68 
Stippkmeni to the " froyical Agrkultumf." ',Jitly 1, 1901, 
seasons are uiicertaiu. 35 feet by 35 feet is a 
good distance foi- tliem to be placed iu the plant- 
ation. This gives 35 trees to the acre. 
[The above notes are culled from The Shmnbci. 
—Ed. AM-] 
MlLKlIy'G. 
[The folio Iving interesting Prize-essay on milk- 
ing was written by Mr. J. Petersen, of Dalum 
Agricultural College, Denmark, and translated for 
the Cape Colony Agricultural Journal by Mr. 
Arthur MuUer of Clare College, Cambridge] : — 
Chapter I — Introductory. 
The udder is, from the point of view of the 
milker, the most important part of the cow. That 
a proper use developes the living instrument is a 
maxim that applies to the udder of a cow as well 
as to a multitude of other things. 
That use developes the instrument is easily 
shown by example. A workman knows that un- 
usual labour causes a strain at first. The sower feels 
tired in his right arm, the harvester tired in the 
back, the milker tired in his arms and hands, etc., 
but before long they accomplish the one-sided 
■work without feeling much strain or tiredness. 
Only the use which causes considerable exer- 
tion brings on further development. The way to 
exert the udder is to milk it completely dry. The 
milker should imitate the greedy calf, which sucks 
the last drop of milk out ; this causes a greater 
flow of blood to the glands of the udder, 
and it is from the blood that all material for 
further development and for the forming of more 
milk must be sought. 
It is in the above facts that one finds an explan- 
ation of the case (so common in Denmark) of the 
agricultural labourer's wife getting quite a lot of 
milk from her cow, which on a large farm would be 
found useless for the dairy. Whoever undertakes 
milking should certainly know the above facts. 
Chapter II. — How to Milk. 
The object of milking is to empty — as com- 
pletely as possible — all the milk j)resent in the 
udder, and in such a way that the cow finds it a 
pleasant sensation, and that the milk is kept clean. 
The cow is by nature meant to nourish its 
young, We ought therefore to learn from the 
calf. The latter does uot suck its mother in a 
brutal manner ; on the contrary, it knows by in- 
stinct that if it wants milk it must behave properly. 
Therefore it never grabs a teat at once, but asks, 
by touching the belly and then the udder, if it may. 
The milker ought to begin by speaking kindly 
to the cow, patting it, and afterwards with the 
back of the hand rubbing it gently on the belly 
and udder. By this means one not only puts the 
cow into a good temper, but the rubbing helps to 
get rid of loose hairs, scales and dust, etc., which 
otherwise easily find their way into the milk pail. 
Next the milk pail is placed under the udder 
(always on the same side of the same co>v), and 
the work is begun by catching hold round both 
the front teats with the whole hands. The hands 
are now in turn moved up against the udder with 
a gentle pressure, and they are then closed slowly 
and softly (likewise in turn) about the teat, the 
closing beginning at the top and extending down- 
wards. 
These gentle movements should be continued 
until one notices that the cow lets the milk " come.'' 
The milk must now be emptied out in long 
unbroken jets by means of the same movements of 
the hands as before, but applied with more vigour 
than at the beginning. For every fresh grip the 
hand ought to exert a new pressure up against the 
udder, while at the same moment the first finger 
and thumb should grasp that portion of the udder 
wliich lies exactly above the teat. Dmitig this 
part of the milking the conscientious milker ought 
to fix the whole of his attention on his work, 
since eMiy interruption means a loss of milk. 
Hence all loud talk or noise, which disturbs the 
cow as well as the man, is to be strictly avoided. 
A good enlivening song need not, however, be 
out of place. 
When the front teats give no more milk, the 
work is carried on — without the preliminaries of 
])atring, rubbing and so on — in the same way as 
regards the back teats. 
The milk must be squeezed— no^ dragged— out 
of the teat. The teat should therefore be grasped 
with the whole hand, and the latter must not 
slide up and down the teat more than necessary. 
The sort of milking whicn is carried out by 
grasping the top of the teat with the thumb and 
first finger or thumb and second finger (the latter 
is the worse) and then pressing the fi ugers together 
and dragging them down the teat, is very bad 
indeed. The cow does not like it since it irritates 
the skin on the teat, and easily causes sores, and 
it is really much harder work for the milker. 
In the case of those heifers, however, whose 
teats are too short for the whole hand to grasp 
them, the fingers must of course be used. 
The milking is not over, even when the back 
teats (or the last milked) give no more milk. A 
vigorous second milking must now take j^lace. 
After one has again changed a few times from the 
first milked do the last milked teat and back 
again, the udder must be thoroughly " worked " 
by means of gentle handling and afterwards the 
last drops of milk must be squeezed out of the teats. 
Here we could al,<o learn from Nature. Look 
at the lamb, when it sucks! See how it 
pushes its mother's udder when the teat gives too 
little milk. 
The little pig also can be seen poking its mother 
by means of its soft snout, so as to get all the 
milk possible. 
One would almost think that they found the 
last milk sweeter than the first ! So they no doubt 
do, as it has been proved by a number of investi- 
gations that it is by far the richest. 
If the first half pounds of milk are mixed 
(equal amounts being taken from the four teat,-) 
from each of say 40 cows, the 20 pounds of milk 
thus collected will as a rule not even produce 
half a pound of butter. 
, But if in the same way one were to cjUect the 
last half pounds, which after inadequ ice milking 
can still be worked out of the udders of the same 
40 cows, nearly 2 pounds of butter can be got 
out of the 20 pounds of milk. 
Any milker can roughly prove this for himself. 
Collect the first Jet from a teat iu a small glass, 
