DAIRYING 



31 



G. Milking Fast and Slow. 



185. It is often claimed that a strong, fast milker will get 

 more milk than a boy or than a milker who prolongs the milking 

 time by indifferent attention to his work. The effect of fast and slow 

 milking was tried (**) on nine cows which were each milked rapidly 

 (3 to 4 minutes) for a period of time and then milked slowly, 

 taking double the time of the fast milking, some cows being milked 

 fast and some slow each day so as to eliminate other disturbing 

 conditions. The results showed in .every case that the fast milking 

 gave a richer milk than the slow milking, the gain in butter fat by 

 fast milking being 11.73% f r the herd. The gain from fast 

 milking was greatest with the three cows giving the most milk ; 

 49 pound, or nearly one-half a pound of butter fat per day being 

 the sum of the increase in fat for the three cows. The effect on 

 cows giving but little milk was not so marked. 



During these trials it was noticed that whenever a change was 

 made from fast to slow milking or the reverse, there was not at the 

 time of this change a decided difference in the milk, but after 

 continuing one way of milking for a few days, the milk gradually 

 returned to its normal amount and richness although slow milking 

 never gave quite so good results as fast milking. 



H. Change of Milker. 



1 86. Nearly everyone who has owned cows knows that the 

 milker has a great influence not only on the amount of milk ob- 

 tained from a cow, but on the persistency with which the cow 

 gives milk. Some milkers will dry up the cows while others by 

 their way of milking will develop the milk producing qualities of 



Wis. Exp. Sta. Report i 



