AUSTRALIAN AQRICOLTURK. 



bad and careless milking. It is astonishing how few 

 milkers give attention to the delicate organism of the cow's 

 udder, or milk system. A word or two on this point may 

 not be out of place. The udder of the cow is divided into 

 two chambers by an impervious membrane. This dividing 

 substance runs in the direction of the backbone, and is so 

 placed that the milk from one chamber cannot pass into 

 the other. For this reason, it is advisable that we should 

 operate, say, on a front and hind teat next the milker, 

 and having emptied one chamber should then proceed with 

 the other. This is not, however, the general practice, it 

 is customary rather to operate on the teats of different 

 chambers, taking one fore and one hind teat, instead of 

 the two teats on one side. The idea being to preserve the 

 natural state of the udder, and this method of milking, 

 according to this practice, is mainly responsible for much 

 "of the malformation in the udders of so many co s. 

 This of course is a great evil, and it detracts from the 

 appearance of the animals, and lowers their money value 

 when offered fur sale. Milking with wet hands is a main 

 source of sore and cracked teats, and is also a source of 

 contagion. Again, too rapid and violent milking is to 

 be avoided, as also conversation between milkers while 

 milking is in progress, as both of these causes tend to 

 make the cows uneasy, and to retain their milk. 



Every Cow Should Be Tested. This is becoming 

 more and more a necessity in modern dairying. Efficient 

 dairyists soon become experts at testing. Under what 

 may be termed average conditions, an animal is of little or 

 no value to the owner unless he is able to derive a profit 

 by keeping it. In the dairy a good animal is the one that 

 will profitably convert the most feed into the most and 

 richest inilk, butter, or cheese. In this, quantity is not the 

 only consideration, neither is quality. Both are necessary. 

 The cost of the product is more important than all else. 

 There must be a liberal quantity, and the quality must be 

 good. At the same time both must be secured at a cost 

 that will leave a fair per cent, of profit when rightly 

 managed. And there is more certainty of doing this with 

 the dairying breeds than with others. There may be 



