106 CO-OPEKATION IN DANISH AGEICULTUKE 



up a supply of the two breeds, and Morkeberg, therefore, 

 proposed that " breeding centres " should be estabHshed where 

 the breeds should be kept pure, some centres for Yorkshire, 

 some for the Danish pig, where farmers could buy the required 

 breeding animals of either breeds. This plan was adopted. 

 In 1895 four breeding centres were formed in Sealand, and, 

 by the support of the agricultural societies, similar centres 

 were soon spread all over the country. This arrangement paved 

 the way for Co-operative Pig Breeding Societies on similar 

 lines to those for horses and cattle. 



A few such societies had already been formed at an early 

 period in imitation of the bull clubs. When the breeding 

 centres for the Large White and the Danish pigs became generally 

 known among farmers, they availed themselves of the oppor- 

 tunity offered to buy good sows of the Danish breed whenever 

 their own stock was not good enough. To serve these sows 

 farmers then formed societies for the joint purchase and use 

 of a Yorkshire boar from a centre. The number of Pig Breeding 

 Societies, therefore, increased rapidly, and the usefulness of 

 the breeding centres was at the same time greatly enhanced. 

 These centres and the Pig Breeding Societies worked together 

 in a very practical manner for the production of better bacon 

 pigs. Of Pig Breeding Societies, 27 were formed in 1899, 21 

 in 1900. Then the State offered its help in the shape of a 

 grant not exceeding £550, to such societies as fulfilled the 

 conditions laid down by the Minister. It was, for instance, 

 stipulated that the boar of the society should be of Yorkshire 

 breed, and that no more than 50 approved sows should be 

 served by each boar. The Law of 1902 offered a grant of £3 

 for each Yorkshire boar owned by a society with approved 

 bye-laws and recommended by the provincial Federation of 

 Agricultural Societies. The members' sows were to be ap- 

 proved, the boar was to be the property of the society and 

 had to be a prize-winner at a State-supported show in the class 

 for Yorkshires. In 1904 the grant was made available also 

 for societies with boars of the Danish breed, a change which 

 led to the foundation of many more societies. By the Ee- 

 trenchment Law of 1912 the grant was totally withdrawn, much 

 to the disappointment of the pig breeders. The idea was that 



