404 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



neither do I yield to any man my admiration for the grand old dairy 

 cow and I am glad to be with you upon this occasion. 



"From 'Plymouth Rock' to the setting sun" we note evidences of the 

 traditional trail of the cow. New England ministered the initiative 

 in dairy husbandry, and the westward course has been steady, unswerv- 

 ing, unceasing, and the "path of the cow" has led us over the prairies 

 and the plains; it has penetrated our forests all in their primitive state, 

 and man's curiosity and instinct has followed this trail in its various 

 windings, so there is in reality, not only a figurative allusion but the 

 deepest sentiment associated with "the path of the cow." 



Agricultural interests have followed civilization from the "lands of 

 our Pilgrim Fathers" to the Pacific waters which have served as a barrier 

 for further extension, and animal husbandry has followed agricultural 

 expansion to its most extreme borders. 



History tells us that "Old Put" left his oxen yoked to a New England 

 plowshare to accept a commission upon the battle fields of the Revolu- 

 tion, and the thought suggests that it was in reality the sons of the 

 cow that supplied the muscle to first turn the sod of virgin soil. It was 

 no other than those sturdy sons that hauled the prairie schooner west- 

 ward, far beyond the fields of Putnam's agricultural operations. And, 

 indeed, it was no other than the matronly cow that kept apace with the 

 procession, grazed along the trail and supplied the milk to rear the 

 babes, who were destined to awaken to a realization of the importance 

 and magnitude of American agricultural interests. 



In fact the dairy cow has gone on and on, perpetuating her kind, 

 feeding the world, broadening your possibilities and mine, and acting 

 a most important part in agricultural expansion and prosperity, as well 

 as becoming the foster mother of the human race. 



Agriculture and our rural districts turn the wheels of every man- 

 ufacturing institution on the continent; agriculture has founded and 

 nourished our great cities, which have sprung up and grown almost 

 beyond our comprehension; agriculture has caused our lakes and streams 

 to be converted into great water ways for transporting and distributing 

 the commerce of the world; and the "old cow" was one of the parties 

 and pioneers who laid the foundation for greater possibilities and 

 advancement in agricultural resources. 



When the dairy industry of this country is stifled, agriculture is 

 depressed to a sad realization of its importance, and when agriculture 

 is depressed the whole commercial world feels the shock, and so I say, 

 much of the growth and advancement of our rural interests can be traced 

 to the dairy husbandman through the good offices of the cow. And so 

 I sfty,America owes a lasting debt to the dairymen of the United States. 

 Much for his dictation and endeavor in shaping the destinies of our rural 

 disricts and since improvement in our dairy herds must emanate from 

 the pure bred dairy herds of the country, our dairy farmer owes the same 

 debt to the dairy cattle breeder, whose untiring efforts have stood as a 

 valuable exponent for the maintenance and improvement of dairy per- 

 formance in the cow. 



