BREEDING SOCIETIES 



CATTLE BREEDING SOCIETIES; BULL CLUBS 



Cattle breeding has been of great importance in Danish 

 agriculture from the earUest times. In the early part of the 

 Middle Ages the export of fat bullocks was one of the chief 

 sources of income of the kingdom, at times even the chief 

 source. As early as 1457 a Koyal Decree was issued regulating 

 the trade in steers. At first Germany was the chief market, 

 but towards the end of the sixteenth century the Netherlands 

 became Denmark's best customer, for the Netherlands were in 

 those days the wealthiest trading nation and the greatest 

 maritime power, as Great Britain is to-day. The Jutland ox 

 was specially esteemed for its fine beef. For a couple of 

 centuries Dutch cattle dealers travelled regularly each spring 

 in Denmark and went from farm to farm to buy. Fattening 

 bullocks for export was then the main branch of Danish 

 agriculture, and the chief consideration of the country gentle- 

 man, a point which is illustrated by the following little story. 

 On a certain farm in Jutland the owner used to have family 

 prayers every morning during the winter. In summer there 

 was no time to spare for prayers. These began on the day 

 when the bullocks were stabled, and ceased on the day when 

 the bullocks were sold and sent away. " Now the steers must 

 have gone, for there are no family prayers at the mansion," 

 the neighbours used to say. 



This flourishing trade with Holland came to grief, and the 

 first interference came from the Danish Government when, 

 in 1718, it tried to raise money by increasing the export 

 duty to £1 per head of cattle. This was resented by the 

 Dutch and Brabant cattle dealers, and their visits to Denmark 

 fell off. Six years later the farmers in the Netherlands induced 



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