future as in the past they will be able to point to the history of their association with justifiable pride, as a potent means of encouraging, promoting, and elevating the industry they make a specialty, I have abundant faith to believe.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS.

Mr. President: -Your committee on Resolutions beg leave to submit the following:

Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are hereby tendered to its officers of the past year for their care and efforts in promoting its interests and the cause of dairy husbandry in Wisconsin.

Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are due the railroads of this state for their courtesy and consideration in extending reduced rates to all members attending this Convention.

Resolved, That this Association desires to express in fitting terms its profound sorrow over the death of the late Hon. X. A. Willard, of New York, whose distinguished services in behalf of dairy husbandry entitles his memory to be held in grateful remembrance by every true dairyman in the land.

Resolved, That in the opinion of this Association, the time has come in the history of our state, when practical effort should be put forth to establish an Experimental Dairy Station on the Experimental Farm in Madison, under the care and direction of the Professor of Agriculture, and we ask of the legislature to take action in this direction. We believe that when an interest like the dairy interest of our state reaches an annual production of seventeen millions of dollars, it has attained a dignity of station that should merit this action on the part of the legislature.

Resolved, That the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association respectfully ask the legislature to appropriate a sum of money to enable it to invite men of science, ability and practical knowledge to instruct them in conventions in the improvement and advancement of the great industry we represent.

Resolved, That this Association requests Prof. Henry to make certain experiments concerning the relative value of a ration of bran and corn meal, bran and oil meal, bran and gluten meal, bran and ground oats, fed to cows, and to report to this association at its next meeting, with a detailed account of the same.

Resolved, That this association desires to express its acknowledgments to the Executive Committee and General Manager of the late Dairy Fair in Milwaukee, for their laborious efforts in promoting and managing so creditable an exhibition, and we desire to record our entire approval of such fairs as a means of dairy education.

Resolved, That this Association calls upon the cheese factory men of this state to unite themselves at once with the Wisconsin Dairymen's Protective

Association in its brave effort to fight the Hubbell and other fraudulent patent claims. The many should not in all honor stand by and allow a few to protect the whole.

Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are hereby tendered to the good people of Elkhorn, for their hospitality in promoting the comfort and success of this convention.

W. L. HOOD,

J. M. SMITH,

D. G. CHEEVER,

Committee.

On motion, the resolutions were adopted.

DISCUSSION.

President Beach - Will Mr. Hiram Smith tell the convention what he knows about this patent suit, pending on the Frazer cheese hoop?

Mr. Hiram Smith - As I am requested, I will make a statement in regard to the suits now pending in the United States court in the southern district of Wisconsin, commenced for infringement of the patent of the Frazer cheese hoop, by one Tyler, who has sued five different parties for infringement. These suits were commenced a year ago last June. One of the cases was taken as a test case; the others remained upon the docket, and that suit has been prosecuted under the auspices of the Wisconsin Protective Dairymen's Association. Counsel was employed. The Hon. William Pitt Lynde, of Milwaukee, has had charge of this case. Money was raised by the members of the association, on the basis of one dollar per hoop for each hoop that was used in the factory. That money was exhausted, and the members reassessed themselves another dollar. That money is nearly exhausted. The case has been tried and submitted to the court. Testimony was taken in Milwaukee and in New York on the part of the complainant, the lawyer from Wisconsin going to cross-examine the witnesses. A large amount of evidence was taken, the case argued, and they are now waiting for Judge Dyer's opinion. Of course we know nothing of what that opinion will be, though we have strong confidence that we shall win.

Another suit has been commenced against the factory men

of Sheboygan county by one J. G. Hubbell & Co., upon a patent which takes in all the hoops in the state. Hubbell expected this suit would take the same course as the other; that a great deal of testimony would have to be taken, and an expense of not less than $3,000 involved. But Mr. De Land, our counsel in that case, entered a plea that they should immediately make a plea on the case, without examination of witnesses, upon the validity of the Hubbell patent, which he denied. The lawyer for the complainants made a motion that the plea made by our lawyer be set aside, and he be required to make answer. The court took it under consideration and decided to deny the motion, and required counsel for defendant to file his answer to the bill.

That is

the condition we are in, and a very favorable condition for us, as we think.

Now then, if these suits are defended, it will require money to conduct them. There are not a great many members outside of Sheboygan and Jefferson counties belonging to that association. A resolution was passed that $400 be raised in the Sheboygan County Board of Trade, $300 at Jefferson county, and $300 at Elgin. The Sheboygan Board of Trade immediately paid in theirs, also the Jefferson County Board of Trade; not a dollar has come in from the Elgin Board of Trade. This will be a test suit; if we beat, they get all the benefits and none of the expenses. But the complainants are wily men- they understand their business thoroughly well. They understand there are but few members who have joined the protective association in the Hubbell suit, and they know how to make a proposition to these members, that they can drop out and get a receipt in full if they will withdraw from the suit. And that leaves every man in Wisconsin exposed to the rapacious claim of Hubbell & Co. at $7.00 per hoop, if this suit is withdrawn for want of funds, and then how are you that are not members of this association going to defend yourselves? You will have to pay the penalty for not joining the association to make it strong enough to defeat this claim.

That is the condition of this case. None of us who have examined into this matter think there is the least justice in the original claim. Now, will you strengthen the Wiscon

sin Dairymen's Protective Association, or will you let them fight alone until they are discouraged, until they are forced to compromise and will leave these men to prey upon those who are not members. They will have no defense. The only way to prevent that, I say, is to supply funds for the exhausted treasury of those who are fighting, laboring for nothing, spending their time merely to defend the dairymen of the northwest against the frauds of these patent right

men.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON BUTTER AND CHEESE. Mr. President-Your committee who were appointed to examine the butter and cheese, beg leave to submit the following report:

CLASS V.

Higgins Challenge Cup Premium.

Must be won two years in succession to retain the same permanently. Awarded to McCanna & Harris, Spring Prairie.

Must be won three years in succession to hold the same permanently. It has been won by A. H. Wheaton, Auroraville; Olin & Clinton, Waukesha; H. A. Conger & Son, Whitewater, and August Klessig, Centerville. Awarded to Marr & Dyer, Whitewater.

Respectfully submitted,

W. W. INGRAM, Chicago.

T. D. CURTIS, Syracuse, N. Y.
D. G. CHEEVER, Clinton, Wis.
Committee.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON DAIRY GOODS AND MANUFACTURES.

Mr. President-Your committee beg leave to submit the following report on Dairy Goods and Manufactures:

F. B. FARGO & CO., LAKE MILLS, WIS.,

Exhibited a sample of their June Golden Butter Color. Between the two samples of Butter Color exhibited, we could see no difference in them, but in the samples of butter colored by each, we give the preference to the Color manufactured by F. B. Fargo & Co.

BEAN & PERRY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS., Exhibited their Natural June Golden Butter Color. It seems to possess all the merits of the June Golden Butter Color, so far as your committee could decide, but from the samples of butter colored with each, we give the June Golden Butter Color manufactured by F. B. Fargo & Co. the preference.