No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUI^TURE. 861 



whether the dilleieut fai'mei's' clubs tliroiigiiont the country seud 

 delegates to the meeting? 



The PRESIDENT: It is entiidy a vohinlary organizal ion ; lias 

 no official character; has never been recognized as an official or- 

 ganization, that is, it has never had an appropriation made by the 

 State for its support. 



MR. THOMrSON: Would it not be well for the President to state 

 the object of this organization. There may be some present who 

 would like to join. 



The PRESIDENT: While I have not been so closely in touch with 

 the organization as some others, I am glad to state my understand- 

 ing, subject to correction. As I understand it, it is a voluntary 

 organization of those interested in the promotion of dairy ^interests 

 of the Commonwealth, which is a very right interest when we con- 

 sider that last 3'ear the dairy interests of the State amounted to 

 thirty-nine million dollars. Primarily and centrally the idea is to 

 bring together the opinions and interests of the dairymen of the 

 State so that they may have their proper influence upon legisla- 

 tion affecting dairy interests; upon the better education in dairy 

 matters through the various instrumentalities throughout the State, 

 such as the public schools, farmers' institutes and meetings of 

 various organizations; and, finally, and perhaps the most important 

 of all is the development of the individual dairyman through the 

 contact with each other and with experts brought about by meet- 

 ings of this sort, and hj the publication of proceedings in the farm 

 bulletins and tracts which has already been begun. It seems to 

 me that a progressive dairyman of the present cannot afford to 

 cut himself off from these sources of knowledge. He cannot afford 

 it any more than a manufacturer in other lines. 



We may say what we please about the importance of legislation 

 in the interests of dairj-iug; but, after all, you can no more make 

 a dairyman successful by legislation than you can make people 

 honest by legislation. It comes like everything else, to the indi- 

 vidual. Such an organization helps the individual dairyman to 

 raise himself to a higher level of knowledge and practice. The 

 organization is open to all, and we hope that all will come in and 

 help to make the sessions of this Dairj^ Union, and its bulletins as 

 valuable to the dairy interests of Pennsylvania as possible. This 

 will only be accomplished when the dairymen of the State as a 

 whole take hold of this matter. I hope we shall have a large in- 

 crease in membership. 



MR. DETRICH: I think what the President has stated is exactly 

 correct about the Dairy Union. It seems to me that every farmers' 

 club of Pennsylvania ought to send a delegate to the Dairy Union. 

 I think this is the only way we can get this dairy business carried 

 out in different local sections and the onlj- way in which the dif- 



