58 VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S REPORT. 



course was "not wrong, but blamed foolish." I fear that I have 

 been "blamed foolish" for spending so much time and rheto- 

 ric upon this phase of the subject, but this dead load of inertia 

 is to me the most discouraging feature of all, the more so be- 

 cause I see no way of remedying the evil. " Keeping everlast- 

 ingly at it" will diminish their numbers, but can never do 

 away with the tribe as a whole. 



I think I need not remark that I do not fail to appreciate 

 the high intelligence and the business ability of thousands of our 

 New England dairymen. My strictures do not apply to them. 

 Yet I plead even to these to make the widest possible use of 

 dairy literature and dairy education, both for their own benefit 

 and that by their study and their practice they may be "a light 

 to lighten the Gentiles." Many will believe a neighbor's say- 

 so who would laugh at the idea if found in a book. Many 

 scorners of experiment station and farm-institute work are un- 

 consciously practicing the precepts they deride, getting them at 

 secondhand from some townsman. In proportion as we appre- 

 hend dairy knowledge, we better our own chances of success 

 and indirectly aid our section to cope more successfully with 

 competition. 



(b) The use of the Babcock test on the farm. I have al- 

 ready spoken to some extent of the Babcock test. It is now 

 nearly ten years old and ma}' be thought by some to be getting 

 a stale subject. As a matter of fact, however, the Babcock test 

 has mere of good in it for dairying every year. It is above every 

 other invention of American experiment station enterprise, a 

 general educator and eye-opener to the dairy world. I do not ad- 

 vocate that every dairyman own and run a Babcock test. Too 

 many have bought them and never used them from the date of 

 purchase to the present day. I do believe, however, that it would 

 be wise for some enterprising young man or woman in a com- 

 munity to own a Babcock outfit and to become thoroughly in- 

 formed regarding its use. He could then for a relatively small 

 sum test the milk of the cows belonging to his neighbors, and 

 they could thus learn at a minimum outlay of money somewhat of 

 the dairy usefulness of their animals. I am convinced that 

 many a farmer does not test his cows because of his unwilling- 

 ness to learn to operate the machine. If he had a chance to get 

 his tests made at a small charge, I think the opportunity would be 

 freely grasped. I look to see the time when it will be the com- 

 mon rather than the uncommon thing for the Babcock test to be 

 used on the farm. I believe it has a greater potentiality for 

 good there than at the factory. I believe that it will kill more 

 cows than has tuberculosis, and that each year will make it 

 more clear to the farmers that it is one of the greatest of boons 

 which have been given to our dairymen. 



