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milking, so that it is pretty certain that a habit of holding 

 np the milk, which some cows occasionally have, is due 

 at first to want of proper training. But it is easier to 

 point out a reason for any thing than to give a remedy; 

 and a remedy for this difficulty is not always to be found, 

 although many have been suggested by persons who have 

 found them effective in their own cases. 



The most popular remedy is to lay a weight across the 

 loins, such as a heavy chain or a bag with^sand in it. 

 There is some rational plausibility in the remedy, for the 

 following reasons : — Tlie nerves which control the whole 

 muscular system' of the hind-quarters, and the digestive, 

 urinary, generative and lacteal organs and their func- 

 tions, proceed from the spinal marrow near the lumbar 

 regions. A pressure, then, upon the loins will neces- 

 sarily have some effect upon this portion of the nervous 

 system, and may quite possibly interfere with the ability 

 of the cow to control the voluntary muscles of the udder. 

 If one will carefully note the action of a cow holding up 

 her milk, he will be able to observe how she will draw up 

 the udder in such a way as to contract the outlets of the 

 milk ducts. If, then, by any means the cow can be pre- 

 vented from exercising the power to interfere with the 

 flow of milk, her attempt can be counteracted. 



Another remedy is to distract the attention of the cow 

 from her milking by some enticing food, and it is fre- ^ 

 quently found that to give her a pailful of warm bran or 

 meal slop when she is to be milked will induce her to let 

 the milk flow. But the most effective method of over- 

 coming the cow is to use themilking tubes. These, when 

 inserted into the teats, pass into the large milk reservoir 

 above the base of the teat and draw off the milk in spite 

 of the cow's efforts to retain it. It has also been found 

 effective to refrain from milking the cow until the udder 

 has become painful from the retention of the milk, when 

 she is very willing to be relieved. 



