Wichita eagle., 1888-07-08
DENMARK FARMERS.
THE PEASANTRY DIVIDED INTO
FOUR DISTINCT CLASSES

Feeding and Lodging the Laborers-Home-
stead of the Yeomaa Fnrner-The Law
of Inheritance-C7ass Distinctions Con-
corning harrsaye-keepins Poultry.
The peasantry of Denmark are divided
| into four distinct classes. namely, the
''Gsardmand" pronounced GorrlsnA or
yeoman farmer. who either owns or rents
trom thirty to eighty-fve acres (English);
secondly. the .'Pacelist," who owns or
rents from eight TO thirty acres, thirdly.
the Husband" or cottager, with from
one to eight acres: and lastly. the I'm
sidder." who generally rents MS cottage
and garden plot; and from this last class
it is that the laboring men are principally
/ drawn.
! Until marriage the laborirg men are fed
/ and lodged upon the farm where they work,
/ and in one of the buildings Just referred
to are the dormitories for the 'karie. Of
which upon such farm there would be
about twelve. beside the foreman; there,
too. is the roo1ay Kitchen, and the refec-
; tory, where these staiwart hungry youths
are fed, and particularly well fed. too
partaklng OF no less than Eve good meals
day At o In the morning their break
fast Is served. consisting OF huge slices Of
bread and butter-cut by a machine
With coffee ane small glass of snaps. ;"
or corn branoy; On the island Of Zealand
this early meal is e. kind OF thick soup
made of rye bread and beer, with which
salt herring Is eaten At noon dinner.
which is soup or perr1ge. followed by
meat. or Goldfish. or pork. with vegetables
| and beer; at p. m. bread and butter.
cheese, beer, and more snaps, and finally,
supper of porridge with milk.
The farm hands are hired by the half
year. and the whole system he's hitherto
worked TO the mutual satisfaction of both
laborer and employer This, however, is
greatly due to the fact that there exists a
code of hiring laws which provides an easv
settlement of ell disputes between master
and man. Every servant, farf1 or domes-
tic, is under these laws compelled to keep
book which is officially registered, and
wherein are written all his OF hel certif-
Gates ef character, each one OF which is
necessarily countersigned by the magis-
trate of the district wherein the master
or mistress resides.
The Gaardmand's homestead Is substan-
tiai, square and matched; the barns.
stables, etc. are joined to it, forming to-
gether a quadraugular farm ward. with
the entrance gate facing the dwelling at
the back is garden. usually of about
three quarters of an acre. devoted TO fruit.
vegetables and hops. with few roses
and glLy flowers near the house door A
farmer working FROM sixty to eighty acres
will have upon his farm two 'karles,
boy. and two girls for the dairy, al of
whom are helped in their work by their
master and his family Generally such a
farmer keeps upon his land fifteen or more
cows. four sheep. four horses and two
goats, for every farmer is horse breeder
more or less The poultry is his wifes
care and perquisite. and forms highly
important item III her yearly budget
These farms. when owned by the woman,
are, generally speaking. mortgaged for
half their value, fact to be attributed in
most instances to the repeal OF the law of
primogenlture.
At present the parent is permitted, if
he pleases. to leave e-tlIird of his prop
erty to his eldest son, a clause in the law
of Inheritance much appreciated and III
general use AS the valuation for probate
is extremely low, the eldest son generally
raises loan with wkich TO bay out his
L,
and the race being Il practical one, en-
dowed with generous instincts. this modi-
fed form Of 'partage force" does not APP
pear as yet TO produce the jealous feuds
or to work the evil it is known to do III
other countries. though. as indeed the
system has not been long in force, it ia
perhaps rash TO predict that it may effect
no change for the worse during the lapse
of II, xr-bo
impossible. owing to previous mortgage.
subdivision steps in and in some instances
has been repeated until the minimum area
has been reached under the new law al
ready referred TO. Necessarily. if the /
family te numerous. and all elect to re-
tain Their share in the land. they sink to
the position of Husuand. and have to /
resort to trade to exc ont their liveh- /
hood. Shcgld however. Younger mem I
Der Of the family have bad the good luck (
to have married the child Of q wealthy
Gaardnand with coed dovry. then tho
newly married pair proceed to bay small
farm Of about twenty acres, and be- !
come Parcelists.
Class distinctions ere clearly marked
and rigidly adhered to among the peas
antTy. Not so very long ago il was argued
from certain political platforms in the
Midlands that the farm laborer who pos
sessed three acres and cow" would no
longer have the need to touch his lat 70
the squire. Judging from the Danish
however. race fully az sturdy
and independent az our own, il would ap-
pear that en- increase II the number Of
owners OF land does but augment tbs
aanber Of those who demand q respectful
salutation from tho laborer. whether he
possesses a cow or not Also as regards
Gaardnand's son marries al
most invariably Gaardmaud 3 daughter
When the marriage OF Ga2rdmand's son
with Husmand's daughter occurs. al
.hs peasant society OF the district is put
n futter, ard the match il considered
a grave nesalliaace, not ct ell TO be en-
outraged. The younger sons Of Gard
aland who have neither the prospect Of
good inheritance nor of . good match"
usually learn village trade, such as
hat Of wheelwright or blacksmith; those
with better education end more erliskt-
med may become village schoolnastsIs
md village vets, and sometimes, II they
have preference for hs-seGesh, they TaaF
AXE the post Of coachman at the BerTa-
hands, though u IS rare for ths yeom2a
lass 10 entsr domestic service. Thore
3 no do so. Ike tho-e who take 20 trzGA,
ose caste, and nay freely choose thcir
wives from the Husmands daughters,
,ut not so the veterinary. or sekoolHlas-
er. for whom I. would Re uxpardonsble I
Fowls are kept invariably They help :
o pay the rent. and often Iaore besides. $
IDon the highway exc meets the tiny /
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