departments. Propaganda by these departments aimed at better cultivation and better methods of preparation can only be effective if it is based on close touch with trade requirements, more especially those of the export trade, and it is for this reason amongst others that we suggest the appointment of special marketing officers in paragraph 348 below. 342. The question how far any improvement in the quality of Indian produce which is effected by the methods suggested CO-OPERATIVE SALE. in the preceding paragraph will be immediately reflected in the price obtained by the cultivator is not one which can be answered with any degree of exactitude, but the more efficient the distributing machine, the smaller, in any given circumstances, will be the spread between producers' and consumers' prices. The most effective method of enabling the cultivator to secure a full premium for superior quality is organisation for the purpose of sale. Group marketing must be more efficient than marketing by individuals, especially in conditions such as those which exist in India where the individual producer is such a small unit. The ideal to be aimed at is, therefore, co-operative sale societies which will educate the cultivator in the production and preparation for market of his produce, will provide a sufficient volume of produce to make efficient grading possible and will bring the Indian producer into direct touch with the export market and with the large consumers in this country such as the cotton and jute mills. We are well aware that it must be long before such societies will be in a position to undertake operations on the scale of societies in such countries as the United States of America. Meanwhile, the co-operative sale societies which we discuss in our chapter on Co-operation represent a small beginning in this direction and deserve all the help the agricultural and co-operative departments can give them. The help of the agricultural departments can be given. most effectively in the form of assistance in the grading of produce. It is axiomatic that properly graded produce must, in normal circumstances, command a higher price than produce of mixed quality. We, therefore, approve the action of the Agricultural Department in Bombay in lending an agricultural assistant free of charge to carry out the grading of the cotton sold by the co-operative sale societies in the southern Maratha country.

343. We consider that auction sales by the agricultural departments provide a useful means of securing to the cultivator AUCTION SALES. an adequate premium for the superior quality of a new variety grown under their supervision. Particularly is this in the early stages, when the quantity available is small and the trade is without an organisation to enable it to be taken up at its intrinsic value. The rapid expansion of the cultivation of 4 F cotton in the Punjab and of the improved varieties of cotton introduced by the Bombay Agricultural Department in south Gujarat and the southern Maratha country was undoubtedly due in very large measure to the fact that, at the outset, the cotton of these varieties was graded and sold at auctions held by the MO Y 286-26a

Agricultural Department. As soon as their object had been achieved the auctions were discontinued in the Punjab and in south Gujarat and, in the southern Maratha country, they were taken over by co-operative sale societies. Auction sales by the agricultural departments can, however, only be regarded as a temporary expedient. The departments have not sufficient staff available to enable them to handle very large quantities of produce nor is it desirable that their energies should be diverted to any great extent to the discharge of this task. We consider that government auctions should only be continued until they can be taken over by co-operative societies or by private agencies which are willing to co-operate with the agricultural departments in any measures the departments may consider necessary to secure an adequate premium for an improved variety or to maintain their control of seed. Occasions may arise when auctions may prove the most suitable means of reviving a trade market which has become temporarily demoralised.

344. An important question which has come under our consideration in connection with the storage and movement of GRAIN ELEVATORS. Indian agricultural produce is the feasibility of operating a system of grain elevators in this country. A detailed investigation into this subject has recently been carried out by Major R. E. Gordon, R.E., M.C., at the instance of the North Western Railway. We are unable to accept the conclusions reached by Major Gordon in his valuable report, but we wish to acknowledge the assistance we have derived from it in formulating our own.

The establishment of a complete grain elevator system would involve the erection of three distinct types of elevators. There would be smaller elevators which would receive the grain at the primary markets and store it until it could be conveniently transported by rail to the larger stations or consuming centres. At these centres there would be terminal elevators of considerably greater storage capacity. Finally, there would be elevators at the ports which would receive the grain from the railways and load it on to steamers for export.

The advantages claimed for the elevator system are twofold. From the point of view of the railways, it is urged that the system would lead to economies in working owing to the introduction of transport in bulk, the quicker turn round of wagons and possibly a more even distribution of traffic throughout the year. From the point of view of the cultivator, it is argued that he would be freed from exploitation, and would benefit from the the better prices he would receive from the sale of properly cleaned and graded produce. He would further benefit from the economies effected by bulk handling and the elimination of disputes in regard to weight and quality. Stress was laid, in the evidence before us, on the success with which the elevator system has been worked in North America and some of the British Dominions.

The question has to be examined in relation to the external and internal trade in grain respectively. Wheat is the principal grain affected for, as the Table below shows, the exports of barley are of much less importance than those of wheat.