RURAL LIFE IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY 



1 With the opening up of the great central West, and 

 later with the development of ranching In the far West, 

 the price of wool dropped and the Eastern farmer 

 found himself unable to compete with the wool grown 

 on these vast areas of cheap land, and so, In many sec- 

 tions, he began to turn his attention to dairy farming. 



The passing of the animal with the ''golden hoof" 

 had its drawbacks. Sheep, by browsing, kept the brush 

 in check, and this, together with the fineness and the 

 high fertilizing value of their droppings, made them 

 the best class of livestock to Improve pastures. The 

 Goshen hardback {Potentilla fruticosa)^ a hardy and 

 persistent shrub that is now filling up many pastures to 

 the exclusion of grasses and clovers, was not known in 

 Litchfield County until after the sheep Industry waned. 

 To-day it is the greatest pasture pest on many acres of 

 land. 



Much of the land in this county is better suited to 

 sheep than to any other livestock. One drawback to 

 keeping sheep Is the poor fences; the stone walls which 

 were once efficient barriers have now become dilapi- 

 dated and the wooden fences also are often in a state of 

 decay. Where modern, woven-wire fencing Is adopted 

 there is yet a valuable place for this class of livestock. 



As a means of furnishing the home with a source of 

 meat, sheep will again have a useful place on many 

 farms, and with the growing influx of summer residents 



[963 



