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With all these crops heavy yields are the rule. All the crops grown, and much that is 

 bought, is fed to the stock, and occasionally fertilizer is purchased also. The greatest pos- 

 sible care is taken of the manure. Each barn has a manure pit, lined with cement, into 

 which all kinds are dumped. Then all the liquid from the stables is drained into a cistern 

 which is pumped out and applied to the land which is well cultivated. 



Labour, though not cheap, is sufficient and of fairly good quality. Most 100 acre 

 farms keep two, three or more men the year round." These get about $100 each and their 

 board. Women of the labouring class work in the fields and barns. A large number of 

 Polish women work on the farms of Denmark each summer for a wage of fifty cents per 

 day and board themselves. 



While pig raising is a prominent and valuable branch of Danish agriculture it stands 

 second to dairying, which is the chief branch of farming. Butter for the British market is 

 the first object of the farmer, and this leaves a tremendous quantity of by-product in the 

 form of skim-milk. Without this most of those visited considered pig raising could not be 

 profitably carried on. Everywhere skim-milk, or whey, constitutes a portion of the swine 

 ration, the number of swine fed largely depending upon the size of the milking herd. About 

 two to three pigs per cow is the rule on many of the farms visited. 



The Pigs. 



Great care has been taken to build up a suitable pig for the purpose intended. System- 

 atic efforts have been, and are being made, to improve the stock from the standpoint of the 

 breeder and feeder, and above all, for the requirements of the British market. The Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture has taken hold of this work with vigor and has already accomplished 

 much. The farmers themselves working hand in hand with the Department are making 

 strides in the direction of more profitable pigs. The spirit of co-operation has a firm hold of 

 the people and, through this, almost all middle men between the producers and the British 

 merchant have been dispensed with. The line connecting the man on the land with the 

 ultimate purchaser of the bacon is practically continuous, and, since a bad market reflects 

 almost directly upon the pig raiser, every effort is made to insure a good market all the time. 

 It is a realization of this condition that keeps the Danish farmer keenly alive to the quality 

 of his pigs. 



Prior to 1887 most of the Danish pigs and pork exported went chiefly to Germany. 

 Since then live pigs have been excluded from that country. The Danes at once set about the 

 securing of another market. For a year or more shipments were sent alive to England, but 

 the trade was not satisfactory. The British pork and bacon market was then investigated 

 and after learning what was required co-operative curing was commenced. In 1888 the 

 total pigs of the country was 771,000, and of these 23,000 were put through the first co- 

 operative curing house. The move was seen to be promising and has gone forward until 

 the country to-day has 36 co-operative, in addition to some 24 proprietory factories in which 

 are slaughtered annually upwards of 1,500,000 hogs per year. 



While Continental Europe was the outlet for Danish pigs and pork no attempt at 

 improvement in the quality of the stock was considered necessary. So that when the English 

 bacon trade was undertaken the Danish pig was a coarse rough animal carrying considerable 

 fat when ready to market. Up to this time the English Middle White had been used for 

 crossing purposes, but this was seen to be no longer suitable. A study of the industry in 

 Britain opened the eyes of the Danes to the qualifications of the Large White and since 

 then the blood of this breed has been largely used. The native pig, the "Landrace," was a 

 hardy animal and an excellent mother, and has been retained and improved by every possible 

 means. This and the Yorkshire soon became the only recognized breeds of swine in the 

 country. By means of breeding centres, breeding societies, agricultural fairs, and experi- 

 mental feeding stations a systematic effort is being made to develop the swine of Denmark 

 to the greatest possible degree of excellence. 



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