The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-02-25
BIRMINGHAM AGE-HERALD, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY rs, 1928

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the Christmas tree, and even cameras
and opera glasses. A large building
is devoted to seeds of everything
from clover to wheat, rye, and oats;
and especially to rutabagas, and
mangel-wurgel beets, both of which
form a large part OF the food for the
cattle.
Another great building is filled
with coffee and tea. the establish
ment having its own coffee roasters,
and third has a large force max
ing shoes The latter covers about
an acre, and was equipped by the
United Shoe Machinery company of
America. The shoes turned out are of
every grade and style from those OF
coarse hide to fine, high-heeled shoes
for women The workmanship is ex-
cellent. and the prices are consider
ably lower than in the United States.
The society has also factories for
making candy and chocolate, to-
bacco, cigars and cigarettes. 1t has
chemical works. 1t makes hosiery
and readX-made clothing and also
bicycles and soap.
Butter Makers Eat Margarine.
One of the most important factories
of this whole association is devoted
to margarine, an article which takes
the place of butter for most of the
people of Denmark. Although the
country makes about the best butter
on earth, and exports tens of mill
lions of dollars worth, Its farmers
eat margarine that they may have
more butter to sell. One of the Of
ficiaIs OF the dairy farmers sells all
the butter they make
O o o
Denmark BY Automobile.
But come with me out into the
country and see cooperative farm
ing with your own eyes. We shall
take a Danish automobile and
Valdamar Hansen. who was brought
up on farm, will be our chauffeur.
We ride out of Copenhagen over a
road paved with brick with BIZ
cycle path on each side. There is
also a car line and a way for foot
passengers. We pass many beadti-
full villas and on the edge of the
city see great tracts of truck gar
dens, each having a shack put up
by the municipality for the poor peo-
pie to come out and live in the coun-
try during the summer. Every fam
lily has its garden and house free,
and thousands are accommodated
this way.
Going on, we drive through the
suburbs of the capital, and finally
reach the country, where there are
farmsteads. large and small, with
grain fields and pastures covering
the landscape. The buildings are all
painted white; many of the houses
and barns are covered with a straw
thatch, turned velty brown by the
weather. The matched roofs are
often a foot thick and they extend
out over the white walls below. The
brick chimneys, which come up
through the thatch. are white.
The barns are all built around
yards. They often consist of one
long low building, with wings at
each end. extending out like the head
of a capital IT" On the larger
farms the buildings often surround
but one story, and they cover a great
deal of ground. others are smaller,
but are well kept and scientifically
arranged.
We Visit Farm.
Let us visit one of these farm
steads, a place of 40 acres. The own
er keeps nine COWS in full milk and
has five calves growing up. He has
also chickens and pigs, and is laying
up money. We go with him first
into the COW stable. 1t is like thou
sands in Denmark. 1t is lighted with
large windows and most of it is
floored with thick concrete. The
! cows stand upon boards with their
heads in stanchions and behind runs
| drain that saves every bit of the
manure. The stalls are washed out
every morning and the water and
dirt go into the farm cistern. from
where the contents are pumped out
and taken directly to the fields. Over
each stall is a black board about as
| big as school slate on which we see
in chalk the cows diary. 1t is a rec
ord of the amount of milk she gave
the previous day, together with the
butter fat 1t contained. This is kept
for every COW and each one must
earn her living. II she falls off,
the farmer may change her feed,
and II she does not come up, she goes
to the scrap heap, by which is meant
she is sold. The authorities tell me
that the average life work of a cow
in Denmark is only five years. She
is pushed to the utmost and at the
END OF that time is sold and probably
goes to Germany. Fully 10 per cent
OF all the dairy cows are disposed of
IN that way every year.
o O O
Even Pigs Are Clean.
Our next visit is to the piggery
This is of concrete and kept so vel.
drained that the pig pens ara dry.
Like the stable and indeed all the
other buildings on the farmstead i,
is lighted by electricity, the current
coming over a long transmission line
from sweden. The pigs are York
shlres, clean, fat and roseare white
Looking through the silvery brlstles
their complexion is that of a newly
washed baby. They grunt at US as
we look over the wall, and are so