228 ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



knows, it would not be very long before the folks outside would 

 know a lot of things he did not hear of. We have got to get out- 

 side and know what other men are doing, and because of that 

 opportunity, I appreciate this privilege of coming here today 

 and meeting and hearing leading men in your state. When 

 asked to speak at this convention, it was suggested that the con- 

 ditions here in this state are the same as Indiana. 



In order that I may have a little pointer to go on with, I 

 would like to ask a question. 



Q : — How many are milking over 10 cows? 



A:— 18 or 20. 



Q : — How^ many are milking less than that number and sell- 

 ing a little butter or milk to the store, or retailing any of it? 



A : — That takes in most of the rest of them. 



That is just the condition in our state. I have to cultivate 

 the way of saying ''you dairymen." We are not dairymen, we 

 are farmers. I have been in creameries where the milk sheet 

 showed 80 to 250 names, and not found five sums that required 

 three figures to write, 40, 50, 90 pounds milk. The creameries 

 are largely supported by farmers who are selling a little milk to 

 the creamery. That, I presume, is not very different from the 

 conditions here. 



If I wanted a text for my remarks this afternoon, it would be 

 ''Not more cows, necessarily, but better cows." I would like to 

 incorporate into my speech that next to the last page of Prof. 

 Haecker's remarks as to the advantage that it is to profit by the 

 products of the cow on the ordinary farm, of how well she fits 

 into the farm, and how the farmer depends on his cow as he does 

 in the hard times. It is true at times, lots of our Indiana farmers 

 let the calves run with the cows and depend on the beef. They 

 do it because they can make a living with beef, when beef is high. 

 It is not a question of how to make the most money, but how to 

 /make it easiest. Any one can shovel corn to a beef animal, but 

 can't make butter or handle a dairy cow. 



Now then, I claim this : If every farm in our own state 

 and it is true of yours too, could be relieved of one unprofitable 



