1 86 RURAL DENMARK 



her charge to clog itself with a single ounce too much 

 of cake, or to be supplied with an ounce too little. In 

 short these cows get what they ought to have in order 

 to keep them at the highest possible point of lacteal 

 efficiency, no more and no less. Whether as a general 

 proposition it pays to feed them so highly is a question 

 for the Danish farmer. He answers it in the affirm- 

 ative, and, Jeremiah notwithstanding, I see no reason 

 to quarrel with his conclusion. 



A point frequently advanced in England to prove 

 that the Danish farmer cannot really be prosperous is 

 that he realises a lower price for his milk than is 

 obtainable in England, Undoubtedly, to a certain 

 extent, this is true, as I shall show in due course. 



But if so, what does this fact prove ? To my 

 mind only that the Danish farmer can thrive on rather 

 smaller returns for his produce than we are accustomed 

 to receive in England. Moreover, there are two things 

 that must be remembered in this connection. The 

 first of these is that if the Dane deals with a factory, 

 as is mostly the case, his skim milk and buttermilk 

 are returned to him, sometimes free, but generally at a 

 very small price, often less than their value, and on 

 these he feeds his pigs. In that event also, as a part 

 owner, he receives his share of the profits of the 

 factory. 



These, in 1909, appear to have amounted in all 

 Denmark to 34 millions of kroner or 15 per cent, of 

 the total payments made to the co-operating members. 

 This is to say, that in addition to the sum paid to the 

 individual member for the whole milk supplied by him, 

 minus the price of the skim and butter milk returned 

 to him, there was added a proportion of the net profits 

 earned by the factory after allowing for working ex- 



