No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 129 



proved. Man}' unsanitary conditions might easily be remedied, and 

 would be remedied, if attention were called to them, but it is doubt- 

 ful if the dairy farmers would care to be placed under the supervis- 

 ion of men employed by a city health department, who would go to 

 a farm in the attitude of a policeman hunting for trouble. Such an 

 officer might have little knowledge as to what is practicable or as to 

 conditions under which the dairy farmer should conf^ii"t his work. 

 On the other hand, exijerience shows that visits would be welcome 

 from a representative of the State Livestock Sanitary Boai*d or the 

 State Department of Agriculture, who would go to the farmer not 

 so much in the capacity' of an inspector as in that of a friendly 

 adviser, with power to require the observance of necessary sanitary 

 regulations in case of neglect. 



It is well that this question shall be studied and sifted by the 

 dairymen themselves so that when legislation along these lines is 

 proposed they will be prepared to work together and to obtain that 

 which will be most useful to the public and to themselves and not 

 be oppressive. 



Before cities can, with good grace, ask for improvement in farm 

 conditions they should show whether they are able to discriminate 

 between milk that is good and milk that is bad, that is between clean 

 milk and dirty milk. So long as public institutions and representa- 

 tive hospitals in all parts of the State are willing to accept any kind 

 of milk that is offered them without inquiry as to its sanitary char- 

 acter or its source, and so long as they exhibit no inclination to en- 

 courage careful production, the demand of cities for better milk will 

 have to be discounted. 



ANIMAL HUSBANDRY. The average quality of farm animals 

 of Pennsylvania is much lower than it should be. There are not 

 enough studs, herds and flocks of pure bred animals. This shows a 

 lack of appreciation of the value of breeding animals of high quality. 

 The high class stock farms that exist in this State show that there 

 is nothing in natural conditions that is antagonistic to such enter- 

 prises, on the contrary some of the best animals of all kinds have 

 been, and are, produced in this State, but they are too few in num- 

 ber. 



The industries of Pennsylvania draw from other States, and wear 

 out, more horses and mules than are imported by any other State in 

 the Union. It is unfortunate that this great home market is not 

 more largely supplied by home bred animals. There is an impres- 

 sion among horse men (which amounts in most cases to a conviction) 

 that the average quality of the horses bred in Pennsj'h'ania is lower 

 than it was twenty-five or thirty years ago; most of the good horses 

 of all classes are drawn from other States. This is due partly to 

 lack of interest in breeding and partly to the large number of grade 

 and nondescript stallions that are scattered over the State. The 

 •State Livestock Breeders' Association has for some years desired 

 the passage of a law to prevent the misrepresentation of the breed- 

 ing stallions, to provide for the licensing of stallions and to prohibit 

 the use of stallions afflicted with hereditary unsoundness. Such 

 a law was enacted several years ago in Manitoba; it has since been 

 copied extensively by other provinces and States; it has been found 



9—7—1906. 



