234 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Livestock is the crying need of the greater part of our State and the 

 full and lasting prosperity of our farmers will never be attained until 

 the fact is realized that the fertility of our soil is the salvation of our 

 country, and that fertility can be produced and kept up better and 

 cheaper by marketing our grain crops on the hoof than in any other 

 way. A prevalent fault or misfortune of most farmers is their in- 

 ability to see the advantages of first class blood in all kinds of live- 

 stock jmd their unwillingness to pay a fair ])rice for the kind of 

 aninmls that will produce the kind that brings the best prices in the 

 maiket. AVith a general awakening along these lines, Pennsylvania 

 could step at once to the front as a livestock state, for she has the 

 soil, the climate and the proximity to the best markets of the world. 

 There is no question but what the valuation of the farms and farm 

 products of the State be enhanced possibly many fold if the lowing 

 of the kine, the bleating of the lambs, the contented grunt of the 

 hog and the neighing of the young colts was heard on every homestead 

 of our great commonwealth. 



Lack of knowlege as to how to co-operate is one great misfortune 

 of our farmers. Individually by inheritance, by training and by 

 practice, they are slow to understand the benefits of concerted 

 thought and action. Community interests bring to our people some 

 of the very best things in modern life. Citizens of villages, towns 

 and cities have learned that the welfare of their many interests are 

 better conserved by planning and working together. Business men 

 find that by mutual understandings and combinations of efforts 

 many things can be brought about that would be impossible in any 

 other way. The independent thinking of farmers and the pride in 

 their personal opinion makes it a hard matter for them to get to- 

 gether and work together for their mutual benefit. The commer- 

 cial interests of agriculture has sufl'ered more than this lack of co- 

 operation, possibly, than from any other cause. A close study of the 

 markets, conditions of prospective crops, supply and demand and 

 many other features of the commercial side of farming, farm topics 

 that can be discussed to advantage and ideas formulated after con- 

 sidering the views of the many instead of the individual, and they are 

 always more nearly correct than those based upon the opinions of the 

 individual. Co operation in every phase of country life and country 

 conditions will be highly profitable from a social and commercial 

 standpoint. 



Conservatism is the stumbling block of more farmers to-day than 

 possibly anything else. Slow to believe, slow to take hold and slow to 

 take advantage of things that are to their interest they let slip by 

 opportunities that would benefit for all time to come. Within the 

 past ten or fifteen years science has done more for the farmer in a 

 practical way than had been done in centuries before. Scientists 

 learned that if their work was to be appreciated it had to be practical. 

 Commercialism had set a price on things that were useful. Everything 

 else went into the discard. Scientists caught on. They always do 

 when their bread and butter is at stake. They began to develop 

 things that men who did not have such useless appendages as A. B., D. 

 D.,L. L. D.,and D. M. P. H. L. after their names could understand and 

 put into practice. Tt began to work. Tt was what the common 

 herd wanted. It helped the farmer get hold of more dollars. In 

 turn the "'learned men" got more dollars and they worked on and 



