the heifers in next winter. This attitude of looking forward to the future with optimism, and making light of the more monotonous side of dairying—housing stock for six months of the year—is typical, I think, of dairy farmers in Connecticut.

BARNS AND MILKING MACHINES With temperatures below zero during the six months of winter, the housing of stock becomes a necessity, and large barns with upright silos are as common here as cowsheds back in New Zealand. Most of the barns are large wooden structures with shingled roofs, but fancy, tiled barns are not infrequent, the latter being run by businessmen from the larger cities like New York and Boston who still have money to spare after buying a Cadillac for each member of the family. All the older barns are built of chestnut, but a virus disease destroyed all the chestnut trees same 25 to 30 years ago. Hemlock, fir and spruce are the timbers most commonly used now, but some farmers are fortunate enough to have plantations of oak, which is a superior timber. The barns usually have high ceilings to provide ample ventilation, but forced ventilation is now common in newer buildings. The stock are lined down each side of the barn with their heads locked in stanchions. Leg ropes are not common. Enough room is allowed for the passage of feed barrows between the heads of the cattle and the wall, and the rows of cattle are separated by three to five yards. Pipeline milking machines, such as we have in New Zealand, are the envy of all Connecticut dairymen. Americans still use machines that deposit the milk in a bucket; they carry the bucket into the milkroom, which may be 50 yards or more in a big barn, empty it, and bring it back again — just like herd-testing day in New Zealand. Most farmers know about pipeline milking machines, but nobody seems over-anxious to install them.

PASTURE PROBLEMS Because of the severe winter conditions the life of pasture, and more especially legumes, is comparatively short. Normally, clover and alfalfa will survive for only four to five years. The replacement of pasture, therefore, is necessary every six years at least. The main cause of destruction is the severe ‘frost lifting’ during winter, and the subsequent thaw in early spring. Because of comparatively little competition from weeds only a few pounds of seed are necessary for the establishment of good, sound pasture. The usual seeding ranges from between 8 to 12 lb, which includes about 4 lb. of clover and 8 lb. of grasses. Red clovers are seldom used because these will not persist for any length of time, but the use of Lodino clover has now become universal. This clover apparently resists the winter conditions better than other clover species, while at the same time the abundance of foliage produced during the summer months is unsurpassed. Alfalfa is used both for haying purposes and for grazing, but it is seldom sown as a straight mixture, farmers preferring to mix it with permanent pasture grasses. The most common grasses used are Broome, Timothy and Ochard grass. If ‘frost lifting’ were confined to pasture the problem would be bad enough, but the damage by frost to fences is quite extensive, too. On every farm that I have visited so far, repair work to fences has been in progress. All fence posts are loosened up over the winter, and in severe cases posts are lifted right out of the ground. When building a fence here a hole has first to be pierced in the stony ground with a crowbar, and then, with the gentle persuasion of a 16in. sledge-hammer, the posts, which are pointed at one end, are driven in. Pointed posts are used as they are easier to drive in again after each successive winter. Fence wire cannot be stretched too tightly either, for tightly strained wire will snap off when ice or snow accumulates on it during the winter. I have yet to see a fence that would be sheep-proof, and without netting farmers could not build a sheep-proof fence. All fencing is done during early spring, as the softness of the ground enables posts to be driven in much more easily.

LONG DAILY ROUTINE Those are just a few of the more important problems of dairy farming in Connecticut. Because by far the greater part of the day is spent in the barn, work about the farm doesn't receive the attention that it should. On Mr Tomlinson's farm, where I have been working, work began at 4.45 in the morning. The cows had to be fed silage and grain before milking commenced at 5.15. With milking machines lacking the milk pipeline, three sets of teat-cups make a two-man job, so that milking takes longer and requires more labour than is necessary in New Zealand. We would wash up the utensils and be in for breakfast at 7 o'clock, and at 8 o'clock we were back on the job. The cows here were turned out for exercising. Manure was shovelled into the manure-spreader, and taken out and spread on the pasture. New bedding for the cows was forked out, while sawdust or wood shavings were scattered in with the bedding and in the drains to absorb moisture. Water cannot be used for cleaning out the barns, as cows would be lying in damp bedding. Drinking cups were cleaned out and hay put out for the cows to eat during the day. The cows were then brought back inside, and