ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 223 



That this great boon to agriculture — the greatest industry of Illi- 

 nois — has been long delayed and many years over due, cannot be gain- 

 said, but the delay and anxiety incident to its safe arrival in port, with a 

 goodly cargo in the shape of the finest building devoted to agriculture in 

 the world, and a liberal appropriation for education and investigations, 

 and a most able and efficient crew of workers and instructors, goes very 

 far towards mitigating our complaints and gives us great hopes and 

 encouragement for the future. 



Today Illinois is to be congratulated on the advanced position it has 

 taken with reference to agricultural education and proud may it be of 

 the rank thus obtained. 



Agriculture is the basis of all industry and education is the founda- 

 tion upon whiot the superstructure must be reared to success. 



The eyes of the people have been opened and their understanding 

 quickened. Their conception of the business of farming has been broad- 

 ened and expanded and it now means something more than just digging, 

 drop and covering the seed and gathering the harvest. 



The discovery has been made that farming is a business to be studied 

 and learned and that it needs the trained mind as much as does any pro- 

 fession that places alphabetical endings to the names of graduates from 

 literary or professional schools. 



It has been aptly said that if John is sent to college to take a course 

 in law, medicine or theology, and Tom must farm, that it is only fair 

 and just to Tom that he be give a a course in agriculture and that Ife 

 receive the same training and have the same advantages for mental dis- 

 cipline and technical information along the line of his life work as his 

 brother. Then will they not only be placed on an equality from a busi- 

 ness standpoint, but they will be social equals, for it is not mere work 

 that separates men socially; it is their mentality. 



Farming in the past has been largely a matter of brawn but today 

 the demand is for more brains. The situation was most aptly stated by 

 ex-Secrelary of Agriculture J. Sterling Morton, when he said that "The 

 farmer shall succeed more by his head than his hands." It is with 



