MILKING 317 



full supply of grass May, June, and July being the three best 

 months for abundance. Heifers calve, usually, a month later. 

 Many pedigree cows, being more or less precarious breeders, 

 are permitted to calve at any time ; but the best period is 

 soon after the New Year, to give the young as much time as 

 possible to grow before the grass comes, and to secure at the 

 same time an advantageous position for showing by being 

 early in the regulation Herd Book year. Where milk is sold, 

 more cows than in the case of other systems are " calved- 

 down " in autumn, to provide for the winter demand, owing 

 to the necessity of maintaining as far as possible a uniform 

 supply. Cows go to pasture either before or after 1st May, 

 according to the climate, having been gradually prepared by 

 a short daily run over young grass, which is usually early. 

 The amounts and varieties of forage crops sometimes given 

 while cows are being milked have already been stated. 

 Three or four pounds of cake, supplied to each animal 

 daily while on pasture, no doubt increase the amount of 

 produce ; but unless in special cases, where the pasture is 

 insufficient or needs manure, it is a question if the practice 

 pays when dairy produce is at ordinary prices, among other 

 reasons, because cows thus treated are more difficult to support 

 in winter, and they also break down more quickly. 



Milking is usually done twice a day, in the house if pos- 

 sible, as cattle are there more at rest in the shade and free 

 from flies ; moreover, milk is kept cleaner, especially in wet 

 weather, when milking-yards get muddy, and when rain 

 washes impurities into the pail from the skin. All dirt 

 adhering to the udder (more usual in winter than in summer) 

 should be wiped, or, if necessary, sponged off to prevent taint 

 in the milk. Open-air milking may be necessary when cows 

 pasture at a great distance from the farm buildings ; and, 

 again, if cows have to be milked in a very close, warm byre, 

 as they run the risk of being chilled when turned out at 

 night in autumn. 



It is sometimes necessary to milk three times a day when 

 the vessel is hard and swollen, as it frequently is soon after 

 calving ; when there is an excessive secretion and milk 

 running from the teats ; or when warm mid-day milk is 

 wanted in a local trade, as in the cases of the Edinburgh and 

 Leith dairies described in Chapter XV. More milk can thus, 



