The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1898-03-19

AOSfeSSlVe and are doing muCn Dy
their example for dairying. Neverthe-
less, ADVANCE in dairying is slow, very
slow. And why should 1t not be? The
advance is, counted not by what few
do, but by the average of what all are
doing: Dairying is a thing that must
be dealt with in it's parts and not in
its whole. Every man and every wo-
man that milks a COW or makes butter
is part of that whole and each part
must be dealt with separately. The ad-
vance is more talked about than real,
when speaking of the whole. The dirty
dalryman has not by any means yet
been eliminated. The ignorant feeder
and butter-maker are still in evidence.
The dairyman who cares little about
the condition of the goods at delivery
is still a great factor. All of these
must be reformed, and the work is
slow. 1t is astonishing to find how nu-
merous are the farmers that neither
take papers nor attend Institutes.
These are the ones that it is most diff
fcult to reach. They imagine that they
comprise in themselves all knowledge
In the lines in which they are work.
ing.
For these reasons dairy advance
must continue to be the result of con-
slant preaching of what some call the
dairy gospel of good COWS, good but
ter-makers and cleanly habits. Prob
ably there is no better way to reach
the common cow owner than the neigh
. borhood meeting. Farmers, especially
it neighbors, can say things that will
be listened to, when if, a. stranger
(often called book .farmers) were to
saSiVenthe same advice it, would be re-
.jected. We feel that every reader Of
this column has personal work to do
in this line. If it be possible to call
small meeting of farmers for such dis
cuss1ons, let it be done by all means.
Start the ball rolling. Like the little
ball in the snow, it will become great
er as it rolls. A multitude of these
meetings should be held all over the
country, and the work of reformation
started at the bottom. Strike first at
the dirt. That is the greatest and most
uncompromising enemy of the dairy
man. Then strike at the poor cow. She
is stumbling block that makes many
to offend. If these two points can be
impressed-cleanliness and good COWS
the reform will have been we'll be-
gun.
But some will say, "Why, the farmers
already know these things!' Perhaps
so, but they do not realize them. Some
times people know things and allow
conditions to go on for years, but sud-
denly something starts them to think
ing of them hard, and they wake up.
The wake-up is usually followed by ac-
tion. This is the case with dairying.
Men don't stop to think, at least. do
not think in way that results in ac-
tion. The days are coming when the
same number of cows that are kept
now will give double the amount of
milk and butter that they do now. The
time is coming when the science of
making butter will be so generally diff
fused that all the product will be twice
as valuable as now (not necessarily
twice as expensive to the consumer)
hut the dairymen will be the gamers
in the cost of keeping the number of
COWS indicated. Dairy advance is at
present largely confined to neighbor-
hoods, which is a hopeful sign. It
shows what influence will do. espe-
cially the influence of neighbors. Let
every man put his shoulder to the
wheel