46 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



do not understand their business, made the success they have, 

 made a wonderful success in both their homes and in their dairy, 

 but merely mention these two or three things in order to try 

 and bring out later a little discussion on this point. To have 

 these men explain to me a little! more thoroughly how they are 

 able to make the success in this extensive way they have done, 

 also in their homes. I am here, gentlemen, not as a teacher. 

 I came here as an ignorant farmer, one who has no education, 

 but seeking for information, and so I chose for my subject, 

 practical dairy farming. 



I do not mean by that, that it would be practical dairy 

 farming to you people here or Elgin, situated as you are, but 

 what seems like practical dairy farming to us working under the 

 difficulties thatnow exist that we appear unable to overcome. 

 In the first place, I wish it to be understood that my 

 brother and myself are in partnership. We own a farm together, 

 or, we will as soon as the other fellow releases the mortgage. 

 We are partners in everything but our wives, and in order to be 

 as nearly related that w'ay as we could, we married sisters. 



In order to run our business. successfully, we had to keep 

 a close record of every thing we did and do on the farm. We 

 have to keep everything in black and white. 



People as a general rule, don't think much of a book farmer. 

 They say that's kind of high-tones, or something like that. 

 We had an institute in the northern part of the state, and I 

 wanted a friend of mine to go, but he said he wouldn't give a 

 cent to go there. He said ''All that professor business is merely 

 book learning and talk." 



Here about five years ago we bought a farm of 160 acres. 

 This farm had been owiied by an old gentleman for a good 

 many years, I do not know how many. In looking over the 

 place after his death we asked that question, and when we 

 bought the place we found one piece had b^en deeded to him 

 from the government, and the deed was signed James K. Polk. 

 He had owned it a long time, and in all this time he had kept 

 no stock on the place. He had raised nothing but grain and sold 



