1906.] Selection and Milking of Dairy Cattle. 455 



If the hands be moistened in some other than the filthy way of 

 dipping- them into a pail, and always provided that the hands 

 are scrupulously clean, moist hand milking is not so highly 

 objectionable as may be supposed. The small amount of fat in 

 the milk acts as a natural lubricant whereby the friction on the 

 teat is minimized and less discomfort caused to the cow by the 

 withdrawal of the milk. In cases where the wet-handed milk- 

 ing is employed a lot of dirt becomes dissolved and finds its 

 way into the milk, but on the other hand, in similar cases with 

 dry-hand milking, particles of dry dirt, excoriations, hairs, &c., 

 may find their way in equally large quantities into the milk 

 pail. 



Essentials of Good Milking. — The essentials of good milking 

 are that it should be performed, (i) Quietly : that is to say, the milk 

 should be withdrawn in a manner that will cause no discomfort to 

 the cow; (2) Quickly : if performed quickly more milk is obtained, 

 for rapid milking appears to be beneficial in increasing the flow. 

 The comparison of the results obtained by good and inferior 

 milkers makes this point very clear. A good milker is able to 

 milk from seven to ten cows in an hour, the common indication 

 of good milkingbeing the production of plenty of froth or " head " 

 upon the milk in the paiL (3) Thoroughly : the last milk, being 

 the richest, must always be withdrawn. 



In the milkers' contest held at the London Dairy Show, in 

 which no competitor is allowed to milk his own or his employer's 

 cows, the following are the points upon which competitors are 

 judged : — 



Points. 



1. Manner of approaching the animal, and 



style of work ... ... ... 20 



2. Cleanliness.., ... ... ... 10 



3. Clean stripping .. ... ... 10 



40 



The practice of man}^ milkers is brutal in the extreme, 

 and positively dangerous to in-calf cows. On the other hand, 

 many cows seem to enjoy the milking process, and whilst all 

 get accustomed to and expect milking to be carried out at 

 certain fixed times, much depends upon the milker as to 

 whether the cows look forward to the milking time or not. 



