SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII. 331 



may be up hill work, even if we do not accomplish anything now 

 we must not quit, since we got the matter started. We have to 

 agitate and agitate that question and after a while we will get 

 it. They cannot keep us out of it forever. We need it; it is a 

 just demand on our legislature. We will return it to the people 

 of Iowa ten thousand times over and I want to say to that com- 

 mittee that we must not lay down; I want to say to the butter- 

 makers to go home and agitate the question. Although we do not 

 know the class of people we will have to deal with this winter at 

 the coming legislature, I believe we will be able to do some good. 

 The fact is we had been before some of the memljers of the last 

 legislature so often that they were sick of seeing us and gave us 

 any kind of promise in order to get rid of us. 



The first on the program this morning will be a paper by Mr. 

 F. L. Odell on suggestions for the improvement of Iowa butter, 

 and I hope it will bring out a good discussion. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF IOWA BUTTER. 



F. L. ODELL, DES MOINES. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is with some reluctance that 

 I stand before you today and in my weak way attempt to make a few 

 remarks. I feel somewhat like a Yale student did at one time when 

 asked to make a speech. The hall was crowded with learned men, far 

 his superior, and beginning he said, "Washington is dead, Lincoln is 

 dead and," hesitating a few minutes, "I begin to feel rather sick myself." 

 The doctor says to his patient, "Take this prescription, it will either kill 

 or cure you." "But supposing it kills me?" says the patient. — "Nothing 

 ventured, nothing gained; my motto is: 'No cure, no pay,' so you see I 

 am taking as many chances as you," so with my few remarks if I kill 

 you I will get no pay. 



The subject assigned me is suggestions for the improvement of Iowa 

 butter. 



Suggestions on what? 



Improvements of Iowa butter. A broad subject; yes; and a mighty 

 hard one to handle. 



Perhaps my suggestions may not be in order. But if I tell you some 

 cold facts, do not blame me for it. 



I shall speak from observation; of the conditions I have met with 

 since I have been on the road. When I was thinking over this matter 

 I considered that the every-day methods used in a number of creameries 

 would be the most practical. Because they are practical methods used 

 every day in butter making. 



I have found a great number of creameries that are up to date, so to 

 speak. The buttermaker trying his best with head and hands to further 



