a co-operator. At the same dates the population of England and Wales was 25,968,286, the number of families 5,643,353, and the probable number of co-operative members was about 560,000. Again assuming each member represents a family of five, it would seem that one person in nine in England and Wales, were thus co-operators; while, in Ireland, there were only 737 members for a population of 5,159,839, representing 994,579 families. The oldest co-operative society in Scotland dates from 1777, the oldest in England from 1795, and in Ireland from 1854; so that it has taken Scotland 104 years to convert one-eighth of its people to co-operation, England 86 years to convert one-ninth, and Ireland 30 years to convert 1 in 1,400. This rate of growth should certainly satisfy those who believe that `true progress is slow,' but I should consider it very discouraging if recent years had not shown more rapid growth than earlier ones. Between 1872 and 1881, the number of members in Scotland increased from 38,829 to 90,778; the capital, from £208,815 to £793,705; the sales, from £1,595,120 to £3,664,253; and the profits, from 1126,314 to £323,953; each item being far more than doubled in the nine years. Turning to England and Wales for the same years, I find the number of members increased from 301,157 to 560,000; the capital, from £3,131,474 to £8,000,000; the sales, from £11,397,225 to £22,000,000; and the profits, from £809,237 to £1,700,000 progress about equal to Scotland. I think this progress of the past nine or ten years may be called 'fair,' and that it is mainly due to the work done by the Central Board, and