78 AMERICAN DAIRYING. 



care for his cows, that he has done all that it is possible for 

 him to do in order to secure *an abundant yield of rich milk 

 and the cow is usually held responsible for any failure. 



All of these conditions are of course essential for the best 

 results, but the immediate conditions under which the milk- 

 ing is done appear to have almost as much influence upon the 

 yield and quality of milk as any other factor. The manner 

 of milking, the frequency with which it is done and the time 

 occupied in doing it may, I believe, have more influence with 

 many cows upon the yield and quality of milk than the kind 

 of food, so long as sufficient food is supplied. 



All of our experimental work indicates that temporary 

 conditions existing only at the time of milking may very 

 materially affect both the yield and quality of the milk pro- 

 duced. This can be most easily explained by assuming that 

 the milk glands are most active at this time and that the 

 quality of the secretion depends on this activity. It seems 

 probable that the action of the milk glands is greatly modi- 

 fied by the nervous condition of the animal at the time of 

 milking as well as by the stimulus derived from manipula- 

 tion of the teats and udder. 



This experiment also brought out the fact that the man- 

 ner of milking also affects the composition of the milk. It 

 was found that cows which ordinarily gave milk with 4 and 

 5 per cent of fat respectively, gave milk with only 2.7 and 

 3.92 per cent respectively when milked one teat at a time. 

 The milk was richer in fat when milked rapidly (three to 

 four minutes) than when milked slowly (double that time), 

 though the yield seemed not to be affected, the fat being as 

 a general rule more sensitive to such changes than the other- 

 ingredients or the total yield of milk. 



Morning's and night's milk. There is at 

 times a marked difference in the per cent of fat 

 contained in the morning's and night's milk. 

 Some dairy writers have claimed that one was 

 the richest in fat and some that the other was. 

 My experience in testing my own herd, also in 



