t60 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



For this iea«oii, tliose of us who live iu this county welcome you 

 most earnestly with that hearty German welcome which is so com- 

 mon in the German counties of Pennsylvania. We feel that your 

 <-oming is a compliment to the people of York county, and that should 

 the people fail to come here and make use of this opportunity it is 

 nothing short of a disgrace to the farmers of this county. 



York county, a® you know, stands high as an agricultural county; 

 and ranks among the highest, not only in Pennsylvania, but in the 

 United States. Perhaps the best indication of the condition of its 

 agriculture lies in the fact that it stands second in the consumption 

 of fertilizers. The farmers of York have become preeminently 

 grain farmers, and for this reaison the dairying interest has fallen 

 behind. Wheat farming has been the substratum of agricultural 

 success in our county. Out of the money made from the wheat crop, 

 many a mortgage has been paid and the farm cleared of debt. It has 

 been a common thing for the farmer to pay one-third of the value of 

 his farm iu cash, and the rest out of the wheat crop. The dairy inter- 

 ests have been subsidary, offering to the farmer's wife spending 

 money and provision for the accessories of the farm. This has been 

 more particularly for the reason that the ''Pennsylvania Dutchman," 

 whatever his virtues may be, has a terrible aversion to milking a 

 cow. He looks upon it a*» a disgrace to his manhood, and all the 

 milking done iu this section of Pennsylvania for many years was 

 done by the female portion of the family. Iu fact, the Pennsylvania 

 German has been accused of not taking that serious interest in the 

 welfare of the women of the family that he takes iu the welfare of 

 his own well fed stock. Thaddeus Stevene* said that Pennsylvania 

 was notable for fat horses and thin w^omen. There is an old German 

 proverb which indicates that it is perhaps an easier matter to replace 

 a dead wife than to replace dead cattle. This is an experience pro- 

 bably shared quite frequently by other people who are not Pennsyl- 

 \'ania Germans. For these reasons we feel like giving to you, the 

 Dairy Union, a double welcome in York county. The dairy interests 

 in this county need you, and whatever you may see fit to communi- 

 cate to the dairymen, you may be sure will be like seed sown on good 

 ground, which will spring up in due time and bring forth fruit. 



It was a hai)]»y thought ou the part of those who founded this asso- 

 ciation, to call it a "Union." In looking over a long list of associa- 

 tions of this kind, I fail to find a single one, but this, which is called a 

 Union. A union iniitlies, not merely an association, but a sort of 

 vital connection. Those of us whose remembrances go back to the 

 Civil War look upon that word "Union" almost with reverence. 

 The definition of that word has cost more blood than any word in 

 human history ever cost any nation, and to-day we look upon it as a 

 «acred word in nil the creed of American independence. Therefore, 



