IN THE CATSKILLS 



Dutch took root at various points along the Hud- 

 son, and about Albany and in the Mohawk valley, 

 and remnants of their rural and domestic architec- 

 ture may still be seen in these sections of the State. 

 A Dutch barn became proverbial. " As broad as a 

 Dutch barn " was a phrase that, when applied to 

 the person of a man or woman, left room for little 

 more to be said. The main feature of these barns 

 was their enormous expansion of roof. It was a 

 comfort to look at them, they suggested such shel- 

 ter and protection. The eaves were very low and 

 the ridge-pole very high. Long rafters and short 

 posts gave them a quaint, short-waisted, grandmo- 

 therly look. They were nearly square, and stood 

 very broad upon the ground. Their form was 

 doubtless suggested by the damper climate of the 

 Old World, where the grain and hay, instead of 

 being packed in deep solid mows, used to be spread 

 upon poles and exposed to the currents of air under 

 the roof. Surface and not cubic capacity is more 

 important in these matters in Holland than in this 

 country. Our farmers have found that, in a climate 

 where there is so much weather as with us, the less 

 roof you have the better. Roofs will leak, and cured 

 hay will keep sweet in a mow of any depth and size 

 in our dry atmosphere. 



The Dutch barn was the most picturesque barn 

 that has been built, especially when thatched with 

 straw, as they nearly all were, and forming one side 



