DAIRY FARMING. 15 



ner and disposition, a kind, considerate and thought- 

 ful habit, and, above all, practice the most thorough 

 neatness and cleanliness in his person and manner. 

 These requirements should be so constantly cultivated 

 that they will become a second nature, an instinct which 

 is so thoroughly and completely a part of the man's char- 

 acter that they come into action spontaneously and with- 

 out thought or effort on his part. For instance, the 

 treatment of his cows should be instinctively kind and 

 gentle, and the dairyman must so train himself to this 

 habit, think of it so often, and make it so much a con- 

 scientious duty and a regular system of action, that he 

 will never be tempted to act otherwise. Mr. Harris 

 Lewis, President of the New York State Dairymen's As- 

 sociation, once remarked in reply to a question as to how 

 cows should be treated, that every man should treat a 

 cow as he would a lady; that is, with as much considera- 

 tion for her comfort and happiness, and with the same 

 gentleness and politeness. Politeness is simply the es- 

 sence of thoughtful kindness, and this every dairyman 

 should accord to his cows as a matter of common habit. 

 Cows so used will well repay the favor, and in turn be- 

 come kind and gentle, and never exasperate or annoy 

 their owners with the common and troublesome vices of 

 cows. Perfect cleanliness should be made a constant 

 study, until it is so thoroughly a part of the daily life 

 that a dairyman would no sooner milk a cow or handle 

 milk or butter, or go about the work in the dairy, in an 

 unclean condition or manner, than he would put a dirty 

 hand in his food, or go to a social gathering all unwashed 

 and with clothes reeking with filth. This scrupulous 

 cleanliness is indispensable in the dairy, and it should be 

 so made a part of the nature and disposition of the 

 dairyman by constant self-training, that it will naturally 

 apply itself to every part of the dairy work — the care 

 of the stables, the management of the cows, frequent 



