VI 



THE FARMER'S WIFE VERSUS THE DAIRY COW 



THEEE years ago I was invited to address the State 

 Dairymen's Association of Vermont, at Burling- 

 ton. I had had opportunities of seeing some of the 

 Vermont farmers' houses and also the Vermont dairy 

 barns. I had been struck with the fact that more at- 

 tention, in some cases, was paid to the comfort and con- 

 venience of the dairy cows than to the comfort and 

 convenience of the farmer's wife and daughter. It 

 was a large, intelligent and fine-looking audience that 

 I faced on that cold day of January, with the thermom- 

 eter many degrees below zero. I thought this was an 

 opportunity to say a word in favor of the farmer's 

 wife, and I began my address with the following ques- 

 tion : " Why is it that so many Vermont dairymen 

 pay more attention to their cows than they do to their 

 wives ? " No one answered the question, and yet many 

 of them could have done so. Soon thereafter I re- 

 ceived a letter from the wife of a Vermont dairyman 

 thanking me for getting at the crux of the dairy ques- 

 tion. 



Being in the dairy business myself in a small way, 

 I fully appreciate the necessity of care for the cow. I 

 have spent a good deal of money in getting concrete 

 floors and steel stanchions, where cows can be kept in 

 a cleanly and sanitary manner. I take pride in seeing 

 my cows clean, well fed, and protected from the in- 



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