WATER FOR COWS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 199, 8 September 1937, Page 13

WATER FOR COWS

Importance of Pure Supply

The importance of cleanliness of tho water supply is not realised by mauy dairymen. Although aa a rule the ncoessity for having as puro a water as possible for the washing of dalry uten sils is appreciated too frequently, tho necessity for having drinking water" toi the cows of such a character that 11 will npt injuriouslv affect the quality of the milk and cream is overlooked. If is inadvisable to rinse dairy uien ■ sils with cold water after they have been scalded, for the simple reason that it is rarely that the water supply iis sufiiciently free from injurious gerat life to make it advisable to use it 011 dairy utensils without boiling. As regards the drinking supply for cattle, it is seldom that water is so stagnaut that the milk will be affectcd by its absorbing tlie odour of the water which the animal drinlts in the same way that miik becomes tainted through animals eating food which taints the milk while it is still in the cow's udder. Un tlie other hand it is unfortunately only too common an occurreuco to find that cattle obtain their drinkiug water in pools and drains. As a consequence they carry on their legs and bellies, in a semi-dried eondition, the mud which they picked up in the pools or drains, and this finds its way into into the milk-pail later on.