THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. r 39 



President's Address, 



L. N. Wiggins, Springfield. 



When one thinks of what the word Elgin means to the dairy 

 world, it was highly fitting that the directors of this association 

 accept the invitation from the people of Elgin, and vote to hold 

 the Thirty-seventh Annual Convention in their city. 



There are so many phases of the dairy industry that it is 

 impossible at our annual convention to discuss every subject. 

 Your * 'Program Committee" has been very fortunate in securing 

 speakers of national prominence, men who are posted on both 

 the practical and scientific sides of the subjects they will discuss. 



We have reached a very critical stage in the dairy business 

 in Illinois. The values of land in all parts of the state have in- 

 creased so rapidly that every owner and every renter of land must 

 make extraordinary efforts to earn satisfactory profit for the 

 amount of money invested. It seems to me that some of the own- 

 ers of land have been getting a little bit the best of the invest- 

 ment, on account of the fertility of the soil being increased by 

 maintaing dairy cows on their land. The dairy farmer must con- 

 vince himself of the importance of milking, breeding and raising 

 only the best of dairy stock. 



He does not use in the cultivation of this high priced land 

 old antiquated tools, and thousands upon thousands of dollars 

 are invested every year in modern machinery. He cannot expect 

 to use the old type of low grade dairy cow, as the principal in- 

 vestment of equipment in his business, and expect to get modern 

 results. Some of you are probably tired of hearing me discuss 

 this point, but I feel that the successful future of the dairy indus- 

 try in Illinois depends so much upon the quality and breeding of 

 the cow, that this topic cannot be forcibly enough brought out. 



We have been accustomed to expect that dairymen in other 

 states are going to allow us to buy their profitable dairy cows and 



