Vol. VIII. No. 185. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



171 



MILKING A GOAT. 



The accoiii[j:inyii!g notes clealiuo; with points to be 

 observed in conne.KJcjn with the o[)i'ratii)n of milking 

 goat.«, appeared in Farm Life of April 17 last: — 



^[ilking a goat is not a clitiicult operation Iiy any means, 

 iilthough it is innch easier in the case of some animals than 

 of others. It i.s easiest with those goats that have nicely 

 |iointeil teats of a size readily grasped Vjv the hand. 



There is a certain knaclc ivi the iirocess which is soon 

 gained after a few daj's' practice. It consists in causing 

 |ii-essure on the teat by each of the fingers alternately from 

 the first to the little finger, but in such rapid succession 

 that the pressure is almost simultaneous. At the same time 

 the hand draws down the teat, pushing the latter again up 

 towards the udder as the stream is reduced, in order to 

 encourage a fresh flow. Both hands should lie used, each 

 iv< irking alternately. 



The great point is to draw oft" all the milk contained 

 ill the udder at each ' meal,' asjt is termed, because if any 

 is left behind, the yield tends to fall off, and a less quantity 

 is drawn on the following occasion. This being repeated 

 often, the animal soon goes dry. 



To en.sure a thfirough extraction f>f all the milk in the 

 udder, the latter should, when the flow ceases, be worked 

 about in the hand, and the teat pushed rather violently u[) 

 into it, in imitation of the action of the head of the kid, 

 when it does not find enough milk present. This often 

 results in adding another quarter-pint, or even half-pint, to 

 the [lail. 



PROTECTION OF COWS FROM FLIES. 



Flies are frequentl}- a source of great annoyance 

 to cattle, inchnUng milking cows, and the opinion is 

 generally held that in such cases the worry entailed 

 on the animals results in a loss of weight, or — in the 

 case of cows — in a diminution of the milk yield. In 

 the United States and Canada during the hot seasons 

 various contrivances have been adopted with the object 

 of protecting the animals from attack by flies, and the 

 best means of doing this is to wash over the coats of 

 the cattle with a mi.xture containing some material 

 which is repellant to the worrying insects. 



At the Kansas Experiment Station several mixtures 

 have been tried for this purpose, the be.^ results being given 

 by a preparation consisting of H K). of resin, 2 cakes of 

 laundry soap, A-pint of fish oil, and enough water to make 

 the whole up to 3 gallons. This Inixture was either 

 applied with a brush or .sprayed over the animal. In the 

 latter case .'.-pint of kerosene oil may be added with the other 

 ingredients. The cost of the mixture is not more than 7c. or 

 i<c. per gallon, and A-pint is considered enough for a single 

 application to each cow. It was found that at first two or 

 three applications per week were necessary, but later on 

 treatment need not be given so often, since the tips of hair 

 become coated with resin. 



At the Missouri E.xperiment St;ition a patent prepara- 

 tion for j>rotecting cows from the worrying attacks of Hies 

 was tried for some time. It is reported that the chief 

 ob.served result was that the cows stood more quietly during 

 milking. .„; 



Ol).servations made at the Virginian .Experiment Station 

 indicated that durinfj; the sea.son when flies were most 



prevalent, the milk yields of the cows fell otfby as much as from 

 '2r> to 50 [ler cent. Various mixtures for repelling the flies 

 were tried without avail, but success was obtained when an 

 enuiision of kero.sene oil was employed. The emulsion con- 

 sisted of i-lb. yellow soap, I gallon soft water, and 2 gallons 

 kerosene oil, to which was finally added a second gallon of 

 water. This formed the stock solution, which was diluted 

 Just before using by adding 1 part to 5 parts of water. The 

 mixture ^x'as applied to the animals daily, by means of 

 a spray pump. It was found that 15 gallons of the diluted 

 .solution was .sufficient for one treatment of 100 cattle. 



PROPOSED FARM SCHOOL AT 



JAMAICA. 



Distinct advances in the provision of facilities for 

 agricultural instruction have been made in the British 

 West Indies of recent years, and practically every 

 colony has benefited thereby. At Jamaica up to the 

 jiresent there have been three distinct agencies for 

 giving instruction in different branches of agricultural 

 work to young men in the island. These are the 

 Industrial School, the scheme of apprenticeship at 

 the Botanic Gardens, and an agricultural course at the 

 (Government Laboratory. It has been thought, how- 

 ever, that the present condition of affairs can be 

 improved upon, and in his speech at the opening of 

 the Legislative Conned in March last, the Governor of 

 Jamaica brought forward a scheme under which the 

 disconnected efforts at present in operation shall be 

 aliolished, and a Farm School established. 



1'he object of this proposed I'arm School will be to give 

 young men, and youths over fifteen years of age, a sound 

 knowledge of the elementary principles of agricultural science, 

 and as complete a training as possible in all branches of 

 practical tropical agriculture, the management of live stock, 

 dairying, farriery, carpenti-y, veterinary work, etc. 



To quote from the ( ioverniir's speech : ' It is not 

 intended to give an elaborate .scientific cour.se, but to aim at 

 the training of a body of young men competent to take up 

 practical work and supervision on small or large cultivations, 

 with some sound foundation of general knowledge and 

 practical training. It is not pro|iosed to offer free 

 scholarships, but to make a uniform charge of £15 per year 

 for each pupil, to cover the cost of board and lodging at the 

 Farm School.' 



The capital outlay recpiired for starting the school has 

 been estimated at £3,000. It is also calculated that the cost 

 of upkeeii each year will amount to £1,173 16.s. Against 

 this latter sum, however, can be set oft' £1,038, which 

 represents savings that will be eft'ected by the abolition of 

 present establishments, together with students' fees, sales of 

 produce, and rents. The net annual cost of the school 

 proposed by Sir Sydney (.)livier, thei-efore, would be only 

 £."i(tO in excess of the appro|iriations at present made for the 

 existing establishments. 



In view of the scope and variety of the agri- 

 cultural industries of Jamaic;i, and the advantages that 

 would accrue from having a good number of young 

 men trained in up-to-date methods of cultivation, and 

 preparation of produce for export, the establishment of 

 a school such as that suggested should be a real boon 

 to the island. 



