482 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



Mr. Larsen and his wife do all the work of the holding without 

 assistance, but he does not undertake any outside labour. He told 

 me that he gets on well and is perfectly satisfied, adding with 

 emphasis that he much preferred his present position to that which 

 he used to occupy as a labourer. Certainly he seemed to be pros- 

 perous in a small way ; and as we sat down to partake of the lunch 

 of coffee, beer, etc. which Mrs. Larsen had hospitably provided, 

 the air of solid comfort about the place struck me very much. It 

 was a little astonishing also to be warmly thanked by a man in 

 this position for the pleasure that he said he had experienced in 

 reading works of mine that do not deal with agriculture. I do not 

 think that a foreign writer visiting a small-holder in England would 

 be likely to meet with this particular surprise. In Denmark, how- 

 ever, it is otherwise, for there among the peasant class he may find 

 that he is as well or even better known than it is his fortune to be 

 at home. The Danes are great readers of such fiction as appeals 

 to them. 



Before I parted from Mr. Larsen I had a private conversation 

 with him on the subject of State small-holders generally. He told 

 me that in his opinion about half of these really succeed. One- 

 third just get on, and the rest are unsuccessful. It was entirely a 

 question of the man himself. If he were the right man in the 

 right place, things would go well. If not, he would fail. He 

 thought that the movement would spread, which he feared would 

 cause the land to become too expensive. Thus he said that in this 

 part of Seeland it used to be possible to buy ground at 500 

 kroner (27 14s.) the tondeland, whereas now it costs 700 

 kroner (^38 15 s. 10 d.). 



Leaving Mr. Larsen's house, we proceeded to another State 

 small-holding near by which belongs to Mr. Anders Andersen. 

 Mr. Andersen was away from home working for somebody else, 

 so we interviewed his wife. She told me that they came into 

 occupation of the holding five years ago. It was bought with the 

 house and implements, but without stock, for 6100 kroner (,338) 

 by aid of a State loan. The former owner was also a small-holder, 

 who could not get on, either because he was not hard-working or 

 sufficiently intelligent. Mr. Andersen first saved a little as a 



