MILKING. 



59 



Nevertheless, cleanliness in the byre is still believed to be neglected 

 in most of the larger agricultural districts of Germany, more espe- 

 cially in North Germany. Very much can be done, by means of the 

 greatest possible cleanliness in milking, to improve the keeping 

 quality of milk, and to give uniformity to the manufacture of the 

 dairy products. Milk which has been handled without the due 

 observance of cleanli- 

 ness, especially milk 

 which has been con- 

 taminated with cow- 

 dung, or with the dusty 

 particles of hay, is 

 very difficult to ster- 

 ilize. On the other 

 hand, the sterilization 

 of milk which has been 

 handled in a cleanly 

 manner is compara- 

 tively easy to effect. 

 The milk which first 

 comes from the teats 

 should be put aside, 

 and not mixed in the 

 milk -pails with the 

 rest of the milk; and 

 in milking (fig. 21) old 

 cows which have been 

 giving milk for some 

 time, a sample of the milk from each teat should be tasted, in order 

 if necessary to put aside the whole milk of the cow. 



In every well-regulated dairy, samples should be taken regularly 

 in order to ascertain the record of each cow. It is advisable in this 

 operation to weigh the milk rather than to measure it, and to test 

 the milk in all circumstances at least once a week. 



Fig. 21. Position of Hands in Milking. (From Grotenfelt's 

 Principles of Modern Dairy Practice.) 



In the hilly districts of South Germany milking is done by men, but in 

 North Germany it is generally done by women. When the cows are rest- 

 less or hold hack their milk, the cause always lies in a disordered condition 

 of the udder, whether due to accumulation of blood in the veins, as is 

 believed by Fiirstenberg, or to its accumulation in the arteries of the 



