SOME TYPICAL DANISH FARMS 

 Kolle-Kolle 



The skilfully managed farm of Mr Grut Hansen at Kolle-Kolle, 

 north from Copenhagen and near the famous castle of Fredricks- 

 borg, is well known to visitors from the British Islands. Nothing 

 could exceed the heartiness with which Mr Hansen received the 

 party, or the patience and courtesy which he exhibited in grappling 

 with the many questions that were addressed to him regarding the 

 management of his stock, the cultivation of his farm, and the 

 multitude of other matters that occurred to the inquiring Scotch- 

 men. Mr Hansen has an excellent herd of the red Danish variety 

 of cattle. He has for many years kept an accurate milk record of 

 his cows, together with the butter-fat test of each ; and during 

 these yeai-s he has used bulls bred out of his best milking cows, 

 and kept only the heifer calves out of those cows showing a high 

 record, with the result that he has in a few years immensely in- 

 creased the milk production of his herd. The average for the 

 whole herd of sixty-five cows a few years ago was something like 

 650 gallons per head per annum ; whereas for the past year the 

 average totals to nearly 900 gallons, with an average butter-fat per- 

 centage of 3*93. In the case of some individual cows, the record 

 totalled 1100 gallons, and in one case 1200 gallons. 



Bulls bred in this herd are in strong demand, and conmiand 

 very big prices. The heifers are usually brought to calve when 

 about two and a half years old. At this age such as are not re- 

 quired to keep up the stock are sold, and fetch fi-om £15 to £16 

 a-piece. The sire of most of the cows in stock at the time of our 

 visit was a veteran, thirteen years old. Mr Hansen holds some- 

 what utilitarian views on the tuberculosis question. He does not 

 test his cows, and looks upon the tuberculin test as uncalled for 

 and unnecessary in a herd where cows are giving up to 50 lbs. of 

 milk per day, and living and doing well up to fifteen years of age. 



The arrangements of the byres left little to be desired, being 

 roomy, well ventilated, and scrupulously clean. The milk from 

 this farm was all sold for consumption in Copenhagen at 18 ore 

 per litre, or from 7d. to 8d. per gallon on an average all the year 

 round. Mr Hansen feeds his cows according to their milk pro- 

 duction ; thus they may be getting from 40 to 60 lbs. of roots, 

 5 to 8 lbs. of hay, plus straw, and 7 to 12 lbs. of oilcake, bran and 

 oats. The ration is adjusted in this way : A given quantity, say 

 four standards, of food is considered sufficient to maintain the 

 animal in good condition, with what is termed a standard of food 

 additional for each 3 Danish, or 3^ English, pounds of milk pro- 



