I/O AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



crack open. As a preventative a little vaseline applied after 

 each milking when the trouble first begins is often all that is 

 needed. 



The more serious cases yield readily to oxide of zinc oint- 

 ment. This should be applied after each milking for two or 

 three days or until teats are fully healed. 



Occasionally we find a cow that is naturally such a hard 

 milker that whatever her good qualities she is a failure in the 

 dairy. Or a heifer calves and although the udder is otherwise 

 perfect little or no milk descends into one of the teats, because 

 the upper valve is too rigid. Again a more or less movable 

 lump obstructs the milk duct so no milk will pass. The first 

 two conditions may be remedied by the means of a teat bistoury 

 and the same instrument can sometimes be used to advantage 

 in removing the obstruction in the duct of the teat, but for this 

 it will sometimes be necessary to use a milking tube until the 

 quarter is dried off and then the teat may be opened and the 

 obstruction cut out. 



TEAT FISTULAS. 



These usually open through the side of the teat and communi- 

 cate with the milk duct, and are extremely annoying. When 

 the hand of the milker presses the teat the milk squirts out at 

 the side as well as at the end. Treatment is not difficult. 

 When the cow is dry the side opening can be dissected out with 

 a sharp knife or a pair of scissors to the depth of an i-8 of an 

 inch, or it can be cauterized with a piece of large wire heated 

 red hot. In either case when the resulting wound heals the 

 opening will be closed. 



BLOODY MILK. 



In this disorder we may find blood in the milk from one or 

 more quarters of the udder, when it has been injured by blow 

 or by the horns of another cow, and also when the udder is 

 badly swollen from any cause. The trouble sometimes results 

 from an abrupt increase of rich food. The blood may be suffi- 

 ciently abundant to perceptibly color the milk or it may only 

 be discovered on the strainer in the form of clots. This condi- 

 tion is due to the rupture of small blood vessels and pulling 

 down on the udder in milking is likely to aggravate it. Some 

 cases only recover after the cow has been allowed to go dry for 



