FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART V. 233 



long as I worked on that farm. It is a new thought to me — these 

 classifications. The principal quality that we sought for in a cow in 

 the country in which I was born and raised was that she should be a 

 good climber, for upon the mountain-sides of Pennsylvania it required 

 a sure-footed animal to gain an existence. I feel, however, all the 

 honor that this invitation involved. It is la great pleasure to me to 

 stand for a few moments before you, while you interrupt and suspend 

 your ordinary proceedings, and while I can not hope, I do not hope, to 

 interest you in the particular calling or business in which you are en- 

 g'aged, I doubt not that we can spend a few minutes looking at soma 

 matters from points of view that are not wholly technical with 

 advantage. 



While I do not know much about butter-making (in fact, the most 

 painful memories of my life are the hours which I have spent at the 

 churn; you have not that to do nowladays, I fancy) I hope I am not 

 quite as bad as my friend, Mayor Caldwell, of Sioux City. Some of you 

 may know him; we call him in Iowa "Happy Cal." He used to be an 

 editor at Sioux Falls and he reiached the conclusion that the work of 

 publishing a newspaper was altogether too hard and that he would go 

 to farming, and he knew just about as much about farming as a hog 

 does about literature. But he bought a little piece of ground and moved 

 out on it, and shortly after he had settled there the farmers had an 

 association in the neighborhood and he was invited to attend one of its 

 meetings. He went, and the subject of that particular meeting was 

 sheep raising, and "Happy Cal" was very much interested in the dis- 

 cussion which took place. First one man arose and spoke about the 

 merits of the Cottswold ram; another arose and expounded the merits 

 of the Southdown ram, and another spoke on the merits of the Shrop 

 shire ram, and so it went. And finally the president, seeing Mr. Cal:l- 

 well in the audience and knowing he was a stranger, raid he had no 

 doubt the meeting would be glad to hdar from the new comer, Mr. Cald 

 well; and he arose and said that he had been much interested in the 

 discussion of the merits of these various kinds of sheep; that the truth 

 was he was thinking of going into the sheep business himself and that 

 lie wanted a little light, and that he would like to have the opinion of 

 those who had experience in the business, considering the climate and 

 the soil and everything connecte.d with the business, — he would like lo 

 have their opinion with regard to the merits, not of the Cotswold ram. 

 or the Shropshire ram or the Southdown ram. but of the hydraulic ram. 

 (Laughter.) 



Now I know a little more about butter and butter-making than my 

 friend Caldwell knew about sheep raising, but not much. I know 

 enough to know that you are entitled to be congratulated for member- 

 ship in the largest, probably, as well as the most persistent and most 

 flourishing association that is allied with the products of agriculture, 

 I know enough to congratulate you upon the inestimable benefits and 

 advantages that you have conferred upon the State of Iowa by turning 

 intelligence and scientific investigation towards this subject. I know 

 enough about the business to be sure that the product in which you 



