52 MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS 



the animal is the same. However, as there are not commonly 

 such entirely uniform conditions of surroundings during the 

 day and night, there appears to be a common tendency for the 

 presence of a little more fat in the morning's milk, even when 

 milkings are apart the same length of time. 

 Influence of methods of milking and environment on composition 

 of milk. 



Babcock x carried out a series of trials to determine the effect, 

 on the composition of milk, of such variations as milking one 

 teat at a time, milking fast and slow, change of milkers, change 

 of stable, and the like. He gives the following general conclu- 

 sions as a result of his work : 



" The elaboration of milk does not proceed at a uniform rate 

 from milking to milking, but is most active at the time of milk- 

 ing, and is dependent not only upon the stimulus which the 

 milk glands derive from the manipulation of the teats and udder, 

 but upon the nervous condition of the animal at the time of 

 milking. 



"In consequence or this, slight changes in the conditions 

 under which the milking is done may have a decided influence 

 upon both the yield and quality of milk. As a general rule the 

 quality of milk, measured by the percentage of fat which it 

 contains, is more sensitive to changes of this kind than is the 

 yield of milk. Among the changes which appear to have most 

 influence in this respect, the following are of especial importance, 

 viz. : change in the interval between milkings and in the rate of 

 milking ; change of milkers and manner of milking, especially 

 if the manipulation of the teats and udder be different ; change 

 of environment and any circumstance which excites or even 

 slightly disturbs the animal at the time — excitement between 

 milkings, if the cow has become quiet before milking, appears 

 to have comparatively little influence. As would be expected, 



1 Babcock, Wis. Report, 1889, pp. 61-62. 



