96 REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



increasing the production of milk and fat from the cows, ex- 

 haustive milking will be likely to maintain a maximum flow 

 of milk throughout the lactation period, and to permanently 

 develop the qualities of both the dam and her offspring." 



The conclusions stated in paragraph 8 will be readily assented to 

 by all practical men who have studied the subject. It is well known 

 that there is no more certain and rapid method of drying off* a cow 

 than by leaving a considerable quantity of milk in her udder for a 

 number of milkings. The milk glands, like all other organs of the 

 body, are developed by being worked. If the entire secretion of 

 milk be not removed, and the glands not thoroughly emptied, they 

 are not stimulated into renewed activity. Nature never provides 

 in vain, and gradually they will cease to manufacture milk-producing 

 materials. The complete emptying of the contents of the milk 

 glands is the best possible stimulus to increased production. This 

 holds good with special force in the case of heifers in their first 

 milking season. The milk glands in the case of young cows are 

 still in the process of development, and by careful, painstaking 

 milking several times a day after calving the milk glands are stinm- 

 lated to greater activity, and will thus reach the highest develop- 

 ment of which they are capable. It goes without saying that care- 

 less, ineff'ective milking will have quite the opposite effect. It is a 

 well-known law in Nature that 'Mike begets like," and it stands to 

 reason that cows whose milk-producing capacities have been deve- 

 loped to their utmost capacity will be more likely to transmit these 

 qualities to their offspring than cows w hose faculties for transform- 

 ing plant food into milk and butter fat have never been developed. 

 A secondary, but very important, advantage resulting from syste- 

 matic clean milking would be an almost total absence of diseased 

 udders in dairy farmers' herds. This mischief is invariably the 

 result of careless milking. When the milk is not removed 

 thoroughly, an inflammatory condition supervenes, often resulting, 

 if not properly attended to, in the drying up of the affected quarter. 

 The loss sustained by dairy farmers from this cause is incalculable, 

 resulting not only from loss of produce, but in depreciation of value 

 of cows. Hagelund's method seems to be easily learned ; an intel- 

 ligent and observing milker can become expert at it in six days. 

 Persons learning the manipulations are apt to make too hard work 

 of it at first, but the secret is to do it in such a way as to cause no 

 irritation to the cow, or waste of energy on the part of the milker. 

 In the Wisconsin experiments the average time taken for the 

 manipulating part of the milking was 2*6 minutes per cow, and for 

 the whole operation of milking, from start to finish, an average of 

 7'Q minutes per cow. 



In this connexion we may render a service by printing the 

 words of "good advice" or milking rules issued by the Danish 

 creameries to the farmers: — 



"MILKER, MARK THIS WELL. 



L The cow is a living machine. 



a. Kindly treatment entails less labour, and gives more milk. 



