178 SWEDEN AND NORWAY 



and, with a good market in their own country, 

 they have, altogether, done well, even though 

 the results of their operations may not be so 

 remarkable as in the case of Denmark. 



The causes which have led to these results 

 could not be summarized more succinctly than 

 is done in a Report on the Dairy Industry in 

 Sweden, drawn up in 1897 by Mr. Arthur Her- 

 bert, First Secretary to the British Legation 

 in Sweden, who wrote : — 



Foreign butter wins its way because it is generally 

 of good and uniform quality — at least, that is the case 

 with the Swedish butter, owing- to the fact that the 

 methods of production are always reaching a higher degree 

 of perfection. Cheapness is brought about, not because 

 the value of land is less in Sweden than in Great Britain, 

 or because the climate is better, or because the other 

 expenses of an agriculturist's business compare favourably 

 with our own. The reason must be sought in their co- 

 operative methods of manufacture, which effect very great 

 economies, and it is here that the British agriculturist 

 who does not understand how profit can be made out of 

 Swedish butter at the price it is sold must look for the 

 explanation, coupled with the fact of the thoroughness of 

 the agricultural technical education in this country. 



How the co-operative movement has spread 

 in Sweden can be shown by the fact that 

 whereas there were in 1890 only 73 co-operative 

 dairies in the country, this number increased 

 to 302 in 1895, and stands to-day at 430. Nor 



