No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 305 



turition her udder is largely developed, and is producing a large 

 amount of milk. If she is a young animal, that udder is a larger 

 per cent, of that cow's being or that cow's whole body weight, than 

 it would be if she was fed on any other kind of food, if the udder 

 was not quite so well developed, was not so well filled with blood 

 and was not such a good culture medium for germ growth, for I be- 

 lieve we understand that milk fever is the result of the growth of 

 an organism in the milk ducts of the udder which produce a poison- 

 ous element which is carried through the system by absorption, so 

 as to become and is, poisonour. to the animal, and produces a paraly- 

 sis. Now if that udder is of a smaller percentage of that cow'§ 

 weigh L, if it is not developed so well, her resisting power will be 

 more able to overcome the attack. Suppose that the udder was 

 one-fourth of her whole weight then her resisting force would be 

 as three to one, we might say, but suppose it was one-twentieth part 

 of her weight and the resisting force would be as nineteen to one, 

 so that it is the food that puts the animal in condition to succumb 

 to the disease when it is present; it is not always present, for- 

 tunately. As to the sterility of the instrument used, it is very im- 

 portant, and that is the only objection to every man possessing his 

 own outfit, and if he is thoroughly aware of the importance of hav- 

 ing everything thoroughly sterile, he is just as competent to do the 

 work as anybody else I think that nearly all the cases followed by 

 garget are due to the introduction of some poisonous matter into 

 the milk ducts. The milk tube is a very dangerous instrument to 

 use; it should never be used at all without being thoroughly steri- 

 lized, and that sterilization should be done immediately before its 

 use. Boil it immediatel}^ before using; if it is not sterilized at that 

 time, and sterilize it after using, for you don't know just what may 

 come in contact with in using it, and it is one of the best incubators 

 of disease you can find. 



DK. DETRICH: Mr. Chairman, I would like to say one word. 

 'There is such a difference in drying a cow off. You go into a dairy 

 barn and you will say '*Is this cow dry?" "Yes, we have quit milk- 

 in her." Now to quit milking a cow does not make a dry cow, and 

 that is the very thing that will create germ after germ in that udder. 

 I don't think there is a more reckless thing to do than to carelessly 

 allow one-fourth of the milk to stand in that cow's udder. 



I agree with Dr. Conard that the use of a milk tube is a very 

 dangerous thing. You seldom get persons to sterilize milk tubes 

 as it ought to be done. To sterilize is the thing to do, and if you 

 have your boiling water to dip this plug in, and then take it out, 

 and then put it right back into the teat again, with little cosmoline, 

 and dry the cow off without a doubt before you prepare her for 

 motherhood. 



If your cow^ is not dried off properly, you may expect all kinds of 

 trouble. I heard a man say a while ago "you can't milk a cow dry." 

 You give a cow nothing but timothy hay and water and you can 

 dry that cow off. As soon as the cow is dry, commence to feed her. 

 Give her so many quarts of bran a day and so much timothy hay. 

 Watch that cow's system. Give her something cooling. Give her 

 no milk-producing food unless it is really necessary. Use linseed 

 meal; never give her cotton-seed meal. Keep her on a feed of 

 20—7—1906. 



