The Milk Glands and their Functions. 83 



Holding up the Milk. Various theories have been ad- 

 vanced to account for this illustration of animal per- 

 versity and human peculiarity; the latter probably had 

 been shown in the form of abuse, and of course, stamps 

 the exhibitor as one not fit to own or milk cows. Wing, 

 in "Milk and Its Products, " states that the holding of 

 the milk is due to the presence of sphincter mucles at the 

 branching of the ducts, and that this muscular tissue is 

 connected with the abdominal muscles, which if contracted, 

 as a result of fright, dislikes, etc., will cause the milk 

 to be retained in the udder, or as it is termed the cow 

 holds up her milk; so far I have been unable, either by 

 dissection of udders or consultation of authorities on 

 the anatomy and histology of the udder, to verify his 

 statement. Furstenberg states that holding up of the 

 milk is due to a congestion of the blood-vessels of the 

 teat and gland, which is more tenable than the preced- 

 ing theory, as it is well known that congestion interferes 

 with the working of any gland. 



Composition of Milk. The composition of milk is at 

 the present time engaging the attention of expert 

 chemists; such investigations may at first view seem of 

 little use to the stockman, yet when he finds himself with 

 young animals which must be raised by hand, a knowl- 

 edge of the various milks will render him capable of 

 securing gains from those animals; which otherwise 

 might take years of experimenting to find out. For ex- 

 ample, a foal has to be raised by hand; on consulting the 

 tables below, mare's milk is found to be richer in sugar 

 and poorer in fat than cow's milk, as a consequence he 

 will, if obliged to, use cow' s milk, add sugar and possibly 



