332 THE NATURE AND TREATMENT OF 



tures have to endure at the hands of some thoughtless, hard- 

 fisted man, are really distressing to witness. 



A better milker than even a merciful man, is a woman. 

 The principal part of the milking, in private establishments in 

 foreign countries, is done by women ; and in these United 

 States, there are thousands of capable women out of employ- 

 ment that might be advantageously employed, in private and 

 dairy establishments, as milkmaids. Therefore, in view of 

 improvement in the art of milking, I advise farmers to learn 

 their wives, daughters, and female domestics, how to strip 

 the cows. 



An indolent person — slow coach — should never be suffered 

 to touch a cow's teat ; the process, to say the least of it, is 

 painful ; therefore, the best milker is the one that can abstract 

 the milk in the quickest time. 



Finally, milk the cow dry. The last of the milk is the 

 most valuable, yet Mr. Hurry-up cannot spare time to attend 

 to this matter ; consequently he loses the best of the strip- 

 pings and actually ruins the cow as a milker. 



DISEASED THYMUS GLAND. 



The thymus gland, commonly known as the sweetbread, is 

 usually found, after adult life, in the region of the thoracic duct, 

 just within the anterior or front part of the chest ; yet the 

 greatest activity and development of this gland is during foetal 

 life. This is one of the glands, which, according to Goodsir, is 

 an involuted portion of the germinal membrane, acting as the 

 first assimilating organ possessed by the foetus ; hence, as soon 

 as the animal is born, and the legitimate organs of digestion 

 are called into operation, the thymus dwindles away, and, in 

 some cases, almost disappears. Occasionally, however, it be- 

 comes enlarged, and has to be removed by a surgical operation. 

 Tiie following instructive case occurred in the practice of W. 

 Lyon, V. S. and appeared in the London Veterinarian. 



"I beg to forward for your inspection a tumor, being 

 the largest of two which were removed on the 15th instant. 



