MIL 



MIL 



also by drawing a rope through tlic 

 field and moving it across the wheat 

 or grain in the morning wiicn the dew 

 was on the plants in dull weather. 

 One of the commonest forms of the 

 white mildew that covers leaves is 

 that of the Aspergillus (Fig. I): a is 

 the plant enlarged. The mildew of 

 roots, which destroys potatoes, &c., 

 is usually the Rhizoctonia {Fig. 2). 



MILE. 1760 yards. The sea mile 

 is l-60th of a degree, or 2025 yards. 



MILFOIL. Achillea millefolium. 

 Yarrow. A common flowering plant 

 in meadows, marking a good soil. 



MILIARY. Granulated, like many 

 small seeds. 



MILK. The secretion of the mam- 

 mary glands, but especially that from 

 the cow. Its composition varies 

 somewhat, but averages per cent., of 

 curd or casein, 45 parts ; of butter, 

 S-2 ; milk-sugar, 48 ; saline matters, 

 •60 ; water, 86-9. The butter is held 

 in suspension in the milk, but sep- 

 arates when it is heated or much 

 shaken. The specific gravity of 

 fresh milk is 1 03. The flavour and 

 quality of milk vary much with pas- 

 ture and food ; it is also affected by 

 cleanliness. See Butter, Cheese, Cow. 

 Milk may be kept for a long time 

 sweet if heated in bottles to 180° 

 Fahrenheit and tightly corked while 

 the steam is issuing, and immediately 

 after removing it from the fire. 



MILK FEVER. Puerperal fever. 

 " Cows in high condition are most sub- 

 ject to this fever. This inflammato- 

 ry disease sometimes appears as ear- 

 ly as two hours after parturition. If 

 fourorfive days have elapsed, the ani- 

 mal may generally be considered safe. 

 On the appearance of the fever, from 

 six to ten quarts of blood should be 

 taken, according to the age and size 

 of the animal. The bowels must be 

 opened, or the disease will run its 

 course ; and purging once established 

 in an early stage, the fever will, in 

 the majority of instances, rapidly sub- 

 side, leaving the strength of the con- 

 stitution untouched." Calomel pur- 

 ges are best in the first stage. 



MILK CELLARS. Dairy. 



MILKING. " When you milk, 

 498 



take a vessel of cold water and sponge. 

 Wash the udder and teats clean, dash- 

 ing on the cold water. This will pre- 

 vent the teats from becoming sore, 

 and the udder hot and feverish. Milk 

 with clean hands. The whole busi- 

 ness of milking is frequently conduct- 

 ed in such a slovenly manner that 

 the milk is entirely unfit for food. 

 The cow should be milked while eat- 

 ing her fodder at morning and even- 

 ing. She should always be milked 

 and fed at the same time in the day, 

 and uniformly by the same person. 

 Milk without interruption. Be sure 

 to milk the cow as dry as possible. 

 To be milked by different hands, at 

 different times in the day, in a slow, 

 interrupted manner, and leaving part 

 of the milk in the udder, will ruin the 

 best cow in the world. If the cow 

 have sore teats, foment them before 

 milking with warm water, and after- 

 ward dress them with the following 

 salve : Melt together one oz. of yel- 

 low wax and three oz. of lard, and as 

 these begin to get cool, rub in a quar- 

 ter of an oz. of sugar of lead, and 

 a drachm of finely-pounded aloes." — 

 {Youatt.) 



MILK SICKNESS. Trembles. A 

 frightful, contagious disease, attack- 

 ing the cattle of certain districts of 

 the Western States, more especially 

 Indiana and Illinois : one of the in- 

 fected districts lies for 100 miles 

 near the banks of the Wabash. The 

 animals are poisoned by some arti- 

 cle of food or drink ; their breath is 

 foetid, eyes blood-shot, gait stagger- 

 ing and wild ; when driven, they fall 

 into convulsions, and frequently die. 

 The milk, butter, cheese, and meat 

 of such animals are highly poisonous, 

 two or three ounces bringing on the 

 same disease in man and other ani- 

 mals in from six hours to four days. 

 In man it commences with foetid 

 breath, general uneasiness, lassitude, 

 loss of nervous power, vomiting fre- 

 quently with blood, loss of appetite, 

 constipation, loss of biliary secre- 

 tion, and, finally, all the symptoms of 

 low typhus fever, with nervous tre- 

 mours and delirium, the brain and me- 

 ninges becoming inflamed : it is very 



