RURAL LIFE IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY 



the dairy breeds. In the early days of the dairy indus- 

 try it was supposed that it must be almost entirely a 

 summer business — that if the cow produced a liberal 

 flow of milk from April to December, she must of ne- 

 cessity "rest from her labors" the balance of the year. 

 Yet we know that modern conditions of stabling and of 

 feeding have changed all this, so that now milk is pro- 

 duced as readily in winter as in summer. This has been 

 brought about, in a great measure, by improved meth- 

 ods of housing. The barn, that let in the first rays of 

 the morning sun through its many cracks, and that, in 

 the same way, let in the northern blasts and the drifting 

 snows, is a thing of the past. Closely constructed and 

 yet well ventilated barns are the homes of our modern 

 breeds of livestock. Water flowing into inside troughs 

 has been generally substituted for the hole in the ice at 

 a near-by pond or brook; while modern facilities for 

 reducing labor are a part of the equipment of every 

 well arranged dairy barn. The introduction of the silo 

 has increased the profit in the winter production of 

 milk, as it supplies the cheapest form of succulent feed 

 for use in the winter season. While the cheap labor 

 available on some of the European dairy farms may 

 make the growing and use of root crops profitable, 

 under our labor conditions well grown and well pre- 

 served silage is more economical. 



The statement is often made in Litchfield County, as 



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