cows THAT ARE MILKED BY IIAWL '^o^ 



to the antagonism resulting from the effort to cut off 

 the milk flow after nature has again begun to replenish 

 the milk supply for the next birth. It would seem cor- 

 rect to say that a free milking cow cannot be properly 

 dried unless it is done previous to within three or four 

 weeks of the time of calving. 



When cows in the dairy are to be dried, correct pro- 

 cedure begins by milking them but once a day and by 

 putting the cow on dry food. The importance of feed- 

 ing dry food to free milking cows cannot be easily over- 

 estimated when the drying process is begun, and yet it 

 would be possible to make the change so rapid as to 

 disturb the digestion overmuch. The food may also be 

 somewhat lessened in quantity. Inattention to the 

 change in food and feeding thus recommended is respon- 

 sible for much of the difficulty found in drying off dairy 

 cows. After milking thus once a day for, say, a week 

 or two, the milk is then taken only every other day, 

 gradually increasing the intervals and not taking all the 

 milk from the udder. 



Meanwhile, especially during the later stages of the 

 drying process, the udder should be examined more fre- 

 quently than it may be necessary to take the milk from 

 it. As long as it remains soft and pliant, it would seem 

 safe to say that the danger line has not yet been reached. 

 Injury to any portion of the udder as a result of the 

 drying process to the extent of lowering capacity in the 

 function of the same will lessen milk-giving in the future. 

 Thus a cow which can give milk from but three teats 

 will not furnish as much milk as a cow that can give milk 

 from four. Whether the reduction is mathematically 

 proportionate has not yet been fully demonstrated, nor 

 does it seem possible of exact demonstration. Because 

 of the difficulty found in drying off some cows, they are 

 kept in milk from year to j^ear. It is on record that the 

 Red Poll cow Crocus, of the Norfolk dairy herd at 



