AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION IN DENMARK. 9 
per cent of the total agricultural land area in Denmark. Although 
the bulk of this group is commonly dealt with and referred to by the 
Danes as in small-holdings ownership (Husmandshrug) , 15,000 
to 20,000 of these farms comprise areas between 20 and 25 acres and 
should really be classified with the group of middle-size farms. 
The small holder (Husmand) is a farmer living on a small tract 
of land, varying from 8 to 18 acres, where he is able to maintain an 
independent living for his family, with his cows, pigs, and 
chickens, and the growing of feeding crops. The small holder with 
only a few acres usually plans to work part time on the larger 
farms in the neighborhood, which adds to his income and provides 
the larger farms with first-class farm labor. The trend during the 
last decade or two has been to make these small holdings of sufficient 
area to maintain a family without necessitating outside work. Con- 
siderable family labor is found on them. They are established both 
by private initiative and State aid. Government legislation enacted 
in 1899, with several modifications since, enables desirable farm 
laborers who wish to get started on a small farm to borrow money 
at low interest rate on a long-term basis for purchase of land. 
The Danish type of agriculture with its production of animal 
products and its cooperative organization, which gives to the small 
individual producer the benefits of marketing his high-quality, 
standardized products through efficient group distribution, is a 
favorable type of agriculture for the small holder. 
Danish agriculture also shows a unique progress toward farm 
ownership. An official investigation made by the Danish Statistical 
Department on the trend of farm ownership versus tenancy for the 
period from 1850 to 1905, 8 shows that farm tenancy in Denmark 
decreased from 42.5 per cent in 1850 to 10.1 per cent in 1905. No 
official survey has been made since 1905, but according to the best 
unofficial investigation at least 92 per cent of the farmers in 
Denmark now own the land they cultivate. Furthermore, where 
farm tenancy is practiced, it is conducted on the basis of long-term 
arrangements. That the farmer owns the land he cultivates or even 
leases his farm for a long period of years, assures a degree of 
permanency that gives solidarity to cooperative associations. 
PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN DANISH COOPERATION. 
Certain forms in organization and operation and certain legal 
aspects are common throughout all branches of Danish cooperation. 
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION. 
The Danish cooperative system is a business organization built on a 
sound economic foundation, developed independently of all State, 
political, religious, and social-class points of view. Cooperative 
organizations in Denmark have never received financial aid from 
the State government, except in the case of cooperative breeding- 
associations for livestock improvement. This means that the cooper- 
atives always meet on the ground of common economic interests. 
The movement rests on an intelligent membership, possessing a 
rational understanding as to the meaning, responsibilities, and value 
8 Dan mark's Statistiskc Departement, Statistisk Sammendrag, 1913, p. 13. 
