Farm and Pastoral Life, 1909
Cows in Finland are not quite the “pampered darlings” of the farm that they appear to be in Holland, but still, they are remarkably well cared for, and treasured as…
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“Farm and Pastoral Life” from Peeps at Many Lands: Finland by M. Pearson Thomson, 1909
Cows in Finland are not quite the “pampered darlings” of the farm that they appear to be in Holland, but still, they are remarkably well cared for, and treasured as valuable property. They remain in their warm sheds all the winter, well fed, and kept very clean. “Be a cow, and you will be well cared for,” says a Finnish proverb; and butter-making being one of the principal industries, it is necessary that the cow should have the attention due to its importance in the life of the people. Cleanliness is known to be one of the chief characteristics of the Finns; their dairy produce, therefore, finds a ready market, and their butter is famed for its excellent quality. In Finland there are almost as many cows as people!
The farm-life is a very hard one for all, for the children especially, as they are expected to take their share of the work as soon as they are able. However, they do not consider it a hardship, and manage to get a good deal of pleasure out of their life. The summer working-day is often over sixteen hours long, and never less; for as this season is short, the farmer must get all his field-labour crowded into it, so there is little bedtime for anybody!
Numerous steam creameries are established throughout the country, the bulk of the milk from all the small farms being taken to these creameries, to be turned into golden butter, the milk-carrying being the work of the boy or girl of the farm, who takes it by boat, cart, or sleigh. These splendidly equipped steam dairies have every contrivance for perfect butter-making; they are very interesting, and quite a feature of modern Finnish farm-life.
The machinery is of the best, being generally of Finnish make. Scandinavian separators are used, and a lad dressed in linen overalls keeps up steam with wood fuel. The dairymaids, in their spotless white linen dresses and aprons, with dainty handkerchiefs tied over their heads, receive and weigh the milk, which is tested and sterilized before being made into butter. This precaution, as well as the perfect cleanliness of the churning, scalding, and butter-packing rooms, guarantee the quality of the produce. The Finnish cow gives a good quality as well as quantity of milk, although the pasturage is not rich. They have a small, white, polled cow—a mountain breed peculiar to the North, as well as others. Some Ayrshire cattle have been imported, and found satisfactory.
There is a small island near the monastery of Valamo, on which is a breed of “woman-fearing” cows! They are milked by the monks, and seldom see a woman. When they do, they fly in every direction! Their fear is apparently inherited, for when taken as calves to the mainland, they will not allow a dairymaid to touch them. These handsome creatures are black and white—a breed said to have been originally imported from Holland by Peter the Great, and given to the monks as a present from him.
The cattle, when grazing, are generally tended by a boy, who amuses himself by playing on his little reed pipe, his music being quite sufficient to keep any stray bear off, which otherwise might make rapacious inroads among them. Often an old woman may be seen sitting by the roadside knitting, while her few cows graze close by. Though the cow is best cared for, the horse is most loved by the Finns, and he repays it with patient, faithful service. Pigs are not numerous on the Finnish farm: neither they nor poultry are regarded as profitable. The pigs live in the woods or on the pasture-land, and do not fatten rapidly or cheaply, as maize must be imported, and is subject to a heavy duty. The pork, however, is excellent eating, and tastes somewhat like mutton.
Occasionally orphan children are boarded out with the farmers by the parish authorities, and though they have plenty of work, they are very kindly treated both, by the farmer and his wife. The farmer’s wife is an adept at making all kinds of refreshing drinks from berries and fruit, mead being the favourite drink of the farmer and his servants. Bee-keeping is an industry in some localities, more especially round about Abo.
The larger and better farms belong to the peasant proprietor, who answers to our yeoman farmer, and is generally pretty well to do. The poor farmer is called a torper, his position being somewhat like the crofter in Scotland, and he is often obliged to work for the peasant proprietor to eke out a scanty living.
The agricultural methods in outlying districts are still somewhat primitive and peculiar, for, owing to difficulties of soil and climate, the cultivation of the land is anything but easy for the farmer. Perhaps this is why the Finn has hit upon the productive but extravagant system of burning the forest to obtain fertile soil. This svedje-bruk, as the method is called, is done by cutting down trees and bushes and burning them. In the large clearing thus obtained the ashes of the burnt trees and undergrowth are raked over the surface of the ground, and in these ashes the seed is sown. Soil treated in this way is very productive, and the farmer obtains a plentiful crop for three or four seasons without further toil or expenditure. Profitable as this method is to the individual, the waste of timber to a nation that depends entirely on its wood for fuel appears disastrous for the future.
This simple and easy way of raising crops by burning is an interesting and fascinating sight. The lads and lasses thoroughly enjoy raking the glowing embers with their long poles, for though it is hard work, they do not mind the labour, and are just as merry over it as you would be over a bonfire. The men and women employed in this work are typical peasants, and as the light and shade of fire and smoke pass over their faces, they make a striking picture of toil-worn, courageous endurance in battling with Nature’s hardships. Some of the implements used after the burning ” are very old and curious. The most primitive is the forked plough, consisting of two long forks, which move the earth without turning it over, and the branch-harrow, formed by a bundle of branches or fir-tops, the stumps of which are left on and used as harrow-teeth. The majority of farmers, however, are far above this primitive system of soil cultivation, and pride themselves on their up-to-date methods of raising crops. This they have every right to do, as their barley, rye, oats, and other grains are of the best, and their farm implements of the latest models.
Another peculiarity is the process of drying grain in a specially arranged barn called a riar. In late and cold harvest seasons the sheaves are dried, first on stakes, then in the riar , before thrashing. A curious oven without a chimney is in the barn, and in this a wood fire is kindled, which is kept going for a few days. The heat and smoke kill the insects which destroy the germ of the grain. This is why Finnish grain for seed purposes is so highly valued and used by other countries, as grain (especially rye) treated in this way gives a quite reliable crop.
The Finnish system of hay-drying is also curious, but effectual. After cutting the hay, long poles, nearly 6 feet high, are driven into the ground at regular intervals. These have eight outstretched arms, the top ones being most extended. These arms have ends turned up like hands. On these poles the hay is arranged, the top being much larger than the bottom, as the hay is not allowed to touch the ground. The effect is comical, as of many balloons standing about the fields waiting to take flight! This practical hay-drying prevents the Finnish children experiencing the fun of our hay-making, for which I am sure you will pity them. The paling around the field is singular, but picturesque. Long posts are driven slantwise into the ground, and an occasional forked double upright supports them, while thongs of wood hold them in place. As the bark is left on these tree-posts, a touch of beauty is given to this quaint palisading by the soft grey colour, which is in complete harmony with surrounding Nature. Hay-barns are large log-huts, with corrugated-iron roofs, larger at the top than below, in order to shelter the hay from snow. Large quantities of hay are exported.
Grain is sown in early August; the fields are green by the fall of the first snow; then manure is spread over them, which penetrates with the melting snow in the spring. All gates are removed from the fields for the winter, to preserve them. These are repaired and new ones made, as are all new posts and hay-pegs. The boys help in this work in the winter, spending many happy evenings in the carpenter’s shed, making amusing as well as useful things with their tools. So, you see, life on a Finnish farm has some compensations for its routine of hard work.
Thomson, M. Pearson. Peeps at Many Lands: Finland. Adam & Charles Black, 1909.
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