These associations have been, organized in certain sections of the South and West for the purpose of supplying land owners and farmers with long time loans at a low rate of interest. They are not in any way connected with the Federal Farm Loan System. The following are extracts from a prospectus published by one of these associations:

"The sole business of the association is to create security, sell its bonds and loan money on farm lands at low rates on long terms. It is simply a means of standardizing farm lands in the form of collateral bonds which can be marketed in the same way as industrial and municipal bonds.

"The entire capital stock of the Association shall be invested in first mortgages on farm property at not exceeding 50% of the appraised value, or in high-class bonds; to be used as a Guaranty Fund for the bonds issued by the Association.

"The Association will limit its loans to its own shareholders; * * * Every borrower will be directly interested in the success of the Association, and will share in its profits proportionately to the amount of his investment.

"Loans will be made upon the basis of 50% of the value of the property. Each loan will be amortized, which means that it will be paid back to the Association by small annual payments, will never have to be renewed, but will continue to run until the small annual payments have cleared the farmer's debt. No renewal commissions will have to be paid, nor will the farmer have the expense of bringing down his abstract or having it examined every few years, as at present, and the farmer will be forever relieved of anxiety lest he should fail to meet the mortgage when due and lose his farm, because he can always arrange, in case of necessity in any year, to borrow the trifling amount he is called upon to pay under the amortization principle. Therefore, it is practically impossible for an honest, industrious farmer to lose his farm under the equitable and beneficent plan of the Association."

S. The "ticker" abbreviation for South, Southern, Stock or Series; and also for Seller or Shares, when accompanied by figures.

For example, Bo. 110. S10 indicates that Baltimore & Ohio common stock was sold at 110, but that the seller, by giving one day's notice to the buyer, is entitled to make delivery any time within ten days. Of course the ten days is only used to illustrate, the figures would vary according to the terms of the transaction. (See also "Seller's Option.")

When the letter is used to indicate Shares, it is printed in connection with the report of a stock exchange sale upon the "tape," and appears when the amount of a stock sold and the price are so nearly alike that they may be taken for two sales. In its application, the amount of the sale will be followed by the letter S and a dot, thus: Ro. 73. S. 75, meaning that 73 shares of the Common Stock of the Rio Grande Western R. R. Co., to which the letters Ro refer, were sold at 75.