,(5 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



she is by a magnificent country and rich farmers, may also be profited 

 — as they will be if they will only turn out and fill this hall at every ses- 

 sion. You can't afford to miss one. for we have on the program'eminent 

 men in their several lines, and after hearing them and the discussions 

 that follow, we hope you will start right away and weed out the poor 

 unprofitable cows, and begin to think what protien crop you can put in 

 next spring to balance up the corn. You must join in the discussions, 

 ask questions on any or all subjects and feel free to offer ideas and sug- 

 gestions, and thus make this convention an ideal one and profitable to 

 you. 



Buffalo gave us a test of the different dairy breeds, and while the 

 other dairy show was not large, the next one at St. Louis, in 1903, can 

 be, if the dairymen will interest themselves in it as other classes of pro- 

 ducers do. The best thing that could happen to the dairyman is, that 

 the president of the fair appointMr. Sudendorf superintendent of the 

 dairy department. He would wake up the dairymen of these United 

 States as they never have been before, and the world would know it too. 



Your directors have heldf several meetings the past year endeavoring 

 to watch your interests. They have thought that a few smaller meet- 

 ings might be beneficial as aids to this general convention, and instruct- 

 ed me to try one at Elgin. The time set was December 14th, and as fate 

 would have it, it was our first cold day, and the thermometer hy noon 

 was below; zero, and at meeting time 16 below. Hence the attendance 

 was very slim, but Prof. Fraser entertained us for an hoar showing us 

 views and telling us of his trip through England, Denmark and Holland. 

 The idea was to inculcate cleanliness in the dairy, which we all need to 

 improve. 



I will close by calling 1 your attention to your agricultural college' at 

 Champaign. Do you farmers realize what you have there? There 

 should be at least 25 young men and women there from this county. 

 The cost is very little and the advantages to be gained are beyond com- 

 putation. We realize that your farming community here is rich, but 



