9 8 CLEAN MILK 



fore and after calving and the milk from cows at these times de- 

 serves careful watching. In view of the wonderfully successful 

 results from the use of air for inflating the udders of cows suffering 

 from milk fever, it will be wise for the farmer to keep the simple 

 apparatus on hand for practicing the treatment. Every agricultural 

 paper advertises information for obtaining and using the apparatus. 

 Cows with leaky teats are especially subject to bacterial infection of 

 teats and should be removed from a herd supplying certified milk. 



The hair about the flanks, udder, and the brush of the tail 

 should be clipped short and the cows groomed once or twice daily, 

 if necessary. The carding and brushing is done after milking, or 

 must be completed two hours before milking, otherwise the dust 

 produced will give rise to an increase of bacteria in the milk. In 

 fact, there will be many more germs in the milk from cows brushed 

 just before milking than would occur in the same milk if the cows 

 had not been brushed at all. 



Cows may be washed, however, immediately before milking, 

 provided that they are not so wet as to drip. This should always 

 be done if cows are soiled with manure or urine in a moist state, 

 and, in some certified dairies, all the cows are washed in a special 

 tank for the purpose. 



This is not at all essential, and the writer has seen great 

 shrinkage in milk caused by too free use of cold water applied to 

 cows before milking. 



Before each milking, the udder should, however, be wiped with 

 a clean, damp towel, or washed, if necessary, with soap and water 

 and dried with a dry towel. 



The towels must be clean arid the water pure for this purpose. 

 The teats and udder should always be slightly damp, but not wet, 

 during milking. If the udder is dry so much dust and dry skin 

 falls into the milk that the number of germs in the milk is much 

 increased. It is well to tie up the cow's tail to the stall while milk- 

 ing. The tail-holder is useful in fly time. A tail-holder is applied 



