milki:n'G ais^d MiLKi:j;rG apparatus. 225 



Patience is also a yirtiie in this respect, and if the 

 milker will stay and tire out the cow, waiting and con- 

 tinuing to rub the udder and draw upon the teats for a 

 considerable time, the milk will come in the end. But 

 one should never lose his temper or become impatient 

 in such a case as this. To irritate the cow will make 

 matters worse. A cow that exhibits affection and regard 

 for her owner will rarely give any trouble in this or any 

 other way, and it is a case in which it will be found very 

 convenient to be on friendly terms with the animal, as, 

 indeed, every owner of a cow ought to be. 



A hard milker is usually a good cow, and should be 

 treated patiently. This diiSculty arises from a stricture 

 of the sphincter muscle or a want of capacity of the duct 

 of the teat. Either of these can only be remedied by me- 

 chanical means. The insertion of a silver milking tube 

 into the teat after milking, the tube being closed at the 

 bottom by a piece of cork or India rubber, will have the 



& 



Fig. 29.— PLUG FOR CONTRACTED TEAT. 



effect of stretching the membrane and enlarging the ori- 

 fice, by giving a new set to the muscles of the teat or to 

 the sphincter muscle at the base of the teat ; or a piece 

 of whalebone may be filed into a proper shape, as shown 

 in the illustration, both to enlarge the duct and to be 

 retained in its place, without danger at the same time of 

 penetrating too far so that it cannot be withdrawn. The 

 form shown in the illustration (figure 29) provides for all 

 these. Whalebone is to be i^referred because it is hard, 

 smooth, elastic and cannot be broken. It should be well 

 oiled with sweet oil before it is inserted into the teat. 

 Leaking of the milk is caused by the exact reverse 

 of that which produces hard milking. It is doubtful if 



