70 FORAGE CROPS IN DENMARK 



was therefore exported, chiefly to England and the United 

 States, while a quantity of ryegrass, timothy, tall oat grass, and 

 some other kinds were imported. 1 In 1905 Denmark had, 

 according to Hage, a net import of cocksfoot of 650 tons from 

 New Zealand and U.S.A. By 1908 the import had been 

 reduced to 475 tons because of the increased home production. 

 Dorph Petersen estimates the export of home grown cocksfoot 

 in 1913 at 2000 tons, and a similar or somewhat larger export 

 has taken place during the year next following. The pro- 

 duction of meadow fescue, brome grass, English and Italian 

 ryegrass, and of rough-stalked meadow grass (poa 2n'wa!is),has 

 also been so much extended that the home market has been fully 

 supplied, and there has been an increasing export of Italian 

 ryegrass, meadow fescue, and rough-stalked meadow grass. 

 Denmark is practically the only country which has an export 

 of the last-mentioned kind of grass seed ; but the world's require- 

 ment of import is very small, and the production on 300 acres 

 is enough to satisfy this demand. 



This large and rapid increase in the cultivation of grass seed 

 and export of several kinds of grass seed from Denmark is a 

 natural development. The climate and the agricultural con- 

 ditions in general are singularly favourable to this production. 

 The increase in quantity has been closely accompanied by an 

 improvement in the quality. The contents of seed of other 

 cultivated plants in the samples of Danish grass seed has been 

 gradually reduced, and is now only from J to 1 per cent., while 

 the germination per cent, is generally from 95 to 98. Cocksfoot 

 was formerly sold according to bushel weight, 16 to 17 Ibs. per 

 bushel. Danish exporters introduced selling according to 

 purity and germination. It used to be quite common in the 

 world's trade to be satisfied with a purity of 80 to 85 per cent. 

 The trade in Danish cockfoot seed, with a purity of 90 to 95 per 

 cent., has had the effect of stiffening the requirement, and a 

 purity of 95 per cent, is now sometimes insisted on by British 

 buyers. The general trade requirement is, however, 90 per 

 cent, of purity and 90 per cent, of germination. 



1 K. Dorph- Peterseu, " Graes-og K10verfr0avlen i Danrnark," 1907-13, 

 Tidsskriftfor Planteavl, 21 vol., K0benhavn, 1914, p. 662. And same, " Handelen 

 raed Orsesfr0," ibid., 23 vol., 1916, p. 650. 



