66 KEEPING COW3. [No. 



then drained off. This takes the goodness out of the 

 bran to be sure ; but really good bread is a thing of 

 so much importance, that it always ought to be the 

 very first object in domestic economy. 



114. The cases vary so much, that it is impossible 

 to lay down rules for the application of the produce 

 of a cow, which rules shall fit all cases. I content 

 myself, therefore, with what has already been said on 

 this subject ; and shall only make an observation on 

 the act of milking^ before I come to the chief mat- 

 ter ; namely, the getting of the food for the cow. A 

 cow should be milked clean. Not a drop, if it can be 

 avoided, should be left in the udder. It has been 

 proved that the half pint that comes out last has 

 twelve tim,es, I think it is, as much butter in it, as the 

 half pint that comes out first. I tried the milk often 

 Alderney cows, and, as nearly as -I, without being 

 very nice about the matter, could ascertain, I found 

 the difference to be about what I have stated. The 

 udder would seem to be a sort of milk-pan in which 

 the cream is uppermost, and, of course, comes out 

 last, seeing that the outlet is at the bottom. But, be- 

 sides this, if you do not milk clean, the cow will give 

 less and less milk, and will become dry much sooner 

 than she ought. The cause of this 1 do not know, 

 but experience has long established the fact. 



115. In providing food for a cow we must look, 

 first, at the sort of cow ; seeing that a cow of one 

 sort will certainly require more than twice as much 

 food as a cow of another sort. For a cottage, a cow 

 of the smallest sort common in England is, on every 

 account, the best; and such a cow will not require, 

 above 70 or 80 pounds of good moist food in the 

 twenty-four hours. 



116. Now, how to raise this food on 40 rods of 

 ground is what we want to know. It frequently hap- 

 pens that a labourer has more than 40 rods of ground. 

 It more frequently happens, that he has some corn- 

 won, some lane, some little out-let or other, for a part 

 of the year, at least. In such cases he may make a 

 different disposition of his ground ; or may do with 



