64 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Harrisburg, so I think that is what brought the convention 

 here rather than Mr. Taylor. I think a few of us appreciate 

 what kind of a creature the cow is, and if you will bear 

 with me I will read, "The Place of the Dairy Cow in the 

 Affairs of Men." 



"Who has ever thought to measure the place of the 

 dairy cow in the affairs of men ; to sum up her contributions 

 to world achievement? Her gift is the highest of men's 

 necessities — food — and the most perfect food man has ever 

 found. Milk is more than bread, more than meat, more 

 than all the roots and grains of the field ; it is the first food 

 of man and the greatest material gift to mankind. 



"Milk is a mystery; we cannot tell all that it contains, 

 or explain all its magic service in nutrition, but we are sure 

 that it supplies whatever the body needs for vigor and 

 growth. Milk is the material essence of mother love for her 

 young. It is the highest food of earth and the real elixir of 

 life. 



"The dairy cow is not only the abundant producer of 

 this necessary food, but she produces it so efficiently that it 

 can be a regular article of diet for the masses, and this 

 same cow is also the greatest economic ally of the farmer; 

 the soundest basis of his business. She is the greatest 

 specialist in the world in both her skill of labor and total 

 of product. There is the silence of the library and the awe 

 of a superior work being carried on as one comes into a 

 dairy herd. All the laboratories of the earth and all the 

 delicate and precise operations of the most skilled chemists 

 cannot equal the endeavor and perfect product of these 

 silent, contented workers. 



"This quiet, unassuming dairy cow, so familiar in any 

 wayside pasture or common stable, is a creature in disguise. 

 We have barely begun to understand her partnership in our 

 fate and fortune. 



"How did the dairy cow find the secret of her mar- 

 velous development and strike the mastor chord that was 

 hid from all the wise and prudent? Was it not in her pure 

 motive and good will and highest ideal of motherhood? She 

 gives herself utterly and willingly in this meek and glad 



