54 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



not yet commenced to scrape the surface in any direction, much 

 less in dairying. Yesterday, an old gentleman came up to me 

 and introduced himself and he said, " I never wanted so much 

 to love as I do now. I would like to see this matter of agricul- 

 tural development going on a while yet to see what's coming." 



I heard an address a month ago given by an eastern college 

 man who said these are the most interesting days and he wanted 

 to stay awhile and see what is going to happen. I imagine a 

 good deal will happen in dairying in 25 years. We shall either 

 do much better, or do far worse. It will be one of the two, we 

 are not going to stand still. 



Dairying represents the most intensive form of agriculture 

 that is practiced on this side of the water. It is a profession that 

 is most intensive. Our difficulty is, we are trying to operate an 

 extensive plan. There is a fair criticism laid to American dairy- 

 ing, especially in the states in the west, that we introduce the 

 business in a period of our development and all planned on 

 extensive plan. We milk 1020 cows on the extensive plan 

 rather than on the intensive. But we are coming to a time when 

 we must do something definite. 



There has not been as much improvement as there ought to 

 have been. Really, I believe honestly we have made progress 

 in dairying in the last decade or two than should have been ex- 

 pected. The Babcock test ought to have done more than it has 

 yet done. I am not blaming any one. I am stating facts. We 

 have been so busy about so many things, interested in doing 

 things, that we have not yet settled down to the business of de- 

 veloping an industry very much in this country. 



If I might explain the thought in mind a little differently. 

 I think that the individual dairyman, like the individual farmer, 

 has had his mind on his own personal affairs and little on the 

 industry he represents. 



Let me take a very simple illustration. When I hear a man 

 advocating buying cows instead of breeding them, advocate it 

 as a general policy, why, I know he is looking from a purely in- 

 dividual standpoint. He knows, or ought to know, that no 



