23Y 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



Aug. 



^ 



From the Genesee Farmer. 



How to Milk the Cows. 



Mr. Dadd, the well known veterinary surgeon, 

 writes as follows on this subject : 



The first process in the operation of milking, is 

 to make the cow's acquaintance, and gives her to 

 understand that the milker approaches her with 

 none other than friendly intentions ; for if he 

 swears, scolds or kicks her, she is likely to prove 

 refractory, and may, possibly, give the uncouth 

 and unfeeling milker the benefit of her heels which, 

 in my opinion he is justly entitled to. 



Before commencing to milk the animal, she 

 should be fed, or have some kind of fodder ; in 

 the enjoyment of the mastication of the same, her 

 attention is withdrawn from the milker's opera- 

 tions, and the milk is not "held up," as the saying 

 is, but is yielded freely. 



[This is true, so far as it goes, but we doubt the 

 general policy of feeding cows while milking. If 

 they are accustomed to it for a short time, and it 

 should afterwards be desirable, as it frequently 

 will be, to forego the practice, the cow will not 

 give down her milk freely. We know a case in 

 point : A farmer had been in the habit of ^wing 

 his cows a bran-mash at the time of milking. Af- 

 a time, when the cows had plenty of grass, he 

 withheld the mash — and the cows withheld the 

 milk ! He found it so difficult to milk them, that 

 he had to continue feeding them during the pro- 

 cess.] 



The milker should not sit off at a distance, like 

 a coward, but his left arm should come in contact 

 with the leg of the cow, so that sh. can not kick. 

 If she makes the attempt when the milker is in 

 close proximity with the cow's body, the former 

 merely gets a kick instead of a blow. 



[Good advice — sit close to the cow, and do not 

 push your head into her flank. Sit up straight on 

 the stool, and hold the pail up from the ground be- 

 tween your knees.] 



Before commencing to milk, the teats are to be 

 washed with cold water, in warm weather, and 

 wai-m water in winter. The object is to remove 

 accumulated dirt, which otherwise would fall into 

 the milk pail, to the disgust of persons who love 

 pure milk, and hate uncleanness. Here is a chance 

 for improvement. 



The best milker is a merciful man. The udder 

 and teats are highly organized and very sensitive ; 

 and these facts should be taken into consideration 

 especiall when milking a young animal, for the 

 the teats are sometimes excessively tender, and the 

 hard tugging and squeezing which many poor sen- 

 sitive creatures have to endure, at the hands of 

 Bome thoughtless, hard-fisted man, are really dis- 

 tredsing to witness. 



A better milker than even a merciful man, is a 

 woman. The principle part of the milking, in pri- 

 vate establishments in foreign countrie8,ia done by 



women ; and in these United States there are thou- 

 sands of capable women out of employment who 

 might be advantageously employed, in private and 

 dairy establishments, as milkmaids. Therefore, in 

 view of improvement in the art of milking, I ad- 

 vise farmers to learn their wives, daughters and 

 female domestics how to strip the cows. 



[We second this reco:iJuendation. Farmers 

 should teach (not learn) their daughters and female 

 domestics not only to "strip," but to milk the cowp. 

 A cow likes to be milked by a soft-handed, and 

 kind hearted woman much better than bv a rough 

 cross grained, hard fisted Lord of Creation, and 

 will give more milk.] 



An indolent person — slow cor.ch — should never ' 

 be suffered to touch a cow's teat ; the process, to 

 say the least of it, is painful ; therefore, the best 

 milker, is the one who can abstract the milk in the 

 quickest time. 



Finally, milk the cow dry. The last of the milk 

 is the most valuable, yet Mr. Hurry-up can not 

 spare time to attend to this matter, consequently 

 he loses the best of the strippings, and actually 

 ruins the cow as a milker. 



[The other recommendations are good. Milk rap- 

 idly and thoroughly, and do not speak a word. If 

 you must exercise your vocal powers hum a sooth- 

 ing tune, keeping time to the music of the flowing > 

 milk.] ^' ;;- [: X-_ ■_. .; •:.', ;: . ■;-;•'; ' 



The Cow- Milking Machine* V 



This American invention, after having been for 

 sometime before the public in this country, was 

 shown at the International Exhibition at Londoa 

 last summer, where it attracted much attention. . 

 Although frequent notices of the machine have ap- - 

 peared in the English papers we have seen nothing /' 

 definite in regard to actual trals with it in Britain ? 

 till we met with the following article in the last 

 number of the Scottish Quarterly Journal of Agri- 

 culture, in which the editor gives an account of 

 some experiments, made, apparently, with care 

 and precision. He says : 



We have lately had an opportunity of working 

 this novel invention, which has been prominently : , 

 brought before the public. Everybody who has ;- 

 read a description of it is aware that the machine 

 consists of a tin can, on the top of which is pla- 

 ced the milking apparatus. This apparatus again 

 consists of four finger-piecees made of indiarubber 

 and having wire-coil for increased strength and 

 stability. The teats of the cow being fitted to ^ 

 these finger-pieces, the operator works a two-hand- 

 led air-pump, which sucks the air from inside the 

 body of the machine, which is in direct commuui- 

 cation with the finger-pieces ; and by the external 

 pressure of the air on the^ finger-pieces, the milk 

 is forced out of the teats. 



We have made four separate trials with the. 

 machine, and here note the result for the infor- . 

 mation of those who may feel interested in the sub- 

 ject. We may remark that we worked it with our 

 own hands on each occsion. 



At first we experienced some difficulty in using \: 

 it. It is not as easy as might be supposed to fit :" 

 the finger-pieces on the teats air-tight ; and when ' 



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