212 



DRY FARMING CONGRESS; 



CHAIRMAN M'CABE: I believe that finishes all of the business on 

 the table at the present time. 



The first thing on the program this morning is "Dairying Under Dry 

 Farming Conditions," by Prof. Ed H. Webster, Chief of Dairy Division, 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C. I take pleasure in introducing Mr. Webster. (Ap- 

 plause.) 



DAIRYING UNDER DRY FARMING CONDITIONS. 



(By Prof. E. H. Webster, Washington, D. C.) 



Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I came out here more as a 

 listener than as a talker. I have been trying to find out some of the 

 difficulties or problems on which you were to deliberate and to try to 

 discover, if I could, wherein we might be of use from the standpoint of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry in the development of this semi-arid coun- 

 try. I feel certain that much assistance can be given in the development 

 of this country by the introduction on a more extended scale of livestock 

 on the farm. 



In speaking of dairying I am always glad that men are not all of 

 the same ideas. That is, we don't want all to be wheat growers, or law- 

 yers, or doctors, or anything like that. Each must select for himself 

 what profession he will follow. As a science, as a profession, a vocation 

 or an avocation develops, by constant investigation and study there are 

 created many branches of these lines which in themselves become distinct- 

 ive enough to be recognized as separate 'divisions of scientific, literary 

 and industrial pursuit. 



Thus we have the mechanical, the electrical, the civil and the irriga- 

 tion engineer. We have, in agriculture, the agronomist, the horticultur- 

 ist, the cerealist, the animal husbandman, the dairyman, and many others — • 

 all specialists in the various lines of agricultural research. 



Among those who put agricultural science into practical application, 

 or, in other words, the farmers, we have similar classifications, perhaps 

 less distinct and sometimes varying as to location and climatic conditions, 

 as cotton farmers, corn farmers, wheat farmers, fruit farmers, beef farm- 

 ers, dairy farmers, etc. 



This seems to be an age of specialization, and those who attain the 

 highest degree of efficiency are those who adopt some line of work and 

 make it a life proposition. The selection of such work depends upon the 

 individual's personal inclination and on the environment with which he is 

 surrounded. Many selections must be made within a limited sphere, owing 

 to these conditions. The work of the farmer is confined along certain 

 lines more definitely, owing to climatic and soil conditions which cannot 

 in themselves be changed or even modified to any great extent. The 

 owner of a farm must adapt himself to the surroundings in which he is 

 placed or move to another part of the country, thus from location alone 

 we have the various types of farming which give different parts of our 

 country distinctive agricultural characters. 



