: it is little more than
a century since his ancestors were serfs. It is little more than a
generation since a few men, turning to account the strong national
feeling aroused by the defeat of 1864, started a great educational
movement which has left its mark on all strata of Danish society. After
the People's High School, technical schools arose in various places; and
to these, and to the excellent continuation schools in the country
districts, the Danes are beholden for the regeneration of their
agriculture. From 1867 co-operative distributive societies on the
Rochdale plan had been spreading in Denmark; but it was not till 1882
that co-operation in agriculture began, and the first co-operative dairy
was formed; ten years later there were about a thousand such, a number
which has slightly increased since. These dairies are productive
societies in which the cow-owners are the shareholders, and all
shareholders have equal rights and equal voting power, whether they own
one cow or one hundred. Almost every village has its co-operative dairy,
fitted to deal with the milk of from 400 to 1400, or even 2000 cows.
They far exceed all the other dairies of Denmark. More than four-fifths
of all the milk of Denmark is used in them, and they produce butter
worth more than nine millions sterling. The profits are divided among
those who supply the cream, in proportion to the value of their
supplies--a method of dividing profits characteristic of agricultural
co-operation. The village dairies are united in federations to export
their produce.

Side by side with the dairies are other co-operative societies, quite
independent but largely composed of the same members, for buying
collectively fodder, manures and other agricultural or household
requisites, for collecting and exporting eggs, slaughtering hogs and
curing bacon, improving the breed of stock, for bee-keeping,
fruit-growing and so forth. By means of these societies the country has
been greatly enriched. The farmer not uncommonly belongs to ten
co-operative societies, besides probably a farmers' club. The work of
starting and administrating the societies is seldom paid, and many
farmers give much time to it gratuitously. They are in the main
organized on the same principles as the dairies, but with variations;
the largest egg export society, for instance, has over 30,000 members.
It is not a federation of village societies, but a centralized body with
many branches.

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