MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE 227 



applied. An application of equal parts of spermaceti and oil 

 of sweet almonds is also recommended. 



Warts on the Teats. These are often troublesome. They 

 often disappear or are greatly benefited by applying vaseline 

 or olive oil. If large, they may be cut off with a sharp pair 

 of scissors and the spot touched with a stick of caustic potash. 



Bitter Milk. It is not uncommon for the milk of certain 

 cows to have an abnormal taste and smell when far along in 

 the lactation period. This trouble is usually experienced, or 

 at least most often attracts attention, where one or two 

 cows are kept as a family milk supply. As far as the author 

 has observed, this abnormal condition of the milk occurs only 

 after the cow has been in milk seven months or more, and usu- 

 ally when she is far advanced in pregnancy. It only rarely 

 occurs when the cow is receiving green food. The milk has a 

 peculiar taste, described by some as salty, but more often as 

 bitter. The author has observed that the abnormal taste is 

 present in the fresh milk, but rapidly grows worse for 24 hours, 

 regardless of the temperature at which it is kept, indicating that 

 the growth of bacteria cannot be the cause. In most cases 

 the animal was fat and receiving more feed than necessary 

 when the trouble occurred. Reducing the grain ration to the 

 amount actually needed by the cow, and giving two or three 

 doses of Epsom salts, 1 to 1^ pounds at a dose, at intervals of 

 three days removed the abnormal condition in some cases. 

 Cream from milk in this condition churns with great difficulty, 

 and sometimes cannot be churned by any method that can be 

 devised. 



Kicking Cows. Cows are given to few vices, and those are 

 mainly due to faulty management. The most common is 

 kicking when milked. The cows always kick at first, either 





