Regularity of Milking 13 
cient in many instances to give rise to inflammations 
of a serious character. Clean milking is one of 
the most important aids in keeping up and pro- 
longing the flow of milk. 
Regularity and frequency of milking.—While the 
process of milk secretion is a continuous one, it is 
not entirely uniform. There is reason to believe 
that the secretion is considerably more rapid while 
the operation of milking is going on, and that a con- 
siderable portion of the whole amount is then secreted. 
On the other hand, the distension of the milk ducts 
and reservoirs by milk already secreted acts as morc 
or less of a check upon the activity of the follicles, 
and so lessens the rapidity of secretion. While for 
these reasons it would be inferred that frequent 
milking would lead to increased secretion, the limits 
of such increased secretion are’ moderate, and beyond 
a certain point no increased flow of milk is secured 
by increasing the frequency of the milking periods. 
In all cases where the udder becomes unduly dis- 
tended with milk between periods, an increased flow 
will be secured by milking oftener. The common 
practice is.to milk twice in the twenty-four hours, 
and the nearer the time can be divided into equal pe- 
riods the more uniform will be the secretion. Where 
more frequent milking is practiced the same principle 
will hold. Not only is regularity in the period from 
morning to night of importance, but regularity in 
the time of milking from day to day is equally so. 
A difference of an hour in the time of milking will 
frequently make a difference of 10 per cent in the 
