272 
Apriailturc of Denmarlt. 
The Danish monarchy contains at present (18G0) of — 
Squall' Miles. 
Arable land 14,520 
Heaths ;),'-!5(i 
Mosses and bog-meadows 1,(100 
Woods 1,012 
Marsh-land 880 
Lakes .. a.^ 
Shifting sand 280 
Total 21,890 
Although the prosperity of agriculture in a country greatly 
depends upon its commerce, and Denmark cannot lay claim to 
be considered a commercial country as the term is usually 
understood, the farmer nevertheless finds ready sale for his 
produce, either directly to the consumer, or, through an agent, 
to the merchant. As the rural population is about four-fold 
larger than that of the towns, the direct sale to consumers must 
of course be of comparatively small importance, the more so as 
the inhabitants of the provincial towns frequently possess suffi- 
cient land to supply themselves with corn for breadstuffs, and, 
when this is not the case, they obtain their grain from the corn- 
dealer, or purchase bread from the baker. They do, indeed, 
usually buy their butter, cheese, eggs, and in part their meat, 
direct from the small farmers, but are generally supplied with 
produce of very inferior quality. For instance, the butter, or 
the article sold in the market by the yeomen-farmers under that 
name, is execrably bad ; it is strongly salted with the commonest 
salt, whilst in its preparation so little regard is paid to tlie pro- 
per extraction of the whey, or even to cleanliness, that it appears 
strange that such produce can find <a sale ; but the consumption 
of butter in Denmark is extremely large, amounting, on an 
average, to from 28 to 30 lbs. per head per annum, so that greater 
importance is attached to quantity than to quality. The higher 
classes are supplied by the proprietors of the larger estates with 
a superior article ; this is especially the case with those who 
supply the markets of the capital and Hamburg, and still more 
so with those who wish to find a market in England. The same 
rule applies to cattle : the worst are sent to provincial towns, the 
better to Copenhagen, the next best to Hamburg, and the best to 
England. 
But, though the home consumption is l)y no means small, it 
Avill be seen that very considerable exports of grain, cattle, and 
provisions take place under very favourable conditions. The 
provincial towns seldom lie more than from 16 to 20 English 
