306 \ Agriculture of Denmark. 
made between the above table and the one to follow. I must, 
however, observe that the export of meat to England has at 
times been greater than in 1845 ; whereas very few head of 
cattle were sent there previous to that year. 
In 1845 were exported to England 57 heads of oxen, and 
44,694 pounds of meat ; in 1847, 3020 heads of oxen, and 
100,590 pounds of meat. In the year 1853 the largest export 
of oxen to England took place, viz., 23,878 heads. 
Oxen are rarely used for draught purposes except in the pen- 
insula. 
Sheep. — By the latest published statistical tables it appears 
that there were in Denmark Proper in 1838 1,700,000 sheep ; 
in Sleswig, in 1845, 180,000, and in Holstein in the same year 
140,000. In these duchies large flocks of sheep are only met 
with on the foreland outside the dykes of the marshes. With 
respect to the kingdom, the number of sheep in Jutland is three- 
fold that on the islands, because they can thrive on the almost 
barren and hilly land of that province, where cattle cannot. On 
the heaths of central and west Jutland the sheep proves the most 
important, and frequently the only domestic animal. By its 
frugality and hardy nature it enables the yeoman farmer of these 
barren districts to obtain a subsistence. 
The native Danish sheep is between 2 to 2J feet in height, 
and about 3 feet long. When in good condition it weighs on 
an average 50 to 55 pounds. It is hardy, and easily fed, has 
very little wool on the body, short wool on the legs and tail, 
generally of a rough, coarse texture. It is shorn twice a year 
(spring and autumn), and gives on an average 2^ to 3 pounds of 
wool. It is found on the heaths of Jutland, where a better race 
cannot exist, because it has to live in the open air during a great 
part of the winter. In other parts of Denmark the sheep are of 
a mixed breed. 
Of foreign breeds may be found the Merino sheep. In 1797, 
300 of these were imported from Spain for one of the royal 
sheep-folds, which, in 1824, counted 1600 of this race. It soon 
spread over the country on account of the finer wool, which 
fetched double the price of other kinds : but as this sheep re- 
quires a care and attention which the smaller farmer cannot 
bestow, it is only to be met with on the larger estates, where 
German shepherds are then generally employed. The interest 
taken in the Merino sheep has, however, of late much decreased, 
partly because the race, by cross-breeding, has deteriorated both 
with respect to quality and quantity of wool, and partly because 
from the increase in the consumption of mutton the farmer finds 
more profit in selecting sheep for their flesh than for their wool. 
The " Dishley " and " Southdown " races have therefore been 
