MILKING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1922, 23 February 1885, Page 2

MILKING.

On large dairy farms in America the milking is of necessity done by men, but : on smaller ones it were better in many cases, that it should be done, by women,. They seem to- understand how : to 1 - do it almost intuitively, and cows themselves preferred to be milked by them, It is '' said-that'they-frequently accommodate-themselvesto'women-mllkers, while they refuse-to-."letdown," or'yield a ready flow to men. It • was- formerly the case, when ; the occupations of the dairymaid were considered, among the pleasantest duties which engaged the attention of the daughters .of . our well-to-do farmers. Milking-cows is known to be one of the .most-healthful of all rural employments. The aversion which girls "of the present day have to this branch of dairywork arises in part from the unfavorable conditions under which they are frequently, required to perforate the service-ex-posure to storms, untimely hours, •filthiness of the stable or barnyard, long distance is carry the milk, &c. It should be the business of the head of the farm to see that females who attend to the milking are afforded propor helps and, conveniences. They should be provided with a dry and clean place to" milk; the cows-should be placed; and,- where the. distance is great, the milk should be car-, ried—everything, in fact, but the actual milking and manipulation of the milk, should be done by boys or men. Give the. girls a fair chance, and restore'to them what fashion or pride has for a time taken 'from them; in occupation or industry at once pleasant and invigorating, and. one ■which will give bloom to their cheeks and strength and health to their system, In Holland the milkmaid is accompanied by • a boy. The boy tows a little boat along .thecanal, and tho maid, with her fullblue petticoat and her pink jacket, walks, beside him, Arriving at the' pasturage, she brings from her boat her copper milk pails, as bright as gold, and, with a kindly greeting to her cows, sets down her little stool on tho grassland begins to milk, The boy, having moored his boat, stands beside her with the special pail which iB to hold the last pint from each cow—the creamy pint, which comes last because it has risen to the top in the udder. Not a drop is left to turn sour and fret the cow. The boy fetches and carries the pail. The girl milks the cow. The boy does all else. The services of the girl are brought into use again in the dairy room, but from the lifting and harder kind of the work she is exempted. Some of tho farmers who have been buying patent cow-milkers now call them cow-driers,—American Dairyman.