48 THE DAIRY OF THE FARM. 



milking, the secretion will gradually diminish in propor- 

 tion to the quantity each day left behind. But another 

 reason why every drop of milk should be taken away is to 

 be found in the well-known fact, that the last milk is 

 doubly as good as the first milk hence, if not removed, 

 there is not merely equal, but double loss. Milking should 

 be conducted with skill and tenderness all chucking or 

 plucking at the teats should be avoided. A gentle and 

 expert milker will not only clear the udder with greater 

 ease than a rough and inexperienced person, but will do so 

 with far more comfort to the cow, who will stand pleased 

 and quiet, placidly chewing the cud, and testifying by her 

 manner and attitude that she experiences pleasure rather 

 than annoyance from the operation. Cows will not yield 

 their milk to a person they dislike or dread. The ordinary 

 practice is to milk cows twice daily at about 5 o'clock in 

 the morning, or in winter as soon after daylight as possible, 

 and again at the same hour in the afternoon, thus leaving 

 12 hours' interval between each milking." 



It should be added, that cleanliness in milking should 

 be observed the hands should be clean and the udder too. 

 In practice the milkers wash their hands, but not the 

 udder of the cow ; and a clean milker, that is, one who 

 does not wet his hands with the milk when milking, will 

 milk a dry udder without dirtying the milk, even though 

 the udder be not clean. In large dairies milking lasts 

 about an hour each time, and 8 or 9 cows are allotted to 

 each man. 



The Treatment of the Calf, when intended for veal 

 or for beef, has been already to some extent discussed.* 



* See Handbook of the Live Stock of the Farm. Bradbury, Agnew, & Co. 



