“WHEN THE KYE CAM HAME.”

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 90, 26 October 1878, Page 3

“WHEN THE KYE CAM HAME.”

Milking should be always done quietly,, regularly, and thoroughly, though at the same time quickly. Really good milkers are not over plentiful. Twice a day, generally speaking, is often enough to milk a cow, and this should be done as nearly as may be at the same hour, morning and evening alike. Milking should be done quietly, without any scolding or beating of the cow—though I admit some cows are very provoking—and with as little talking and noise as possible. It should be done regularly; for cows give their milk freely, and they soon learn regularity themselves if they are treated with regularity.and system. It should be done thoroughly,, because a cow will soon fail in her flow of milk if she is not milked clean each time ; to ensure that the cows are well milked it is advisable to go round and “ after ” them all, as it is termed. And it should be done quickly, for cows appreciate despatch, providing you do not hurt them, and because a good milker is almost invariably a quick milker. Cows should never be driven hurriedly from the pastures to the milking sheds, especially in hot weather ; not alone because it is cruel to drive a . cow quickly when her udder is full of milk, but also because the milk itself, being heated by quick driving of the cow, soon goes sour after it is drawn from the udder, and it is impossible to make the best cheese and butter from milk of this kind—it is spoilt before it is milked. lam glad to notice that the Royal Agricultural Society offers this year a prize of £SO for an efficient milking machine, for this is the one implement of which dairy farmers at the present time stand most in need. A milking machine is, however, one of the knottiest problems which inventive genius has yet to solve. The difficulty is to combine motive power with the adaptability of tiie machine to all kinds of teats and udders; and a machine to be really valuable and practical must enable a man to take the cows before him and milk at least twelve of them within the hour, with comparative ease to himself—milk them cleanly and thoroughly, and without injury to the udder or teat of the cow. This question of cleanliness in connection with milk has not had the amount of attention devoted to it that it deserves, and it is indeed far more important than the majority of people think. In fact, I may go so far as to sa} r it is absolutely indispensable if we are to secure the best results. Milk is a very peculiar product, and exceedingly delicate. jf it is not taken proper care of, it very quickly Incomes worthless, except as food f r pigs. It is singularly susceptible of being injur- d if it is placed in a room the atmosphere of which is tainted by any strong odour ; after which cheese or butter made from it will be more or less injured by the odour which the milk has previously absorbed. Hence it follows that all rooms in which milk is placed ought to he free from vitiated air, and far enough away from the cowsheds themselves, from piggeries, and the like ; and the room itself, the floor, the walls, and all the vessels, should be kept scrupulously clean. Milk is frequently much injured by milkers’ dirty hands, and by cows’ unclean udders. I have seen milkers dip their dirty fingers into the milk in the pail, and then go on milking, the drops of dirty milk oozing between the fingers, and returning to Ihe pail from which they were taken. This practise cannot bo too strongly reprobated, though it is done with the idea of giving ease in milking. The idea, let me say, is a false one. — Professor Sheldon.