7S6 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



63 are readers of agricultural papers and dairy papers or both, and 

 37 do not read. Now, let us see what that classification has to do 

 with (heir fortune. The readers receive for each dollar's worth 

 of food consumed by their cows $1.38 and the non-readers receive 

 only 87 cents. The former class receive a profit of $10.00 per cow, 

 and the latter a net loss of three dollars per cow. Think of a man 

 struggling and struggling and working and working in that way. 

 It is too bad, isn't it how the state suffers, how the community 

 suffers, how the man suffers, and do you wonder that Christ said 

 to Jerusalem. "How I would have gathered you as a hen gathereth 

 her brood, under her wing, but ye would not." 



I was interested to know what the total return from the 100 herds 

 there bv adding the amounts together. I found it to be $30,280.00 

 and the cost of feeding $25,006. This made a net profit of $5,152. 

 The question came to me: Supposing all the herds in the hundred 

 were as good as the best, and there is no just reason why they should 

 not be, what would the returns then be? In calculating upon this 

 basis I found the return would have been $57,244 instead of $30,218. 

 The cost of food would have been $28,168 instead of $25,066, over 

 $3,000 more, but a net profit would have resulted of $31,076 instead 

 of $5,152. In like manner I took the poorest herd and here are the 

 results. The total returns from the creamery would have been $14,486 

 instead of $30,218. The cost of feeding $25,150, a little more than 

 actual cost for the 100 herds reported. If all the herds had been 

 like the poorest there would have been a net loss of $10,664. On 

 the other hand if there had been a community which had 100 herds 

 equal to the best the patrons would have marketed their grain at a 

 product of $31,056. Now, it is very hard to get the average farmer 

 to see the tremendous effect that this economical talk has to do 

 with him and his fortune. I do not know the reason why except 

 that it is his head is submerged. I heard an old story of an Irish- 

 man going through a piece of woods in Wisconsin, and a man sunk 

 in the quicksand. He rushed over to a Yankee house nearby and 

 he says, ""Come over here for the love of God, her's a man sunk in 

 the mire." And the Yankee says, "How far is he in." He says he 

 is in up to his ankles. "Well, just let him get out. Wait until he 

 gets up to his neck." "Yes," the Irishman says, "he is in the other 

 end first." That is what is the matter — it makes a difference 

 whether he is submerged head first or feet first in the morass. And 

 if we could only get the average agricultural man to take time to 

 think and read, to get time to stop, what would be the result? I 

 don't suppose we will have time to ever do very much with the pres- 

 ent generation of farmers. The only hope I have is the young men 

 coming. If I can get the boys turned that way, get them to think, 

 get them to take in these ideas in the common school, and get them 

 to know what the terminology of agriculture means, so when they 

 meet it in agricultural reading they will understand it, it will do 

 more for the futmre of farming in the United States than all the col- 

 leges in the world. Now, you will say in the question of agricul- 

 tural education I am reaching further. The boy that is to do the 

 farming, that is to be. You say it is impracticable and a whole lot 

 of theoretical schools. Let me give you one instance. I had a Ger- 

 man farmer who has been working for me for ten years at my home 

 place. He takes care of my property there, and my horse and stuff. 



