8 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 
allow me, as an early dairyman of Illinois, and a citizen of this town or city 
for nearly half a century, to greet you, and extend to you, one and all, a 
hearty welcome to this hall, to this young city of ours, and to the hearts and 
homes of all well-wishers of this young, but rapidly growing, dairy interest 
in our vicinity. , . 
It is with feelings far better understood than expressed that we again 
say we most cordially welcome you here amongst us, hoping and trusting, as 
we do, that your sojourn with us during the deliberations of this Association 
may prove most profitable to us all. . . 
The agricultural profession (if we may deign so to call it), in our 
judgment, should stand at the head of all professions in a country like ours. 
It is the foundation rock; yes, the Azoic rock, on which are based all o er 
professions, and without which all others would soon wither and fall to the 
-round. It is the fundamental basis of all prosperous towns and cities in 
this and all other civilized nations of the globe. Remove the agricultural 
interests from any community, kingdom or country, and they soon sink into 
utter insignificance. 
Then placing this, as we do, as the corner-stone of all prosperous 
communities in the civilized world, we cannot see why it should not take a 
high position, and the agriculturist be so educated as to stand by the side ot 
all other professions, if not head and shoulders above them. . 
The dairy, which is only a part of the great agricultural interests of 
this State, is fast growing in importance. But few years have elapsed since 
the establishment of the first Butter and Cheese Factory in this vicinity. 
Look to-day at the great amount of dairy products manufactured in the 
northern portion of the State, almost vying with the other great agricultural 
interests of this portion of the same. Perhaps the southern portion of 
Illinois may not prove as remunerative in the production of butter and 
cheese as the more northern, but who knows this to be a fact? 
But few years ago the country east of the Alleghames was claimed to 
be the only dairy section of the United States. Some of the citizens 
inhabiting that section of our country politely informed us of the West tha 
the West had outstripped the East in the production of the cereals, but that 
they had now embarked in the dairying business, and feared not the West 
as a rival in this branch of agriculture. 
But how is it now ? May we not say we fully believe that our fellow 
dairymen of the West have within the last few years been able to sen 
forward very conclusive evidence that the West can and has made good 
butter and cheese, and may still continue to do the same ? 
Now, if this be true, it does not become us to pass upon any section 
