Milk and Milking. 2:5 



machine of any kind should be applied. One of the 

 most essential requisites during the times of rest for 

 the milk cow is absolute quiet, guarding- her against 

 fright and preventing worrying or violent exertion. 

 A great deal has been said and written about the neces- 

 sity of giving cows daily exercise in the open air, and 

 though nothing is to be said against pasturing in fine 

 weather, it is certain that in very hot or in cold and wet 

 weather the stable or barn is the only proper place to 

 keep the cow in. Every exertion, therefore also that ne- 

 cessarily combined with locomotion, is an expenditure 

 of force, a w r ear on the muscle, and this wear must be 

 replenished by an extra amount of feed, the quantity of 

 which will be found in exact relation with the dis- 

 tance that has to be traveled over and the time con- 

 sumed by the animal until it has been able to graze a 

 sufficiency for its needs. It is easy to see that a cow 

 which is enabled to eat all she requires in one hour's 

 time and can then lie down, in perfect rest, to ru- 

 minate and digest, is in an eminently better position 

 to turn her food into' milk than the cow that has to 

 walk about, for three or four hours at a time, grazing 

 before the feeling of hunger leaves her. Nothing 

 should, however, be more strongly condemned than 

 the practice of leaving cows in the open air during 

 midday in hot Summer weather. Not only does the 

 intense heat of the sun tend to harden the skin, con- 

 tracting the pores, and thereby diminishing the gen- 

 eral vitality of the animal, but also the constant 

 irritation produced by flies and like insects has a 



