8 RURAL DENMARK 



The sour milk that has become so fashionable is 

 also made here in great quantities with the aid of 

 the proper bacteria, and disposed of in glass jars. 



Attached to this dairy is a cheese factory that 

 turns out from 900 to 1000 lbs. of cheese per diem, 

 which are manufactured from about 12,000 lbs. of milk! 

 The curd, a granulated substance, is worked by men 

 with their hands in two huge wooden vats, and after- 

 wards conveyed to the cheese presses, that are 

 furnished with powerful screws. Near by are the 

 stores, filled with an enormous quantity of flat, round 

 and square cheeses set on racks. These dark stores 

 are lit by electricity. Many sorts of cheeses are 

 made, one of which, known as Gouda, contains fifty 

 per cent, of sweet milk. The factory price for this 

 cheese is about yd. per lb. 



I was informed that a factory of this sort and size, 

 including machinery, costs from ^3500 to ^4000. 

 When it is thought advisable to establish such a 

 factory in any district, the necessary capital is bor- 

 rowed and guaranteed by the local farmers in pro- 

 portion to the amount of milk to be supplied by each 

 of them. ^ Should the venture fail, these farmers must 

 pay up in proportion to their respective guarantees. 

 This, however, is not a liability that need disturb 

 their sleep at night, as if any co-operative factory in 

 Denmark has failed of late years I have not heard 

 of that event. Thus this place at Brorup, which may 

 be taken as a fair sample, is, as the manager informed 

 me, in a prosperous condition and able to pay a 

 good price to the co-operators for their milk namely, 

 a shade over 19 ore per two kilos, that is a fraction 

 under 2$d per 4 lbs. 6 oz. English, plus the skim 

 returned or paid for, as stated above. 



