^ INTRODUCTION 



known farmers hailing from all parts of Scotland, many of them 

 with specialised interests such as dairying, poultry keeping, and 

 cattle breeding. Nor were two overseers or grieves lacking to 

 study Danish small farming with the practical intelligence of that 

 labouring rural class in Scotland for which holdings of thirty acres 

 and upwards would seem to provide the career not yet sufficiently 

 available. It may thus fairly be claimed for the Commission that 

 it applied many kinds of knowledge and experience to the question 

 in hand — namely, whether Danish methods could with advantage 

 be in any measure imitated on Scottish soil ? 



So well-known are the candour, the courtesy, the hospitality 

 of the Danes, that it is almost superfluous to remark that every- 

 where the Commission had the best of welcomes. Doors were 

 thrown wide ; accounts were exposed ; the personal and economic 

 histories of farmer and farm were given. With admirable patience 

 the people bore the inquisition. Every scene visited quickly became 

 a scene of animated heckling. Not unnaturally the thought may 

 arise that the representative men of Denmark would introduce the 

 Commission only to what was best in their country. That could 

 not happen. The Commission made many surprise visits, their 

 choice of calls upon farmers or creameries being often a matter of 

 fancy or of accidental neighbourhood. The extemporised " look-in " 

 occurred on some days more frequently than the pre-arranged 

 reception. Accordingly the Commission saw Danish agriculture in 

 all its phases, good or bad, without any dressing up for inspection. 



The map of Denmark and the diary, both given in the Report, 

 will show the ground covered by the Commission. As the tour 

 ranged over Zeeland, Jutland and Fyen, the party had the oppor- 

 tunity of observing the conditions on some of the worst as well as 

 some of the best land in the country. To indicate the different 

 classes of farms visited, it may be said that part of a day was spent 

 on the estate of Count Moltke at Bregentved, which extends to 

 thousands of acres, and includes a home farm, managed on the 

 most modern principles. Part of another day was given to the 

 estate of Count Wedell at Wedellsborg in Fyen, the Count him- 

 self most courteously acting as guide. These two estates are 

 typical of what remains of the great landlord-held properties in 

 Denmark. Of the class of farms running to several hundreds of 

 acres, and cultivated by the owner, good examples were seen in 

 Kolle-Kolle, near Lyngby, 300 acres, and Borupgaard in Jutland, 

 700 acres. The not very numerous group of tenant-farmers was 

 well illustrated in Mr Soltoft of Stenballegaard, a man of marked 

 individuality, who has lived and thrived apart from the co-operative 

 movement. Visits too many for mention were also made to 

 smaller farms coming under the category of peasant proprietorship, 

 such as the farm of 100 acres near Horsens, occupied by Mr 

 Svensdens, and the farm of Skipygaard, 130 acres, owned by Mr 

 J. Rasmussen. The still smaller class of holdings in the ownership 

 of the cultivator, and of a size anywhere between 3 acres and 40 

 acres, were abundantly seen. 



