CHAPTER V. 



THE SECRETION OF MILK MILKING COWS. 



THE cow secretes milk in the mammal glands known 

 as the udder, but incorrectly spoken of as " the bag." 

 This udder consists of two glands running lengthwise 

 of the body, which are separated by a fibrous parti- 

 tion dividing the udder into right and left. Each 

 gland has two, sometimes three, outlets called teats. 

 The udder is not divided into quarters, though each 

 section is more or less independent of the section on 

 the same side. This fact explains why a cow, having 

 lost one teat, will give nearly as much milk from 

 three as from four teats. The loss of two teats on 

 the same side reduces her value nearly one half, and 

 such a cow is not profitable. Sometimes a cow will 

 have only two teats and about half the ordinary sized 

 udder, showing a reversion to what was probably the 

 original type of a cow's udder, viz., similar to that of 

 the sheep. 



The outer covering of the udder is the skin of 

 the animal, and it is joined to the muscles of the 

 abdomen by strong ligaments. This fact explains the 

 " holding up " of milk, which is a bad habit con- 

 tracted by some cows. Giving the cow something to 

 eat while milking will often overcome this trouble. 



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