xiv PKEFACE 



both of the people's high schools and of the agricultural schools, 

 belong to joint stock companies of farmers formed for that 

 purpose. In the same way the farmers have their public 

 libraries, their assembly-room in almost every village, their benefit 

 societies, societies for insurance against unemployment, in some 

 cases their own free church, and pohtical and other societies 

 for various purposes. It works for the strength of the co- 

 operative societies that they are kept absolutely neutral and 

 open to all men, independently of their political, rehgious, or 

 social inclination. An exception is made by the Danish 

 Sanatorium Society, which was formed in 1904 by co-operative 

 societies, for the purpose of building sanatoria or convalescent 

 homes for members, this term being understood to comprise 

 members' households, i.e, man, wife, children, and servants. 

 Any co-operative society can be accepted as a member by 

 paying, once for all, 3s. Qd. per individual member. In April, 

 1917, 1070 co-operative societies, including 716 co-operative 

 dairy societies, had joined with 182,000 individual members, 

 and had paid £31,400. The society has a beautiful sanatorium, 

 Krabbesholm, in a park of 53 acres, with accommodation for 

 114 patients. 



The agricultural population in Denmark numbers about 

 500,000 heads of households, of whom 172,000 are employers. 

 There are about 70,000 farmers and peasants, and about 

 100,000 small-holders ; besides these are a large number of 

 agricultural labourers with small holdings or allotments. It 

 is the farmers, peasants, and the small-holders who are the 

 members of the co-operative societies, except with regard to 

 the co-operative supply stores, of which many servants and 

 labourers are also members, and the co-operative dairy societies 

 in which many agricultural labourers with small-holdings with 

 one or two cows are also interested. It is not possible to give 

 the number of members in all the different kmds of co-operative 

 societies, inasmuch as the statistics, also the official statistics, 

 give full particulars of the numbers of the herds and flocks, of 

 the cows, pigs, horses, poultry, etc., represented in the societies 

 by their respective owners, but not of the number of the 

 owners themselves. This fact affords a striking proof of the 

 technical view taken of these societies. But enough details 



