i9io.] State Assistance to Agriculture in Denmark. 569 



cessfully carried out in his locality. He submits it to his 

 society, who, if they approve of it, communicate it to the 

 Provincial Association. This latter body considers the sug- 

 gestion on its comparative merits as regards other suggestions 

 which may have come in from other parts of the province, 

 and, if they think fit, apply to the Ministry to send an expert 

 to advise on the matter, and bear part of the expense con- 

 nected therewith. The advantages of this method of sifting 

 suggestions before they are submitted to the Government 

 are obvious. 



Further, by means of the lectures and discussions and 

 cattle shows which are organised by the local societies, the 

 farmers are kept abreast of the times, and new inventions and 

 discoveries are brought to their notice and explained to them. 



It would, perhaps, be well to emphasise the fact that Den- 

 mark is a small country, comparatively thickly populated in 

 the rural districts, there being, with the exception of Copen- 

 hagen, no really big town. The farms also are not, as a rule, 

 large, and communications are easy. If in addition to this 

 we take into account the highly educated character of the agri- 

 cultural population, the comparative ease with which 

 organisations of this nature can work becomes more easy 

 of comprehension. The natural aptitude of the Danes for 

 forming themselves into associations and working them suc- 

 cessfully, has been previously mentioned, and must be borne 

 in mind. 



There are various other associations which have some 

 special branch of agriculture for their object. For example, 

 there are some 260 horse-breeding associations, 1,310 cattle- 

 breeding associations, 250 pig-breeding associations, 90 

 sheep-breeding associations, and so on, which all receive 

 State aid, and aim at improving the stock of the district. The 

 State subvention is paid to these associations on the recom- 

 mendation of the agricultural society of the district. 



The law of May 23rd, 1902, lays down the manner in which 

 these various subventions are to be paid, and the various 

 qualifications (membership, length of existence, &c.) which 

 are demanded of the societies. 



State Aid to Dairies. — There are some 1,500 dairies in 

 Denmark, some 1,200 of which are co-operative, while many 



