherwise),
the total sum amounted in the last-named year to, 9 030 287 kronor.
As is shown by the Tables, both the amount received from the sale of spirits
and that of the State grant have increased very considerably in the course/of
time, and the Agricultural Societies, consequently, have had gradually increasing
sums to administer. It is undeniably a peculiar feature of Swedish self-government
that such considerable sums of public money are administered by these
private societies, which elect their members and appoint their governing bodies
themselves.
A special task lying within the province of the Agricultural Societies is the
procuring of preliminary data agricultural, statistics. As was mentioned, above,
the Agricultural Societies nowadays receive a State grant towards covering the
expenses of local investigations, which are so carried out that one-eight of each
PROVINCIAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 145
T a b l e 32. »Own Home» Loans made by the State p e r the Agricultural
Societies.
Year
Farming Loans Dwelling Loans Total
Number J Kronor Number Kronor Number Kronor .
1905 . . .
1906-. . .
1907 . . .
1908 . . .
1909 . . .
1910 . . .
1911 . . .
1912 . . .
Total
664 1421880
441 1032 989
645 1 673 475
900 2 473 235
987 2 698 355
1 236' 3 552 060
1036 3 019 160
1113): 3 019 534
245
196
366
446
365
346
307
359
371 380
337 702
736 220
888 830
697 600
660 325
595 350
692 050
909
637
1011
1346
1352
1582
1343
1472
1793 260
1370 691
2409 695
3 362 065 i
3 395 955
4212385
3614510
3 711584 j
702211 18890 688^1 2 630 4 979 457 j| 9 652 23870145 1
Society s district is examined every year. The investigations have to be carried
out during the months of June—August by specially appointed persons, who
as; a-rule, must visit each independent farm, croft, or other holding, of at least
1 hectare in area. The information obtained at each place has to be entered
on a special “question-card”, the form of which has been drawn up by the
Central Bureau of Statistics and the Board of Agriculture.
Another task voluntarily undertaken by the Agricultural Societies is the arrangement
of the State loans for promoting the “own homes” movement. Although
there are other societies, etc., too, that arrange such loans, it is the Agricultural
Societies that have undertaken the greater / part of the work, especially as regards
the agricultural holdings.
Accordmg to the conditions and. regulations for the State “own homes” loan
movement, such loans may only be advanced for the puipose of creating such
homes where the receiver of the loan owns both the land and the buildings
erected on i t ;_ they can be granted for the acquisition of holdings intended for
cultivation (Sw. jordbrukslagenhet), or of fo ld in g s where the dwelling Louse is
the principal thing (Sw. bostadslágenhet). Such “own-home” loans may only be
granted to anyone, man or woman, who is a Swedish subject, at least 21 years
oh age of good character, known to be thrifty, sober, and well-behaved, and who
although it is true, is not m want of means To contribute in some degree'towards
the acquiring of an “own home” needs effective assistance to be able to
acquire rfc; */'v.. :/ . .. -
Own home” loans for farming-holdings shall amount to not less than h»;
« H H I H M I a estimated value of the holding; in the case of a
dwelling-house holding, the , corresponding figures aré i f and 3U respectively
M S I Í g ® S “ those cases when the estimated value
holding exceeds IB 7 B 000 kronor for a farming-holding provided with
kronorarf a’ f°r a farming-holding without houses and 4 000
kronor for a dwelling-holdmg, (Estimated value includes value of land and
buddings existing there on or which are intended to be erected there.)
loan A0 “ 18 v m t ° tW° e q u a l p a r t s ’ an amortization-loan and a standing
he loatn ai f paimef u 0f 6 % has to be made on the amortized part of
the loan on a farmang-holdmg, and one of 7 % on a dwelling-holding loan.
being tbeam° T Í ’ / 1mteresf 13 oalculated aa coming to 3a %, the remainder
lom f ent due each * eax- Interest at 3 a % is paid on the standing
As the obligation to pay the amortization sum does not commence before the
133179. Sweden II.