28 



DENMARK. 



Denmark affords an interesting field of study for any class or body who may undertake 

 to investigate any of the several branches of agriculture followed by her people. To pro- 

 perly understand swine husbandry, as carried on by the Danish farmer, it is necessary to 

 known something of the condition of the country, its rural population, and the general 

 system of agriculture followed. 



A glance at the map of Europe will show that Denmark is a comparatively small country 

 occupying a rather exposed position surrounded almost entirely by the cold and stormy 

 waters of the North and Baltic Seas. The Kingdom, consisting of the peninsula of Jutland 

 and the Islands of Fyen, Zealand, Laaland, and a number of smaller ones, occupies an 

 area of about 15,000 square miles, equal to about two-thirds of Nova Scotia, one-half of New 

 Brunswick, or one-fifth of Manitoba. The profile of the country often reminded the members 

 of the Commission of parts of Ontario. The surface is either rather flat or gently undulating, 

 the highest point being only 550 feet above sea level. On this account it is exposed during 

 a long winter season to harsh, sweeping winds. The summer season, always short, is 

 frequently cool. During July the Commissioners found light overcoats necessary when 

 driving about the country. The summer of 1909 was, however, claimed to be unusually 

 cool. 



The soil is anything but rich, in fact the country possesses more poor than good land, 

 much of it being thin and gravelly. Of the total area eighty per cent is productive, and of 

 this one-sixth is forest. Of the remainder less than half is arable, what remains being 

 chiefly grass land. The coolness and shortness of the growing season brings problems to the 

 husbandman. In average seasons only the early variety of oats ripen properly and this 

 naturally, limits the field of agriculture. The experiment stations have been trying to 

 develop a fall oat and to some extent, have succeeded, but the general farmer must still 

 depend upon the early sorts of the spring sown kinds. Fall rye, fall wheat and barley do 

 well, and when to these are added oats, hay crops and roots the round of crops which the 

 Dane at home can grow with advantage is about complete. Denmark is therefore not a 

 grain exporting country. Her conditions have proved more favourable for that higher 

 sphere of agriculture, the production of live stock, for which large quantities of food stuffs 

 are annually imported. 



Denmark has a population of practically 2,500,000, nearly one-fifth of which is absorbed 

 by Copenhagen and its suburbs. Dividing the remainder of the subjects of King Frederick 

 into urban and rural dwellers we have about 1,500,000 on the land. Denmark having no 

 mineral or timber wealth depends for its prosperity upon agriculture. The industry of 

 Denmark is and has in the past been that of farming, and since ninety-five per cent of the 

 population is native born it naturally follows that the system of agriculture is not only highly 

 developed but fairly uniform over the country. It is the one business of a serious, industrious , 

 and educated people, and has lessons for perhaps every other agricultural country of the 

 globe. 



Up to well past the middle of the last century Denmark reached a state of comparative 

 stagnation with the effect of starting from the country a fairly strong exodus to the 

 towns and to foreign lands. Aroused by the apparent danger of national decline a strong 

 movement looking to the improvement of agricultural conditions was inaugurated. At 

 that time the exports were comparatively little. The expansion of the export trade in the 

 leading products to Great Britain alone during the past few years demonstrates the progress 

 that has been effected in the general agriculture of the country. The following table shows 

 in dollars the value of the respective products named exported by Denmark to Great Britain 

 during the years indicated: 



