vi FOREWOED 



The English farmer had gone in for meat production. The 

 Danish farmer, on the other hand, went in for dairy work. 

 The choice was momentous, and we should hke to know a little 

 more fully exactly what determined it. Events have shown 

 that it was emphatically the right choice, because dairy 

 farming produces much more food per acre of ground than 

 meat production, and it allows full scope for, indeed it necessi- 

 tates, those co-operative methods of business and production 

 which have since dominated Danish agriculture. We are 

 proud to remember that Segelcke, the young Dane who played 

 a prominent part in bringing about the change, first spent 

 a year at Eothamsted, and then went straight from there to 

 take up his work in Denmark Co-operation came later. In 

 / 1882 Stilling Andersen founded the co-operative dairy at 

 Hjedding, which is usually regarded as the starting-point, 

 though, as a matter-of-fact, a co-operative dairy had already 

 been estabhshed in 1875. 



The wisdom of the Danish choice was evident in the 

 'eighties and 'nineties when Europe was flooded with cheap 

 agricultural produce, especially corn from the virgin countries 

 \ot the New World and Australasia. Wheat fell to nearly half 

 the price it had commanded in the 'sixties. English agriculture 

 suffered a terrible set back, and did not begin to recover until 

 about 1896. Danish agriculture, on the other hand, was able 

 not only to weather the storm but even to make headway all 

 the time. The improvement in dairying reacted on the arable 

 farming : the export of butter rose from 10,300 tons per 

 annum in the late 'seventies to 100,000 tons per annum before 

 the War, and the yield of wheat rose from 30 "9 to 36-5 bushels 

 per acre. 



Thus the Danish system has proved to be eminently 

 suitable for the production of wheat from the land. 



Herein lies the great importance of its lesson for us. 

 Whatever may be the ending of the War, and whenever it 

 comes, we may be absolutely confident that times of serious 

 difficulty lie ahead. However much wise statesmanship may 

 mitigate the effects of the destruction brought about by the 

 War a time of stress will come as surely as night succeeds to 

 day ; the very word " Reconstruction," now on every one's 



