392 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



OUR TRADE WITH DENMARK. 



Only a few days' sail to the north from our shores 

 is situate a suiall kingdom with which we have now and 

 then had some unpleasant dealings in times gone by, 

 from its holding the keys of the Baltic, and charging 

 the shipping of various nations a good round sum for 

 permission to pass the narrow Sound. These differences 

 have, happily, passed away, and we have compromised 

 the matter of Sound dues by the payment «f about 

 £1,200,000, as our share of the redemption. Although 

 tlie kingdom of Denmark has a population no larger 

 than London, yet we carry on a very fair amount of 

 trade with her people, and are likely to do more. 



There has been a gradual and regular increase in 

 the general trade of Denmark during the last ten years, 

 and particularly with England. Being almost exclu- 

 sively an agricultural and seafaring country, Denmark 

 exports comparatively few articles of industry or manu- 

 facture, and in this respect therefore offers an excellent 

 market to the British importer. Since the abolition of 

 the Sound dues, its importance to the British wool and 

 cotton trade will be necessarily increased, as Copen- 

 hagen will become an entrepot for Russian produce 

 destined for England on the one hand, and for British 

 wool and cotton goods on the other. The value of our 

 exports to Denmark in the last three years has 

 averaged £-750,000, while that of the imports from Den- 

 mark is about ^-2, 000,000 to £2,500,000 per annum. 

 The aspect of Denmark generally is that of a rich, 

 well-cultivated country. The constant humidity of the 

 atmosphere is favourable to vegetation. Thepastur- 

 a£!09 are fresh and luxuriant, and the rearing of stock, 

 particularly horses, is carried on extensively. Besides 

 the cereals, tobacco, flax, hemp, and hops are culti- 

 vated in some districts, while great quantities of fruit 

 are cultivated in gardens and shipped to Russia. 



The distillation of brandy has of late years made 

 rapid strides, while its exportation has correspondingly 

 increased. In the year 1835 45,579,961 quarts of 

 brandy were distilled, of which 3,066,209 quarts were 

 exported. The tax on this spirit forms a very 

 important item in the revenue of the kingdom. 

 Twenty years ago consular returns gave the consump- 

 tion of grain and pulse in Denmark at a little over 

 6,000,000 quarters, while that saved for seed was 

 1,100,000 quarters, and the exports 900,000— in all 

 about 8,000,000 quarters, or a product of about eight 

 bushels to the bushel sown. Since that period, how- 

 ever, a ^reat improvement has taken place in Danish 

 agriculture, and the production is hence greatly ex- 

 tended— the exports, lor instance, in grain and pulse 

 being now double what they then were. But it is not 

 merely by the direct trade that we can benefit : the in- 

 direct trade is likely to be very considerable. The 

 import and export trade of Denmark in 1855 amounted 

 to about £11,500,000 sterling, and during the last eight 

 years has increased in a ratio of 44 per cent. 



The trade of Great Hritain, Russia, and Denmark, 

 our Secretary of Legation at Copenhagen believes, will 

 gain largely by the redemption of the Sound dues, and 

 the transit and other dues being comparatively mo- 

 derate, that Denmark may become an important tran- 

 sit station between England and Russia. Since the 



years 1854 and 1855, when the trade of Iceland and the 

 Faro Islands was thrown open to foreign nations, 

 another valuable market has presented itself to British 

 trade; the most important export articles fiom these 

 parts of the Danish dependencies being sheep, wool, 

 tallow, salted fish, horses, ,and cod-liver oil ; the 

 principal imports from England being coal, iron, salt, 

 and manufactured goods. 



Looking back as far as 1839 we find the agricultural 

 exporls of Denmark were considerable. Thus in that 

 year there were exported to England 240,340 quaiters 

 of grain and pulse, and to various countiies 11,674 

 horsts, 27,904 oxen, 7,459 cows, 10,737 calves, 14,425 

 pigs, 16,264 sheep and lambs, 11,273,000 lbs. of salted 

 and cured provisions, 1,070,500 lbs. of cheese, 73,732 

 barrels of butter, 76,300 tons of tallow, 3,500,000 lbs. 

 of hides and skins, 1,737,100 lbs. of wool, and 

 10,000,000 lbs. of bones. In 1848, the value of the ex- 

 ports from Denmark to the United Kingdom was 

 £842,321, or more than half of the whole exports. In 

 the next five years the imports and exports increased 

 about half a million in value. 



In 1852 the following were the chief articles of agri- 

 cultural produce imported into the United Kingdom : 



Denmark proper. Duchies. 



Bones (lbs.) 4,575,269 3,723,889 



Bacon (lbs.) 1,639,355 2,941,504 



Horses (No.) 620 15,390 



Cattle(No.) 1,562 60,872 



Swine (No.) 1,475 40,564 



Hides and skins (No.) 2,216,514 935,518 



Wool (lbs.).. 2,855,177 664,772 



Butter (brls.) 21,351 52.680 



Cheese (lbs.) 114.325 1,437,897 



Meat (lbs.) 963,340 1,078,375 



Cora and grain (brls.) 2,538,166 806,606 



Oilcake (lbs.) 6,537,222 18,407,197 



Of live stock, we have received from Denmark, on 

 the average of the last five years, 18,000 head of cattle, 

 1,500 cows, 400 horses, and 10,000 sheep per annum ; 

 3,000 to 4,000 cwt. of butter (although in some years 

 it has been as high as 13,000 cwt.) ; 7,000 to 8,000 cwt. 

 of salted pork, and a little bacon; 2,500 cwt. of tallow, 

 13,000 or 14,000 cwt. of hides, 2,800,000lbs. of wool, 

 10,000 tons of oilcake, a few thousand pounds of 

 bristles, 4,000 tons of bones, 5,000 to 6,000 cwts. 

 of flour, and 850,000 qrs. of grain and pulse. 



There is a steady export trade in horses of about 

 12,000 a year, which are sent chiefly to Prussia, Hano- 

 ver, and Hamburgh; and about 50,000 head of horned 

 cattle, half of which come to England, and the re- 

 mainder go to Altona and Hamburgh; 70,000 or 

 80,000 brls. of butter are also sent to the neighbouring 

 ports. 



The countries from which the chief imports take 

 place are England and Hamburgh ; those from the 

 latter place, however, can only be considered in great 

 part as in transitu. The Danish people are a thrifty 

 and industrious race, and with the advantages now 

 aftbrded them for the export of their produce by steam 

 vessels and railroads, they are likely to advance even 

 more rapidly in agricultural progress. 



