364 AGRICULTURE 



of milk from home and make the test for several of your 

 cows with the school tester. 



3. Weigh the milk produced by each of your cows for a 

 week, keeping a careful record. Now have your father 

 help you estimate what each cow will produce during one 

 year, taking into account the length of time each one milks, 

 and the changes due to season, etc. Compare with the 

 results found by other members of the class. 



4. Weigh carefully the feed that is regularly given 

 one of your cows for one day. Compare with the sample 

 rations shown in the chapter. Are you feeding a balanced 

 ration? If not, in which nutrient is it short? What should 

 be done? 



7. Producing Clean Milk 



Milk is perfectly clean as it comes from the cow. It is 

 easily tainted, however, either by filth that may fall into 

 the pail during the milking, or from dirty utensils. Dirty 

 milk makes dissatisfied customers, endangers the health of 

 users, especially children, hastens souring, makes a lower 

 grade of butter, and indicates shiftlessness and low stand- 

 ards of dairying. 



The cow barn. The cow barn should be constructed 

 for the comfort, cleanliness and hygiene of its occupants. 

 It should be well ventilated and have plenty of light. The 

 floor should be of some hard material, preferably cement, 

 and water-tight. The stalls should be the right length for 

 the cows, and have a shallow gutter at the rear with slope 

 enough toward one end to permit drainage. Instead of a 

 feed manger in front, there should be a liquid-tight trough, 

 also with a slight slope, that it may be washed out. All 

 floors should be kept thoroughly washed by means of a 

 hose and stiff brushes. 



Cleanliness in milking. Before the milking is begun, 

 both the cow and the milker should be clean. If the cow 

 is dusty, the dust should be well brushed out. The udder 



