154 agriculture; of maine. 



ADDRESS OX DAIRY PRODUCTS. 



By S. C. Thompson, Dairy Division, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 



Washington, D. C. ' 



It is several years since I have had the privilege of addressing 

 a convention of dairymen in the State of Maine, or in fact, 

 since I have had the opportunity of attending a dairy meeting, 

 but because of my association with the work in this State and 

 my belief in the possibilities of Maine, I have watched with 

 interest the development of dairying, and of agriculture in 

 general. I believe that we have opportunities that even our own 

 people do not fully appreciate. I believe that the State of Alaine 

 would do well to advertise her possibilities and get from out- 

 side, men who are willing to work on the farms, who are will- 

 ing to care for the cows, and who will give us a new inspiration, 

 so to speak. The people of Maine are inclined to be conserva- 

 tive. They are conservative perhaps because in generations 

 gone by many progressive men went west, and, as some one 

 has said at this meeting, those people have continued to move 

 from place to place. They have been successful but they are 

 looking for better opportunities. I believe that in the cheap 

 lands of ]\Iaine, and our close proximity to markets, we have 

 something to offer those people. I note from a preliminary 

 census report, which is not entirely official, that this State has 

 lost in the last ten }'ears practically 18,000 cows. Now that to 

 me is not so serious as it may sound. If the people in the State 

 of Maine have been careful in their selection, have done their 

 weeding properly, I have no doubt they are getting more money 

 from the cows now in the State than they were from the larger 

 number. I know that something has been accomplished along 

 this line of weeding out, and I hope that some, at least, of the 

 cows that have gone out of the State, that have helped to de- 

 crease the number, are among the poor ones. 



