68 FORAGE CEOPS IN DENMARK 



used for the constant area of rotation grasses increased rapidly 

 and changed its character. While Denmark's net import of 

 seed of all kinds was in 1875 3500 tons, it was in 1895 7300 tons, 

 and in 1906 9050, the greater part being seed of clover and 

 grasses. It is estimated that in 1908 4450 tons of grass seed 

 were used, of which only 950 tons were home grown ; and that 

 3000 tons of seed of clover and other legurninosae were used, 

 nearly all being imported. 1 While in 1875 the import of grass 

 seed only comprised timothy (phleum pratense) and English 

 and Italian ryegrass, with red, white, and alsike clover (trifolium 

 pratense, repens and hybridum), the import in 1895 included 

 cocksfoot, meadow fescue, tall oat grass, brome grasses (bromus 

 arvensis amd mollis), yellow trefoil (medicago lupulina), and 

 kidney vetch (anthyllis vulneraria). 



The home grown grass seed was mostly such as the farmers 

 saved on their fields. About the year 1900 a more systematic 

 cultivation of grass seed began, but for a long time made little 

 headway. Gustav Hage 2 mentions that Chr. P. Jacobsen 

 had begun a small export of home grown cocksfoot and meadow 

 fescue as early as in 1878, and that it was continued by the 

 firm of Trifolium, of which Hage was a director. The total 

 area devoted to seed culture was in 1901 only 10,600 acres, 

 in 1907 even somewhat less, but from that year the area 

 increased, and was in 1912 39,000, and in 1919 close upon 

 78,000 acres. 3 



At the time when, thanks to the systematic work of Helweg 

 and others, production of and trade in root seed was already 

 in a good way of being organised, the production of Danish 

 grass seed still lacked all system and control. Some farmers 

 grew grass seed, but not very pure, and if prices did not suit 

 them they cut the grass and used it for hay. About the year 

 1906 a systematic cultivation of seed of cocksfoot was begun 

 by several firms, such as L. Daehnfeldt and others, who had 

 their grass seed grown by farmers under contract in the same 

 way as practised with root seed, the firms supplying the growers 

 with seed, preferably stock seed, all the harvested seed to be 



1 Gustav Hage, " Om Fr0handel," Tidsskrift for Landbrugds Planteavl, 

 19 vol., K0benhavn, 1912, p. 77. 



2 1. c., p. 88. 



3 Statistiske Efterretninger, 11 vol., K0benhavn, 1919, p. 86. 



