674 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.TF [Aug. 3, 1908. 



Sluire system. — T\w large owiiei' mostly dairii's on the share system. He 

 finds the land, subdivided intd the necessary paddocks, stock, and wmking 

 plant; the latter including a complete creamery outlit. 'I'lir dairyman linds 

 all the labour i-equired in connection with tlu' milking yard. The cost of 

 running the creamery, freiglits on cream, (-aitage, tV:c., arc di-dnrtcil from the 

 gross earin'ngs, and th(^ net returns halved beCween the two. Where more 

 than one yard of cows is milked a, tally is kept of tlie quantity delivered 

 dailv by each, and tlieii' accounts aic reckoned out on that basis. W hen we 

 save a man ehar"e of a yard he was "iveii two lots of cows with their calves 

 at foot — -from SO to 100 in each lot. One herd was for milking in the 

 morning, the other for evening milking. In addition, about lOO to 1 oO 

 springers and dry cows are kejit in i-eserve to keep the yard u]) to its full 

 capacity all the time. It takes about 300 cows to keep each yard going in 

 full swing all the year round. Each tambo (local name for dairy) had the 

 run of two paddocks — one for each lot of niilkeis. The siirii:gei-s and dry 

 cows belonging to the various tambos were run in a common pa<l(lock, each 

 different lot having a distinctive brand, sometimes on the horn, mostly 

 dew lap, or ear-mark. The milking is done out in the open — no shelter 

 whatever is p)iovided, not even a tree. The yards are of light structure, 

 wired ; small round hardwood ]>osts, mostly as crooked as a rams horn, are 

 sunk in al)out 3 feet, every 30 yards; in between, the wires are run through 

 stays. Adjoining the milking yard, a smaller one of similar structure is put 

 up for the calves. After the morning's ndlking is done, the calves of the 

 second herd are parted from their mothers — with whom they have l)een 

 running all night. Later on in the afternoon they are penned up whilst the 

 cows are yarded for nnlking. By this system, each herd is w ithout its calves 

 for twelve houi-s. Thi-ee milkers and one tier-up do the work of each taml)o. 

 No bails are used. To start operations, several calves are let out into the 

 big yard — they immetliately seek out their mothers and commence sucking. 

 The cow's hind legs are at once tied togethei-, just above the liocks, with a 

 green-hide rope ; the calf is dragged away from the teats, and tied by the 

 neck to the off-side front leg of its mother. The cow has l)y this time let 

 down hei' milk, so the milker squats down with his l)ucket (he carries his 

 stool strapped to him). As soon as he gets his quota he lets loose the calf, 

 unstraps the cow's legs, and goes on to the next, whom the tier-up has by 

 this time ready hobbled for him. The calves are let run with their mothers 

 till next morning, and get the best part of the milk. Some kee]) special teats 

 for the calf to suck two when very young, one when older. W hen this is 

 the case the cow is milked night and nioining. A couple of posts are tirmly 

 set in each yartl for tying uid)rokcn cows to. These latter are lassoed, and 

 dragged up to the post by tb(> lassoer on his horse. To this post they are 

 lashed by the head, and their hind legs tightly tied together, so that they 

 cannot move an inch. As soon as a yard gets dirty, the fence is removed in 

 a few hours to a fresh s])ot. It is not to be wondered at that the yield, under 

 these circumstances, is very small per cow — averaging about '2 quarts a day — - 

 and the period of lactation ruiming for only five or six months. Near Buenos 



