ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



205 



farther you go west. It is natural then that there is a differ- 

 ence in the methods of farming and general husbandry. 



What about these skimming stations? They were estab- 

 lished all along the lines of the railroad, and instead of the farm- 

 ers selling butter for 5 and 10 cents, they got 18 cents for but- 

 ter fat. Hauling milk 6, 7, 8 and 10 miles over the hills went 

 against the grain and gradulaly they began to drop out. Some- 

 thing had to be done. Something was done. I will give the 

 people in Nebraska credit for this. When they see anything that 

 is all right and will apply to their conditions, they are very quick 

 to take it up. I know of no people who are so quick to introduce 

 a new thing. They can change their politics in Nebraska and in 

 Kansas too. 



In Nebraska we find the hand separator all right. It ap- 

 plies to our conditions. It reduced the long and heavy haul. 

 It gave us a concentrated produce that could be marketed where- 

 ever a train stopped. That did not exist before. It returned, on 

 the other hand a very valuable rearing material, and you know 

 we are very much inclined to raise cattle and hogs in that state. 



Just let me show you how this hand separator was intro- 

 duced. About six years ago I took a census of the state. We 

 have about 600 or 700 hand separators in the state. Webster, 

 who was detailed by the government to inspect the dairy system, 

 the hand separator system in the west, told me he had taken 

 actual figures from the creamery companies and separator com- 

 panies, and he said it was very safe to say Nebraska had now 

 18,000 hand separators. In other words, in the last five years, 

 there has been brought about 17,000 hand separators into the 

 state. That was changing a system awful quick, and making a 

 whole lot of difference in the method of farming. 



Nebraska today is a cream producing state. We don't even 

 show butter at dairy associations. We have nothing to show in 

 particular. It is all made by a few concerns. The dairy in- 

 dustry of the state is carried on in cream producing plan. Now, 

 as to whether that is all right or not, I don't wish to discuss. 

 I maintain this, that the survival of the fittest is a very important 



