308 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



We had to use the scythe and we had the old fashioned method of pitch 

 ing on hay and pitching it oflf. Then we had the mower, and I am not so 

 old yet, but I know the prejudice that existed against the mower. The 

 people said the mower would destroy the meadows, and they would not use 

 it. And so, under those conditions, I had grand experience for twelve years 

 in agriculture and I have been closely associated with agricultural interests, 

 and I can look back and see the wonderful improvement that has been 

 made. 



It is not necessary for me to refer to the wonderful development that has 

 been made in the dairy industry, the wonderful application of chemisty to 

 the dairy work, and the wonderful application of mechanics to improve the 

 different phases of your life, and the wonderful ability and knowledge of 

 animal life in the breeding and protection of the dairy cow of today. 



Look back and see that cows came to us in the early days of this country. 

 I understand, from reports, that the cow came to Jamestown, Virginia, 

 about 1611, and that it was preceded two years by the coming of the horse. 

 In 1624 the cow came to Massachusetts. Those two dates represent the com- 

 ing of cows from Devon, England. Later cows came to the New World 

 from an island near Holland, then from the Jersey Island, and of course you 

 all know how you worked out the development of the animal industry in this 

 country and the wonderful progress that has been made. Man has come to 

 learn more about this wonderful animal, and the cow has progressed with 

 him in the progress of our country. We have learned to respect the cow, 

 and when man comes to respect the cow he comes to respect himself, 



I am going to say just a word about the progress of our country in gen- 

 eral lines, just a word of prophesy as to the future. In the first place, we 

 know the dairy industry constitutes one of the great interests of our State. 

 Your president in his address told you that. We know furthermore, that 

 we are not living apart from other nations; we know we have competitors in 

 Canada, in Denmark, in Sweden, in Siberia and other parts of the earth so 

 far as the dairy interests are concerned. We know that in wheat and corn 

 we have our competitors. We know there has been wonderful progress in 

 all the walks of agriculture in the last few years. Only a few years ago our 

 Department of Agriculture at Washington was considered something of a 

 laughing stock, especially on the part of the citizens of the District of 

 Columbia; and we know, furthermore, there has been until the last few 

 years a sort of natural distrust on the part of the farmer with reference to 

 scientific methods of agriculture, with reference to our experiment stations, 

 our agricultural colleges and schools. All this has been done away with, 

 and the Department of Agriculture at Washington today, in the eyes of the 

 people who live in the District of Columbia, stands above all other depart- 

 ments. Secretary of Agriculture Wilson said in conversation last winter 

 that when he took hold of that department he was unable to do his best 

 work, simply because he did not have men equipped to work well; he did 

 not have men trained for the various departments which he wished to 

 establish. But today we find there are new varieties of grain being intro- 

 duced into this country; we find that there is being great and valuable work 

 being done at our experiment stations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas 

 and in our own Agricultural college at Ames, and in Illinois. They are ex- 



