CO-OPERATIVE SLAUGHTEE-HOUSES 57 



was prohibited altogether, on the ground that swine fever 

 (hog cholera) had appeared among pigs in the Copenhagen 

 district. This caused a heavy fall in the price of fat pigs, 

 which all through the winter were sold at about 2|J. per lb. 

 live weight. The Royal Agricultural Society of Denmark 

 resolutely took steps to promote an export of live pigs to 

 England, 16,000 being shipped in 1888, and 21,000 the follow- 

 ing year ; but that attempt achieved no permanent result. 

 In 1890 Germany opened her frontiers again to the import of 

 pigs, and fat pigs were again produced, chiefly on the islands, 

 for export to Germany. In October, 1895, Germany made 

 an attempt to hinder this trade by ordering a quarantine for 

 pigs on importation. When a few Danish pigs were found in 

 Rostock suffering from a lung disease, Germany, in December, 

 1895, prohibited all import of live pigs, fresh pork, and fresh 

 offal of pigs from Denmark. The result of this pohcy was that 

 almost the whole of the Danish pig products was despatched to 

 the United Kingdom, and this again resulted in a strong de- 

 termination on the part of the pig breeders, who henceforth 

 devoted their entire energy towards the production of the best 

 possible bacon pig. From this again resulted a great improve- 

 ment in the quality of the bacon. This development was 

 greatly furthered by the estabhshment of the many Co-operative 

 Bacon Factories which had been built after 1887. 



It is sometimes stated that the commercial pohcy of Germany 

 gave the initiative to the laying out of the first co-operative 

 bacon factory in Horsens. This is not, strictly speaking, the 

 case, as the decision to build the factory had been arrived at 

 before the German prohibition of 29th November, 1887. Lead- 

 ing men in the Horsens district, seeing the beneficial results of 

 co-operation in other branches of agricultural industry, had 

 for some time deUberated whether certain vexatious conditions 

 affecting the sale of pigs in their district could not be removed 

 by means of co-operation. The German prohibition and the 

 serious fall in the prices of pigs gave a stimulus to their work, 

 and ensured its successful accomphshment. The leading 

 spirit in this work was Peter Bojsen, owner and principal of 

 Gedved " People's High School," and chairman of the Agri- 

 cultural Society of Horsens. There was no bacon factory 



