The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-04-24
DAY AMONG DANISH FARMERS
BY MATTHEW S. DypeEoK.

AOptuudktut Beuildl K HIS Is q
great farming country. Every square
foot Of land is utilized. There is al
most no waste land In America you
will find here and there a scientific
farmer. Here every farmer is a scien
tific farmer He knows farming, and
thanks to cooperation, he knows mar
keting as well Every COW is a good
COW, giving a good quantity of good
milk. Not only is the milk good when
it leaves the COW but II 1t goes to the
city II goes promptly and is still good
milk when IL is delivered. II It is
made into butter It becomes good but
ter and reaches the consumer in the
best possible form. The pigs too are
high grade. As they move TO market
they appear TO be all Of uniform color,
size shape, and quality, for each con-
forms to a type proved by experimen-
tation TO be the best for the purposes
to which they are devoted,
Every farmer analyzes his soil, fer.
tili2es his fields, and rotates his crops
according to the best principles Of
soil conservation. In America you oc-
casionally see such farming and such
farmers; here you see nothing else.
Back 70 the Farm.
One end of the farm marketing
game can of course be investigated in
the city. Maurice Francis Egan, the
American minister, is a recognized
authority upon cooperation and has
fully informed us of its scope and
work The staff at the legation also
can tell us much of value about Dan
ish cooperative organizations. The
officers who represent the central
federation Of cooperative societies
along any line can show us the entire
scheme of organization from central
Office down to ultimate producer. Here
we can learn all about business meth
DDS and how the output is handled,
sold, and shipped. But how co-opera-
tive marketing effects the farmer on
the farm is after all an essential con
sideration. so it's back to original
sources of information for US. We
have decided to 90 undirectcd and un-
accompanied except by an interpreter.
Medium Sized Farm.
What appears to be the home Of a
well-to-do farmer upon a medium
sized farm is our first point Of at
tack.
We find the buildings including
dwelling. stables. granary, hay shed
and other outbuildings arranged
around a square court All except the
dwelling house are rooted with thatch
which although it seems to be in good
condition the farmer assures us is
twenty years old. Everything ex-
hibits the utmost neatness. The sta
bles, poultry houses and pig shelters,
are all as clean as the nature Of their
use permits, while the house itself is
immaculate.
The former owner of the farm is
dead The widow and children now
occupy the place. OF three sons one
is in Copenhagen and is to leave the
farm permanently. He goes to the
city not because he wants to but be-
cause there is no room for him upon
this farm and it is almost impossible
to get more land-everybody wants to
keep all he has. The older son is to
have the major part of the farm turn
ing over a smaller portion to a young
er brother. The mother will continue
to live on the farm with the older son.
The farm is lightweight acres in ex-
tent There are on it six horses, thir-
ty-fve cows, and sixty pigs. besides
the poultry. The farm with it's stock
buildings, and equipment is worth
about $17,000.00.
Cooperative Bacon Factory.
The farmer is a member of a CO.
operative bacon factory. In order to
meet the demands of the market. I
which has been most carefully studied,
he and the other members find it |
necessary to breed pig of particu-
lar type, one which will produce good |
bacon. All Of the members therefore |
are raising pig produced by crossing
the English Yorkshire with the native |
Danish breed. They have found also
that the best bacon is obtained when
twenty-five to twenty-eight weeks old,
beween $50 and 200 pounds.
Careful experimentation has also dem
onstrated that II the hogs are mar
keted at this time the most bacon per /
food unit fed them is produced The
pigs life is busy life. They have
only five to seven months to live and
must weigh at the end of that time
from 1SO to 200 pounds. The hogs
are also bred for large litters since
this is an important consideration
when 1t becomes necessary to rush
lhe entire output Of hogs upon the
market at an early age Experts say
mat the pig so produced is ideal for
ne production Of bacon.
Cooperative Creamery.
This farmer belongs to a co-opera-
i've dairy association which conducts
creamery some little distance away
rho nanasers Sro mostly the smaller II