DENMARK 



1757 



DENMARK 



hospitable. Danes make bold and hardy sea- 

 men. Their language is like Swedish and 

 Norwegian, but more soft and rather monot- 

 onous, with shades of sound difficult for for- 

 eigners to acquire. It is the most modern of 



DENMARK (IN BLACK) 



Scandinavian languages and is used to a large 

 extent by the educated classes of Norway, 

 where it became the written language through 

 the one-time union of Norway with Denmark. 

 It is written either in German or Roman 

 characters. The established religion of Den- 

 mark is Lutheran, but all creeds are tolerated. 



Colonies. Besides the territory described, 

 Denmark possesses territories covering an area 

 of about 86,575 square miles, about one-third 

 the area of Texas, with a population of nearly 

 125,000, an average of not even two to each 

 square mile. 



Iceland, the most thickly-populated, but sec- 

 ond in size, of Denmark's colonies, came under 

 the crown of Denmark in 1280, and although 

 it was lost to England during the Napoleonic 

 wars, was under direct Danish rule almost 

 continuously until home rule was granted it in 

 1874. This island is situated 500 miles north- 

 west of Scotland. 



Greenland, the largest island of the world, 

 is the largest of Denmark's colonies and also 

 the most thinly-populated, for it is in an 

 Arctic region, covered deep by the ice that 

 for long ages has accumulated upon its sur- 

 face. Its southern end is not far from North- 

 ern Labrador; its northern extremity lies in 

 unexplored regions. This land of the Eskimo 

 and polar bear is directly under the govern- 

 ment of Denmark and became one of that 

 kingdom's possessions during the eighteenth 

 and nineteenth centuries. Its trade is a state 

 monopoly. 



Three islands of the West Indies, Saint 

 Croix, Saint Thomas and Saint John, belonged 

 to Denmark until 1917, when by sale they were 

 transferred to the United States for $25,000,000. 

 See WEST INDIES, DANISH. 



Physical Features of Denmark. Denmark, 

 islands and mainland, is a part of the Baltic 

 Plain. For the greater part it is built up of 

 the sand tossed up by the sea arid blown in- 

 land by the winds. From the low, sandy west 

 and northwest coasts of Jutland, the main- 

 land of Denmark, which covers almost half the 

 surface of that peninsula, is a region of fiords 

 and dunes and shallow lagoons, or inclosed 

 bays, which are useless as harbors. But con- 

 tinuing east across the peninsula and through- 

 out the islands of the archipelago are found 

 rather fertile lowlands dotted with ridges of 

 hills. Of especial note is the range of hills 

 across the middle of Jutland, the highest point 

 of which is about 600 feet above sea level. 



The eastern coasts, especially of the islands, 

 have several excellent harbors, the most im- 

 portant belonging to Zealand Island, at Copen- 

 hagen, the capital of Denmark. Stretching 

 across Jutland from the east are interesting 

 fiords, the most remarkable being the Liim- 

 fiord, which, winding in and out, crosses the 

 entire peninsula at the north. The largest 

 islands of Denmark, Zealand and Fiinen, divide 

 the outlet of the Baltic Sea into three belts, 

 from Jutland to Sweden the Little Belt, the 

 Great Belt and The Sound. 



Although there are many streams and lakes 

 in Denmark well stocked with fish, the only 

 river of note is the salmon-stocked Guden, 

 eighty miles long, which is navigable part of 

 its length. About five per cent of the area of 

 Denmark is forested, beech trees being most 

 abundant. The land surface consists largely 

 of clay and sand, and in the west and north 

 of Jutland are moorlands of peat. 



Climate. The land of the sturdy Dane is 

 one of frequent heavy rains and mists, and it 

 has a climate much like that of Eastern Scot- 

 land. The average temperature in summer is 

 60 F., and in winter 32 F.; the annual rain- 

 fall ranges between twenty-one and twenty- 

 seven inches. In Jutland sand storms are often 

 experienced, and the climate there is never as 

 mild as on the islands. 



Industries. A journey through Denmark 

 shows it to be an agricultural country. Almost 

 everywhere may be seen fields rich with oats, 

 barley, rye, wheat, potatoes and beets, and 

 pastures and meadow lands dotted with grazing 



