1913. 
HE R. URAL NEW-YORKER 
1307 
DANISH BUTTER MAKING. 
[The following was written by Mr. 
Nelson, a Dane, now American consul 
at the Hague. We know our readers will 
be interested in this statement of dairy 
history in the greatest butter producing 
country in the world.] 
If ever people see their benefit in imi¬ 
tating something, it is a pretty sure sign 
that the something is a superior article, 
and Danish butter has been imitated 
again and again, especially in England, 
W’here for a generation it has been con¬ 
sidered the very best in the market. That 
the little kingdom of Denmark has been 
able to place herself in foremost rank 
among the world’s butter-producing 
countries does credit to her pluck and to 
the method she has employed; in fact 
she has by both given a lesson of great 
value and interest to the rest of the 
' world—a lesson, which, if listened to and 
followed, will work wonders everywhere, 
for it is a lecture on the principle of co- 
operation, pure and simple. 
Less than 25 years ago it was only the 
big farms—of which Denmark, however, 
according to her size, has a goodly num¬ 
ber—which were capable of producing 
butter thought fit for export. The owner 
of the small farm did not produce the 
required quantity of milk and consequent¬ 
ly, even if he understood the art of mak¬ 
ing good butter, he could not produce 
enough to reach the foreign market. It 
is true that some merchants already 
bought up butter from some of the small 
producers, mixed it and worked it to¬ 
gether for exportation, but naturally, so 
many different qualities of butter mixed 
together made an inferior article, and 
could not command a satisfactory price. 
In short, the result was that it did not 
pay the small farmers to produce butter, 
because they had to sell it at a very low 
figure for home consumption mostly, and 
as far back as in the sixties they began 
to understand that only by joining hands 
would it be possible for them .to reach 
the same profit as the large producer. 
Enterprising individuals utilized this 
growing feeling and started dairies in 
different sections of the country, buying 
the milk from a certain number of farm¬ 
ers, but though it was a step in the right 
direction, they did not succeed, because 
they were handicapped in many ways. In 
the first place, they did not then have the 
later invented separator, and consequently 
did not get the full value out of the milk, 
and besides, they did not get all the milk 
from each farmer as promised, nor did 
they get the best quality of milk, because 
it happened now and then that the farm¬ 
er’s wife needed some cream in her house¬ 
hold, and helped herself before the milk 
was delivered to the dairy, or perhaps now 
and then some water would be left in the 
milk pail when cleaning it, and not care¬ 
fully thrown away before filling the pail 
with milk. The proprietors of these early 
dairies made in most cases a mess of it 
after running them a few years, and not 
only lost their own money, but as a rule 
some of the farmers’ as well, and the 
dairies were by-and-by looked upon as 
an evil. In spite of this bad beginning, 
the idea of cooperation did not die out 
among the farmers-, for while years rolled 
by and the prices of grain gradually low¬ 
ered. the prices on the butter were raised, 
and it became plain that only in finding 
a way to make the butter-making profit¬ 
able to the smaller farmer was the sal¬ 
vation of the country. Then came the 
year 1878, and with that the invention 
of the separator, which started new life 
in the Danish dairy world, and bred new 
hope in the heart of the small farmer. 
In January, 1881, as many as 00 sep¬ 
arators were in use in various districts 
of the country, and in the Winter of 
1SS1-1SS2 the first cooperative dairy was 
started in Jutland by small farmers, who 
induced a clever young dairyman to or¬ 
ganize and run it. It was started with 
milk guaranteed from 400 cows, and it 
was a success from the start and became 
the first real forerunner of the great de¬ 
velopment of the Danish dairy interest. 
The following Summer other cooperative 
dairies followed, and each year the num¬ 
ber has increased, until Denmark in the 
year 1S97 was the proud possessor of 
1,145 dairies with an invested capital of 
about $7,000,000. Ten years after the 
first cooperative dairy was started 
Denmark’s export of butter had grown 
from 2,014 million pounds to 0.748 mil¬ 
lion, and 16 years after, it had grown to 
15,310 million, and it has been growing 
ever since and is growing still. (In 1903 
it was 16,027 million pounds.) 
This in a nutshell is the history and 
the results of the Danish cooperative 
dairies, but as it does not convey to the 
reader any idea of the methods employed 
by the Danish farmers in order to reach 
these marvelous results, I shall yield the 
floor to an old and experienced Danish 
dairyman, who has been in the movement 
ever since it started, and who is one of 
the leading authorities on the dairy ques¬ 
tion in Denmark today. lie said: “You 
wish to know how the farmers have man¬ 
aged to start their cooperative dairies? 
A number of farmers in a certain section 
of the country owning from 500-800 cows 
simply unite and organize a society for 
the purpose of establishing a dairy. The 
capital necessary amounts on an aver¬ 
age to Kr. 30 ($7.50) per cow, and 
is either subscribed by the members, or 
what is more general, taken up as a loan 
in some bank, which "accepts a guarantee 
for the money from all the members. Of 
course, the establishing of large dairies 
is cheaper per cow than the establishing 
of smaller ones, so very few have less 
than 100 cows, and the majority have 
from 500-800; here and there some are 
found with even 1,200-1,500 cows, or 
sometimes more. In general the number 
of cows has been growing with all of 
them. Many have begun with 300-400 
cows and have now 1.000. Besides, in 
most cases the annual profit of each cow 
is greatly increased, because the cows 
have not only gradually been better fed, 
but they have also developed into more 
decided milk-giving cows. 
“The cooperative dairies are ruled by 
laws, which are very much alike all over 
the country, as a common aim for all the 
societies is stated in them: to get the 
greatest possible profit out of the milk, 
not only by .producing good butter and 
cheese, but also by returning good 
skimmed milk for use in the different 
members’ household. This last aim was 
soon found to be of the greatest import¬ 
ance, because if the housewife is sure 
of getting good milk back from the dairy 
she will not hesitate in sending this in¬ 
stitution all the new milk she can spare, 
and consequently the wagons get bigger 
loads: all the milk is utilized by the 
separator and the housewife is spared 
from handling a part of the milk at home. 
The officers of the societies consist in 
some places of five, in other places of 
seven or nine, yes, even up to 17 men. as 
a rule elected for a term of two years, 
half of the members retiring each year. 
Of course many officers do not improve 
matters, but for many reasons it has, 
however, been found practical and best, 
that the offices of president, cashier and 
bookkeeper are filled by three different 
persons. The officers are elected at the 
annual or semi-annual meetings. The 
annual or semi-annual meetings are the 
highest authority for the corporation, 
and all questions are decided by simple 
majority, without regard to the number 
of cows the individual members may hap¬ 
pen to own. 
“The members are not only responsible 
for their society’s loans and liabilities, 
but each member is compelled to deliver 
all his milk to the dairy during the 10 
or 15 years, for which the society gen¬ 
erally is started. With the exception of 
small sales to poor people, in his neigh¬ 
borhood, no member is allowed to sell 
milk, butter or cheese. All the milk not 
used in the members’ household shall each 
day be delivered to the dairy,, and only 
by death of the member or by sale of his 
farm can he be released from this obliga¬ 
tion. Many of the large farmers hesi¬ 
tated in the beginning to give all their 
milk to the dairy, hence this severe clause. 
Now it is no longer needed, because it 
has been proved that the farmers cannot 
use their milk to better advantage than 
by bringing it to the dairy. 
“The production and handling of the 
milk is or should be controlled by the of¬ 
ficers. They have the right to look after 
the barns, the feedrooms, the cleaning of 
the milkpails, the milking, the cooling 
of the milk. etc. In the beginning it was 
also stipulated how and with what the 
cows should be fed, but such a stipulation 
is no longer necessary, as the farmers 
have been taught that and it is for their 
own interest to feed and treat the cows 
well and deliver as much and as good 
milk as possible. 
“The milk is paid for according to its 
weight and according to the percentage 
of cream it contains. Generally 28 
pounds of milk is calculated to give one 
pound of butter, but in reality it is a 
few pounds less. The running expenses 
are more than covered by figuring the 
returned skimmed milk and churned milk 
at 1 or % Ore (1 Ore equals y± Ameri¬ 
can cent) per pound, and what is saved 
up on that account during the year is 
paid out to the members according to the 
quantity of milk delivered. . 
“To get clever and experienced persons 
to run the dairy naturally caused many 
difficulties at first, but clever men and 
women from all classes soon began to 
educate themselves for those positions 
and for many years there has been no 
lack of suitable persons. Large dairies 
pay best, for the reason that it is cheaper 
to build a dairy with a-capacity for six 
million pounds of milk annually, than 
three equally well equipped dairies with 
two million pounds capacity each. Be¬ 
sides, a large butter manufacturer ob¬ 
tains a higher price for his products 
than the three smaller ones, and it is of 
course cheaper for the larger dairy to 
pay a first-class -manager than it is for 
the three small ones to pay three first- 
class men. Here in Denmark it is to 
the large dairies that we owe most of 
the improvements, in fact .the whole won¬ 
derful development of our butter produc¬ 
tion, as it is those which have united 
and established experimental laboratories 
and helped intelligent men and women 
to take post graduate courses, thus in¬ 
creasing their knowledge and usefulness.” 
Defective Cream Separation. 
It is said that poor work with hand 
separators causes heavy loss of cream in 
many dairies. Quite a proportion of the 
butter-fat escapes into the skim-milk. 
The Wisconsin Agricultural College bul¬ 
letin says about this: 
“C. E. Lee of the University Dairy 
School has assigned six causes for the 
loss of fat in milk : First, the separator 
may not be standing level upon a firm 
foundation; second, the bowl may be 
out of balance and vibrating too much 
when in operation; third, the bowl may 
not be operated at full speed, (if the 
speed of the handle should be 4S or 60, 
as is indicated by the book of instruc¬ 
tions, it must be maintained at that rate 
during the separating, and if other than 
hand power is used the speed of the 
bowl must be the same) ; fourth, skim¬ 
ming milk that is too cold, (milk should 
be separated immediately after each 
milking), fifth, the cream outlet may be 
partially stopped, due to improper clean¬ 
ing of the separator; sixth, the bowl may 
be too low’ or too high. If too low, it is 
due to the parts being partially worn, 
or in removing the bottom parts for 
cleaning and not readjusting the height 
of the bowl to its original position.” 
Tommy : What does the paper mean by 
calling Mr. Too Sharp an eight-by-ten 
business man? Tommy's Father: I pre¬ 
sume it means he is not exactly square. 
—Melbourne Leader. 
Edwards STEEL Shingles never rot or 
burn. Made forever rustproof by famous 
Edwards “Tightcote” Process. Easier put 
on than common shingles. No extras. 
i No tools. No expert workmen. No paint 
required. Far outlast wood shingles. 
Over 125,000 satisfied users. Write. Get 
prices and Free Book No. 1273. Send 
dimensions of roof if possible. (1S0) 
This Brings Big Offer 
J THE EHWARDS MFG. CO. 
1223-1273 lock Street, Cincinnati. Ohio 
Please send Book on your Steel Shingles, to 
J gather with latest Freight-Paid prices. 
* Name 
Address 
ihall we send you free book about 
APPLETON 
WOOD SAWS 
It shows pictures of all our buzz, drag,cir¬ 
cular log saws and portable wood sawing 
rigs, with or without Appleton Gasoline 
Engines, Tells you straight facts which 
we guarantee our saws to back up. Opens 
a way for you to make money this Winter 
sawing your own and your neighbors* 
wood. You want a saw to last—made 
strong-boxes that never heat—don’t ex¬ 
periment with cheap saws then, buy an 
Appleton, 40 years the standard. Send for 
booklet to-day. • Batavia Ill IJ S A. 
APPLETON MFG. CO.SmWSTS t 
MELONEY £fA°?c A A T £ 
tells you the money-making cows in your hard- 
Pushing a button gives weight of milk. Saves 
feeding expense on small milkers. Suitable for any 
size herd. We are prepared to eauip dairies 
throughout. Send for our 300-page catalogue “D", 
DAIRYMENS SUPPLY C OMPANY 
Philadelphia and Lansdowne, Pa, 
Handy _ 
Binder * 
J UST the thing for 
preserving files of 
The Rural New-Yobkeb. 
Durable and cheap. Sent 
postpaid for 25 cents. 
The Rural New-Yorker 
333 W. 30th St., New York City 
is a feed of great value in itself. It increases the assimilative and 
digestive powers, of your Farm Stock. 
It is absolutely different from any other feed in the world, 
because of its peculiar properties. 
Its antiseptic properties free the stomach 
and intestines from worms or bacteria, thus 
enabling your animal to get full value 
from its food. 
FOR ALL FARM STOCK 
feed 34 Molassine Meal, ^4 regular ration 
to get best results. 
Write us for our latest book on Feeding. 
Look for this Trade 
Mark 
on overy bag 
-wvESs,*. 
“MOLASSINE 
MEAL” is put up 
in 100 lb. bags. 
Ask your dealer for 
it or write direct. 
MOLASSINE E COM pANy 326 Board of Tra de, BOSTON, MASS. 
St. John. Montreal. Toronto. Winnipeg. 
