DAIRYING IN DENMARK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14700, 7 December 1909, Page 8

DAIRYING IN DENMARK

MAMMOTH CHEESEWOBKS. A MILK-DRINKING CITY. By 11. T. B. Drew,

Denmark does not call the men who go about tho country trying to help and keep dairymen and creameries on tho right- track " inspectors " and " instructor's," but " councillors." The word has a better sound and implies happier relationship. There are many of these councillors. Some are directly under the State, but several are engaged by t-ho co-operative associations with State aid. Though this money is voted by Govern-, ment the direct payment to these mm and institutions is made through the Royal Agricultural Society, which, in Denmark, is apparently a very live and useful concern. For instance, a creamery or dairymen's association may desire to engage an instructor or councillor for cheese-making. The Govemni'ant will pay part of his salary. Even slaughter-houses have a councillor to advise them sometimes. Recently one was engaged to advise on a difficulty that arose over selling. For tho services of a State councillor associations have to pay about eight kronee (8s lid) a day and travelling expenses. A creamery manager may find, for instance, on going through t.ho published' statistics that ho is using 20 per cent, more fuel: than his neighbur. What is the cause? He sends for an expert- and learns, perhaps, that- his smokestack should be a few feet higher to alter the <iT.wght. There are special councillors ateo in matters of firing and' boilers.

Co-operative stores and co-operative " buying " have been mentioned. Here, there, and everywhere in Denmark there are co-operafiive stores, and they generally join together m circles. Bach island o*[ the kingdom has its "circle," Finally all the circles are " cornered" in one huge association. The Joint Co-operative Store AsEociation in 1907 had 1188 local associations, with altogether 168,696 members. fho trade for that year aggregated 36.433,000k (a krone is Is l-ld). Farmers, dairyman, and labourers comprise most of the members. I inquired into the. lines upon which these stores were rim to ■mako them such a sucoexs, and was informed that care is taken to stock only vitli common" things—goods required by the roa-sses, the pure necessaries of life I lie coimtry stores that stocked t his description of goods wore the most miccessful.

Every jiv 0> dairyman can have two useful side-lines to add his revenue— fowls and pigs. In Denmark the abrogate results of these side-lines are enormous. Th«y also are dealt with on co-operative principles as already indicated Ifoo number of co-operative slaughter-houses i s about 30. The quail-tit-y of bacon exported (chiefly to Great Britain and Germany) is great-. Cattle may also be killed at tlii&se slaughterhouses, and connected with each is an abattoirs aliens local butchers can get slock killed for a fee. The swine u.°ed are Yorkshires crossed with natives, and he association buys bona, and helps the ocal Swine-breeders-' Association. The logs are paid far by net weight, but nearly lull value is paid on delivery when they are graded into four classes. At the end of the year the shareholders receive deJWd ° f Et> mUCh P&V ' b 011 " ,e pork Most of the slaughter-houses also handle eggs. But the Egg Exporting * ssoc,at| ion is by fax the most imposing concern in tins line. It has about 500 branches, and has packing-houses in all the large cities of Denmark, emploving large numbers of men and women. ~ It counts about 33,000 members. The e K »s are stamped to trace then origin. If had eggs are found the guilty member is fined one krone for the first'offence, two krones for the second, and on the third occasion is expelled without the option. Danish eggs may be found all over England. In 1906-07. 30.3 million dozen were exported, besides which, of course, there were the supplies for the whole kingdom. In the same year the exports of bacon and hams were 184:3 million pounds.

You can always tell a creamery in Denmark by its huge, round, brick chimnev stack. They are plentifully sprinkled over the land. A dwelling-house for tho manager is generally incorporated in the building thus saving cost. This dwol-ling-house, also, by its preity garden and trim hedge, to Icm some of the hard lines away from the utilitarian edifice. Tho interiors of th» creameries ore models of c-leanliiieff. Tlif workers invariably wear thick-soled wooden clogs, which keep them above the liberal streams of swirled bS-.ling water. Generally the. creameries have, besides a manager, eight or ten men and boys; ones "have less. The floors are of concrete or flagstone; .usually there are three separators of

Alpha Laval or Titian makes, and a, compact cheese-manufacturing plant. The milk cans, when emptied, qet dumped 011 a movable table which is pushed over a nozzle, and steam therefrom scalds the interior of the cans sweet. Circular churns were in use. and rather oldfashioned Initler-workers. The manufactured butter is packed in round firkins 0! 561b and 1121b weight, made of Danish beech. Very little butter eeeined to be put- up in ill, pats. I found the managers ol these institutions very willing to.allow visits of inspection. In t lie course of my wanderings I aleo called at, and was shown over, the pro/it co-operative " Trifolimn " cheese factory oj Haslev, the largest, cheese factory in Europe. Ten thousand cows supplv the milk. As a little side-line 2,000,0001b of butter are manufactured here every year, most, of which is sold in Copenhagen. Ail kinds of checse are manufactured— Cheddar, Dutch, Swiss, Norwegian, Danish, Queen Alexandra, and others. Itwas a sight to see the way the milk was tackled in the morning, and the methodical, yet rapid, handling down all the stages to butter. " Perfect " separators seemed to bo most ;n use. Women were | employed to attend to the mil' - cans, the butter tables, and the churns. Cheese storerooms are not picture galleries; but tins association s were impressive in their immensity, and the quantities of chcesc they held. It seemed as if the number could supply stepping stones across Denmark . it was the solo dulv of men everv day to turn and wipe 750,0001b of Dutch cheese. Some of the machinery for pasturing and cooling the whey for a certain make of cheese was very interesting indeed. Every day numbers of men from all om Denmark come here to inspect operations, and learn something. It is one of the show places for distinguished visitors.

I deal briefly with what is a vexed question in Denmark just .now : the question of the butter quotations to suppliers All butter manufactured in Denmark is " Danish " butter. All is treated as i one quality. You never see factory brands or private marks. The butter quotation is made by a committee of four persons representing the farmers, and four representing the merchants, and a chairman not interested in butter. The average price received for the week is established by the creamery butter price statistics as sent in to the committee ™ a sealed envelope, and when the committee has decid«l 011 the fluctuation cypher accotding to the condition of the market in England and the general supply, then the cypher is deducted from the previous week's quotation, unless the butter price statistics show an advance of one krone per cent. The statistics are obtained, itshould be explained, by a number of tho creameries sending in their actual payments for the previous week. Danish butter is supposed to be first grade right through, and no doubt, state experts, it is all pretty even. But dissatisfaction is rife at the absence of " quality " payments because such a system would ensure a continual improvement in the butter. Of course, one cannot deny the fact that - ho univ «? a ".v even grade of the Danish " article—tradesmen are -not also puzzled with multitudinous factory names—that keeps it popular on the market, You learn this in England. And pcrtiaps if there were grades the name ' Da-nish " would suffer right up the grades. The whole question, however, is a large and complicated one. The creameries each have a registered number known only to themselves and the Government, and, if too much moisture is discovered in the butter in England, the Danish Government can sheet the matter home. Contracts are formed with English and Scottish houses much the same as they are in the case of the New Zealand butter.

In Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark you see side by side in the shops margarine and butter. In Schtewignolstan the former is highly coloured and difficult to distinguish from butter, though the law compels its exposure for sale only in tubs. In Denmark margarine must be of a paler colour than butter. Every possible care is taken to prevent the substitution of one for the l uan '''' es margarine are sold there. The price varies from 8d t° I s ' Butter lis as high priced as it is in New Zealand. The figures about tally. There are sold in Denmark, however, considerable quantities of Siberian butter. One Thursday, on the Copenhagen wharf, I saw huge quantities, of the butter being landed and either re-shipped for Hamburg or England, or retained. Many of the Siberian factories are owned and subsidised by Danish merchants, It is an excellent cheaper article. "No tricks in sending it abroad as Danish?" I queried in one quarter. The gentleman smiled and said" that such a thing would be absolutely impossible owing to the rtgid supervision. It may also here be said that the milk supply in Denmark is fairly regular all the year round. This fact, it is advanced, no doubt largely contributes to the popularity of the butter in England— a regular supply of the fresh article. In winter the cows are fed mostly 011 oats and barley and rye. Ensilage is used very little.

Every effort is made to fight tuberculosis in Denmark. You see cautioning notices up everywhere.

Copenhagen is a greater milk-drinking city than pny in New Zealand. This is due, largely, to the operations of the Copenhagen Milk Supply Company, which has exceptional trade—how enormous can be gauged 1 from the number of carts whidli congregate in the yards of the company at the time of delivery. Yet Copenhagen has a population of 200.000 lese than Sydney—namely, of 200.000. Milk is brought in from reliable farms, is cooled, and sold in sealed bottles. The public up to asking for milk. In no cities of Europe did I see so many " dairy " shops as in Copenhagen. Children's mi';k is sold at about 3d a, quart, and that Uor ordinary assumption at about 2d. Since the inauguration of the milk-drinking era, the mortality among young children, it is shown by statistics, has materially decreased. A pint per person a da.y is the average sold in the city. Buttermilk is also sold cheaply and consumed largely. If an animal is condemned as unsound in Denmark the flesh, after the tainted parts have been destroyed, is sterilised under high pressure by the Government authorities, and then sold cheaply. It is said to be absolutely safe, and is always in great demand among the poor classes.