106 RURAL DENMARK 



exercise." Thus one of these animals, I forget which, 

 is forced to draw a vehicle or to pump water. Doubt- 

 less this is a wise system, since it cannot be natural 

 for a bull to be kept shut up in a dark place from 

 year's end to year's end. Only I have a firm convic- 

 tion that my bulls would absolutely refuse either to 

 drag carts or to turn a water-wheel. To induce these 

 savage beasts to do such things some personal in- 

 fluence must be brought to bear upon them of which 

 we lack the secret here. So great indeed is the 

 mutual confidence between bulls and their keepers in 

 Denmark that I believe the stockmen sometimes ride 

 on them. 



In this same building were also several young 

 bulls which had just passed the tuberculin test. 

 These animals, the progeny of " Dan," sell at prices 

 ranging from 800 to 1500 kroner (^44, 6s. 8d. to 

 ;86), while the heifers in calf can be bought for 

 about 350 kroner (say ;iQ, 10s.). The practice in 

 such herds is to keep only the best of the male calves 

 that are bred from heavy milking dams. The rest are 

 sold within fourteen days of birth, which I suppose 

 accounts for the quantity of veal which is served at 

 Danish tables, especially in the hotels. 



It is strange to me that these red Danish cattle, 

 which possess such splendid milking qualities and 

 produce such a high percentage of butter-fat, are not 

 introduced into England, where I never saw or heard 

 of any of them. Of course the answer is that they 

 cannot compare with shorthorns as beef animals. 

 Professor Maar, of the Agricultural College in Copen- 

 hagen, of whom I shall speak later, informed me, 

 however, that although old cows of this breed are 

 rarely fatted, if fed up they will attain to a weight 



