AND RURAL ECONOMIST. 



41 



Levi Lincoln, late governor of Massachusetts, that the milk 

 of Denton's progeny, a branch of that race, is not only abun- 

 dant, but of excellent quality.^ 



Cows should be milked regularly morning and evening, 

 and as nearly as may be at the same hours. At six in the 

 morning and six at night is a good general rule, as the times 

 of milking will be equi-distant from each other. But if they 

 are milked three times a day, as Dr. Anderson recommended, 

 the times may be five, one, and eight. He asserted that if 

 cows were full fed, they will give half as much again if 

 milked three times as if only twice. At the same time, it 

 would prevent too great a distension of their bags, to which 

 the best cow^s are liable. 



The cow which is desired to remain in perfection, either 

 for milking or breeding, should not be exhausted by drawing 

 her milk too long after she becomes heavy with calf. It is 

 paying too dear for a present supply of milk. She should 

 be suffered to go dry at least two months before calving. 



The expense of keeping cows of a poor breed is as great 

 and sometimes greater than that of keeping the best. If 

 cows are poorly kept the difference of breeds will scarcely be 

 discernible by the product of their milk. Some have there- 

 fore supposed that it is the food alone which makes the odds 

 in the quantity and quality of the milk. This supposition 

 is very erroneous, as may be shown by feeding two cow^s of 

 a similar age, size, &c. on the same food, the one of a good 

 breed for milk and the other of a different kind, and observ- 

 ing the difference in the milk product. No farmer, unless 

 he is very rich, can afford to keep poor milch cows. He 

 mig-ht almost as well keep a breed of ' naked sheep,' such as 

 Swift mentions in Gulliver's Travels. The farmer who raises 

 a heifer calf that is from a poor milker, or of a breed of lit- 

 tle value, is as foolish as he would be if in clearing land he 

 should burn on the ground the birch, maple, and walnut, and 

 save white pine and hemlock for fire wood. And yet many 

 sell the calves of the best milch cows to the butchers, be- 

 cause such calves are fattest ! 



Those cows which give the greatest quantity of thin milk 

 are most profitable for suckling calves, for rich milk is said 

 not to be so proper food for calves as milk which is less 

 valuable for dairy purposes. Milk which contains a large 

 proportion of cream is apt to clog the stomachs of calves ; 



* See N. E. Farmer, vol. iv. p. 318. 

 4# 



