102 AGRICULTURAL ESSAYS. 



Management or a Dairy* 



To make a dairy profitable, the first thing to be attended to 

 is, the quantity and quality of the milk. These depend much 

 on the nature of the food with which cows are fed, though the 

 former is often much affected by the manner of milking- them. 

 It is well, therefore, to be cautious in the choice of milkers. 

 •For, as has been w€ll observed, if a cow be roughly handled, it 

 is not only hurtful to her, but will also cause her to withhold 

 her milk, which is Often attended with unprofitable consequen- 

 ces. Where cows are skittish, they should by no means be 

 handled roughly. If the udder be hard and painful it should 

 be fomented with luke warm water, and stroaked gently, by 

 which means she may be ISrought to a good temper, and to 

 yield her milk freely. 



If the fact was not sufficiently established by the dairy maid, 

 it has been by chemical experiments, that the first milk which 

 is drawn from the cow is serous, and that which succeeds is less 

 so, and the last, or what are called strippings, is nearly all 

 cream. 



The portion of cream rising first to the surface is richer in 

 point of quality, and greater in quantity, than that which rises 

 in the second equal space of time, and so of the rest ; the cream 

 continually decreasing, and growing worse than the preceding. 



Thick milk produces a smaller proportion of cream than that 

 which is thinner, though the cream of the former is of a richer 

 quality. If thick milk, therefore, be diluted with water it will 

 aflford more cream than it would have yielded in its pure state, 

 though its quality will at the same time be mferior. 



Milk carried about in pails or other vessels, agitated, 

 and partly cooled before it be poured into the milk-pans, never 

 throws up such good and plentiful cream as if it had been put 

 into proper vessels immediately after it came from tlie cow. 



From these fundamental facts it is observed in Doct. Ander- 

 son's valuable essay, that many very important corollaries, serv- 

 ing to direct the practice, may be deduced, among which are 

 the following : 



1. It is evidently of much importance, that cows should be' 

 always milked aa near the dairy as possible, to prevent the ne- 

 cessity of carrying and cooling the milk before it be put into the 

 dishes ; and as cows are much hurt by far driving, it must be a 



treat advantage in a dairy farm to have the principal grasa- 

 @lds as near tke dairy and komestead as possible. 



