422 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



1 1 was moved mid seconded that the report be adopted. Agreed to. 



The CHAIRMAN: The next thing on our program is the Report 

 of the Committee on Dairy and Dairy Products, K. J. Weld, of Sugar- 

 grove, Chairman. 



Mr. Weld presented his report which was as follows: 



REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON DAIRY AND DAIRY PRODUCTS. 



BY K. J. Weld, Chairman. 



To my mind there is no more sure way of maintaining and in 

 creasing the fertility of our farms than through the medium of the 

 dairy cow. She has the ability to convert the rough, coarse, bulky 

 products into a concentrated, finished, marketable article which 

 carries with it a very small amount of the productive elements of 

 our farms, while the residue from the feeds contains, to a greater or 

 less degree, all the elements of plant production, together with those 

 mechanical properties so much needed in the soil of most Pennsyl- 

 vania farms. In Northwestern Pennsylvania, where for years the 

 lumber and oil interests have pushed the dairy into the background 

 I am glad to say that with the clearing away of the vast hemlock 

 and pine forests, it became necessary to look to some other source 

 for revenues, hence the old Pennsylvania scrub-oak cow has been 

 replaced or improved by the introduction of better stock, the im- 

 provement of the rations fed and the better care and housing, so 

 that to-day instead of having cows that give milk for 7 or 8 months. 

 we have all the year around dairies returning to their proprietors a 

 profitable income and furnishing employment for the farm force 

 from January to January. 



Since the dawning of the twentieth century, much attention has 

 been given to the better housing of the domestic animals on our 

 farms, the new stables are made warmer, lighter and better ven- 

 tilated than those built fifty years ago. Instead of the old leaky 

 wooden floors, water-tight concrete floors are constructed at a cost 

 less than the cost of one thickness of plank, to say nothing of sleepers 

 and double planking. Improvement in the selection and feeding of 

 the cows is noticable in almost every community. Young enthusi- 

 astic farmers appreciate the importance of knowing just what their 

 cows are doing for them, and are applying rigid weeding processes 

 to thin out the unprofitable individuals, thus raising the standard of 

 their dairies and adding to the profit from the remaining animals. 

 On the whole, the past year has been one of encouragement to the 

 dairyman. The growing season was a favorable one for both pasture 

 and crop growth. The water supply was abundant and no periods of 

 extreme heat were encountered. Prices of beef, veal and pork, all 

 adjuncts of the dairy, have been good, and the demand has been brisk. 



The chief drawbacks to the year's success have been the scarcity of 

 good reliable farm help and the high prices of mill feeds. The help 

 problem is becoming more serious each year. Many of our farmers 



