2 RURAL DENMARK 



is much more polite than the average Englishman. 

 Everybody takes off his hat to everybody else, even 

 to the hall-porter or the guard, and is delighted to 

 give the stranger any help or information in his 

 power. The people also have an educated look, and 

 clearly are great readers of newspapers, of which I 

 was informed about 250 appear in Denmark. That is 

 one paper for every ten thousand of the inhabitants. 

 I wonder whether they all make money. 



The land here upon the west coast is reported to 

 be some of the poorest in Denmark, and certainly it is 

 very light and sandy, though varied by marshes of fair 

 grazing quality. The cultivation is in small strips, in 

 some of which the rye or oats had been reaped, while 

 others were under potatoes or roots, the latter for the 

 most part not too free of weeds. A good many coni- 

 fers are being planted in this district, but most of 

 these are still small. As the country is perfectly flat, 

 the prospect is extensive but characteristic. Here 

 and there appears a typical Danish church with its 

 white tower surmounted by a wedge-shaped roof, or a 

 windmill, or a farm-steading surrounded by a belt of 

 trees to protect it from the tearing gales. These 

 farms, if old, are half-timbered, with whitewashed 

 squares between, or if of more recent erection are 

 built of brick. It is wonderful, and very suggestive 

 of the agricultural prosperity of the land, how many 

 comparatively new farms are to be seen everywhere, 

 also neat cottages and out-buildings occupied by small 

 freeholders. 



Poor as the soil is in this part, without doubt the 

 most is made of it, for I noted that even the heather 

 land was being ploughed up and put under crops. 

 The cattle, many of which were of the spotted black- 



