VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 97 



cattle that they breed than from any other industry on the island. It 

 is something we ought to look to as farmers, and I do not know of any 

 other way than a competitive exhibition of cattle, either local or state 

 or some other way. 



The next speaker is Governor Hoard, and I am not going to try 

 to say anything in introduction. 



Governor Hoard. — I heard the premiums read here this morning, 

 and the whole lot of money and honor and fame, and deservedly so, 

 went to one creamery. Supposing the Vermont Dairymen's Associa- 

 tion added one thing more: That every creamery in the State that won 

 such a premium, that there should be divided among the patrons of the 

 creamery such and such a sum. 



What effect would it have if every creamery in the State would 

 publish an annual report which would disclose to each patron his 

 weaknesses and his successes? Suppose you take those men that furnish 

 the milk to the creamery; something must be got at with the individual 

 way back there in the background. 



I said to one patron of our creamery, if you will sell off the poorest 

 half of your cows you will have a net profit on what you have got; 

 now you have got a net loss. The man looked at me with a kind of 

 despairing look and said: "My God, what would I have to feed my fod- 

 der to?" Now what would he have to waste his fodder on? Now 

 these facts have to run right back; the background is the farmer; every- 

 thing has to wait for him, and the procession cannot go any faster 

 than the rear of it. 



I sometimes think of a story that Longstreet told me. We were 

 sitting down one day and talking of old soldier experience, he on the 

 Confederate side, I on the Federal. At the battle of Chancellorville 

 he was holding the Confederate left against the Union right; it was a 

 terribly long fight — forty-eight hours — and finally Lee relieved him. 

 He had had no sleep for about sixty hours, and he thought he would 

 lie down at the head of the column. As the boys were being moved 

 along he hitched his horse and lay down and let the column pass him. 

 By and by an old Georgia "cracker" passed and the General heard him 

 say: "I love my country, I will fight for her and go naked for her and 

 die for her, but when this war is over I will be dog-goned if I will ever 

 have another country." 



Now here was Mr. Adams, and he spoke to you about co-operation, 

 and he gave an old soldier's experience. When I was a soldier I was a 

 private soldier; we had so many ounces of flour, so many ounces of 

 sugar, so many ounces of meat. If every fellow cooked his ration by 

 himself he would pretty near starve to death, but put twelve men to- 

 gether in a mess, let them combine, co-operate and cook all their ra- 

 tions in one batch together three times a day, every man would have 

 all he wanted to eat, and there would be a company fund to sell rations 

 afterwards. There is an economic proposition in there; it is more 

 economic to combine all the rations together — there is less waste. My 



