STATE DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 373 



straight, and so they organized the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, 

 They swore allegiance to their own reason and their own intelligence and 

 they have been true to their oath. All through the successive years 

 they have been putting to rout the enemies of dairy progress. 



Without a market for their products, they waived the magic wand 

 of their influence over the railroad officials, and in response refrigerator 

 cars were placed at dairy centers to be loaded with Wisconsin cheese 

 and butter, to be borne to the best dairy markets of the continent or to 

 the seaboard, and thence to the great dairy markets of the old world, 

 there by their merits to command the highest prices. 



In their need and extremity they called for some easy and accurate 

 means for measuring the butter fat content of milk and cream, and right 

 royally did Dr. Babcock, a member of that association, respond with a 

 test that bears and must immortalize his name. 



They aided in bringing into existence great institutions that have 

 made discoveries and inventions which have revolutionized the thought 

 and practice of the dairy world, and that have been adding to and con- 

 tinually increasing their own productive powers. 



Their thoughts and experiences chronicled in the Dairy Press, to 

 which their own necessities and their own genius gave birth, have led 

 the march of dairy progress across the continent and have influenced 

 for good the dairy thought of .the world. 



The work of that association has ever been pioneer work ; but it has 

 been progressive work, and in my judgment, in its devotion to and efforts 

 to promote advancement in everything connected with the dairy and 

 agricultural interests of the State, is such as to make it in spirit and result 

 worthy of emulation. 



I appeal to the State Dairy Association of Missouri to be energetic, 

 progressive and loyal in support of its State dairy commission. "Progress" 

 should be the watch-word. We need greater advancement in the selec- 

 tion, breeding, feeding and care of the dairy herd ; greater advancement 

 in the production of good, pure milk from healthy cows and in the care- 

 taking of the milk and cream ; we need greater advancement in the 

 quality of dairy products ; we need greater advancement in establishing 

 and maintaining a reputation and market for dairy products ; we need 

 greater advancement in the development of high-class dairymen ; we need 

 to make advancement in securing for ourselves better profits by reducing 

 the cost of production to the lowest point by the highest efficiency pos- 

 sible in the methods that are used. We need to catch, and to hold, and 

 to be moved by the spirit of the twentieth century. 



We need to allow the dairy cow, the gentle-gifted dairy queen, to 

 exercise her sovereign sway over our purposes, our hopes and our busi- 



