HAND-MILKING 319 



hours into two equal parts. Each cow knows her stall in the 

 byre, and if not disturbed will usually go directly to it, unless 

 by the way she be tempted at times to steal food from a 

 neighbour's allowance. 



If cows are constantly milked by one person for a length 

 of time, they often " keep up their milk," or " do not let it 

 down," should another milker be introduced. It is a usual 

 rule in dairies to change the milkers regularly to avoid this 

 chance of loss. The custom has other advantages : it appor- 

 tions each milker a fair share of "stiff" or difficult cows, as 

 well as of those easy to milk, and prevents an inferior milker 

 " putting the milk off," or " drying " certain cows, by continua- 

 tion of bad milking. 



Milking should be performed as quietly, quickly, and 

 thoroughly as possible. If all these requisite conditions are 

 not attended to, the quantity of milk soon falls off. One of 

 the greatest difficulties of the dairy farmer is to find good 

 milkers. A cow must not be struck or excited in any way ; 

 as, in addition to the small quantity of milk given, the quality 

 may be so injured, that when mixed with it, it has been 

 known to affect the milk of a whole dairy. 



A calf takes about three or four minutes to suck a cow 

 dry. Milking by hand should come as near this as possible. 

 A good man (or a woman in Scotland) milking ten cows (a 

 usual and ample number) will finish the work in an hour if it 

 be done by contract, except for a week or two at the height 

 of the grass season when the full flow of milk is on. When 

 milking is done in the ordinary way, with no special induce- 

 ment for haste, nearly two hours are taken up. An hour and 

 a half may be stated as a good average time for a full milking. 



A milker should sit on a stool close to the animal, and 

 hold firmly between the knees a " handy " or pail, large 

 enough to contain all the milk, thus doing away with the 

 necessity of rising to empty a portion of it into the receiving- 

 or carrying-can before the operation is finished. The arm 

 next the cow's hind leg should be placed close to it, to be 

 ready to press back should she attempt to kick. To ensure 

 safety from kicking, some nervous milkers tie the hind legs 

 together at the hocks. The practice is as old as the civilisa- 

 tion of ancient Egypt, and, if it were always done without 

 pain to the animal, there would be no objection to it ; but 



