THE ART OF MILKING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 302, 15 September 1908, Page 3

THE ART OF MILKING.

MODES THAT GET MOST CREAM. i It is known that tho udder of a good cow contains, before milking, about 3J pints of milk already formed, hut that if milking bo well carried out no less than to 3J <*allons may be secured. According to tlio experiments carried out by M. Lepontre, it is also known that the method of milking exercises considerable influence on tlio proportion of fatty matters contained in the milk. Diagonal Milking Best. i The above authority' has shown that this is duo to tho peripheral excitation of the nerves of secretion, which, in their turn, by reflex action, bring about far greater excitation of the glandular ccllulos. If wo consider tho usual way of milking, which con- ( sists in milking two udders at the samo time, wo find that the effect produced is not the samo for tho- whole period of milking. Tho milk from tho two first udders generally contains more fatty matters than that' of the last' two, and the richness ot the milk will be enhanced if tho milking bo done diagonally instead of laterally. Ihis phenomenon is at least singular, even if it be not incomprehensible, and is explained by the fact that by milking diagonally excitation extends to all the nerves of tho gland, whilst, when the operation is dono laterally, excitation is only produced on the . side on which one operates. Mascago Beats Pressure. In every - case , the influence of. ■ tho manner of milking on tho proportion of - fatty matters/is demonstrated by tho following experiment of M. Lepontro. The same cow was milked repeatedly by two different persons together, who changed sides with each. milking, and the milk coming from each side was kept distinct. Oiie of the persons who operated merely exerted alternate pressure on the teat, whilst , the other operated', by longitudinal massage. Tho milk produced by this latter process was far more fatty than the other,-the difference. being between 45 and 55 per cent. The way m which the cow is milked has therefore a great influence on the quality of the-milk,'and this influence can only be explained by the excitation produced. The milk obtained at the beginning of the operation, consisting in longitudinal massage, is not as fatty as that at the end of tho process. LAMBING TROUBLES. SIMPLE WAYS TO, PREVENT THEM. Losses from navel ill and joint ill,, following oil infection of the open umbilical cord, can be prevented (says a writer in iho Farmer and Stockbreeder") by dressing with collodion in ivhich a seventh of eighth part of its weight of salicylis acid has been disCastrating losses.Were larger than usual perhaps, and in part due to wet and. windy weather. A long experience confirms my belief in the old adage that "It is never too cold for a lamb-or too hot for a colt when this operation, is to be performed; and ono of the best of reasons'for. young farmers to castrate' their own. lambs is the choice of weather it affords them, and which-cannot be always arranged with' tho, castrator. Whether cut by amateurs or professionals, there were far too many cases of tetanus during the past ' season, correspondents describing'how lambs went stiff and lost control of their limbs', and died a few days after cutting or docking. It should be borne in mind that the bacillus of totanus resides in the soil, and it is only by luck wo escape it -wh'eii 'taking' no precautions. Soils, of course, vary greatly in this respect. It. is rare on- chalk, but-, there! are' deep loams' where it thrives; "arid no "operation of any '■kirid should bo performed without antiseptics in'such'districts. • ' Lambs should be cut young, for several reasons—chiefly because they suffer less, and offer, a smaller surface for invasion; and the deatli of a three-weeks lamb is not- such a loss as that of ono at thr'eo months. The protective ointment should bo smeared liberally over the. wound, which should always be left with liberal drainage,- for it is an undoubted fact that when death takes place from causes other than tetanus'it is the retention of clots which- subsequently/decompose and cause blood, poisoning. . Tetanus, or lockjaw, quito as often enters through' a docked tail (oftener, I am inclined to think), as through the scrotal wounds; but few people take tho-trouble to use preventives. . . ' ; IMPORTED SHEEP. A shearling ram from tho Leicester-flock of Mr.'George'Harrison, 1 of Gainford Hall, Darlington, England, has been purchased for New Zealand by Mr. J. Bonifant. The ram's grandsire was second at tho Royal Show at Leicester in 1896.. THE. NEW DAIRY REGULATIONS, In connection with the new dairy regulations (writes our Wairarapa-correspondent), about which the Government is understood to bo asking for further practical advice from farmers, there appears to bo a very general opinion in,this- district that some provision .will have'to be made to meet the cases of those dairymen who at present cannot afford the expense of making the required alterations to their farm buildings and cow-yards. -If. the desired changes could bo wholly effected in even three years the State would be well served. In the majority of instances it may be that the new regulations can be complied with, but there are innumerable cases where it would be a hardship to make a demand for the immediate carrying out of the provisions. . PASTEURISED MILK FOR SHIPS. NEW TRADE IN VIEW. There is a new outlet appearing for NewZealand milk. Pasteurised milk in cold storago can successfully endure a voyage to Britain, and if all the deep-sea vessels'clearing from Wellington were to make a .practice of taking in a full supply of pasteurised milk for the voyage, there should result a good addition to tho trade of those local firms making a specialty of this class of milk. The German liners have for years past-car-ried tinned fresh milk, and, according.to Mr. M.'Murdoch, the passengers of the Oswestry Grange, just arrived, had fresh milk all through the voyage. This lulxury was due to a firm in Liverpool, which'placed a bottled supply of pasteurised milk on board. Tho bottles were, put in a-cool store, and taken out as required. This was an experiment on which the chief steward was comjnissionedto report, and Mr. Murdoch is to get a copy of tho judgment. EGG-LAYINC COMPETITION. A Christchurch Press Association telegram states that for tho week ending September 11 1304 eggs were laid by the lions entered in the Utility Poultry Club's fourth' egglaying competition at Lincoln College, bringing the total to date to 18,025. The best layings for tho week were: Mrs. J. Mills's White Leghorns, 36; Rev. F. G. Brittan's White Leghorns, 35; New-Zealand Poultry Journal Institute's Whito Leghorns, 35; Miss E. Hearfield's White Leghorns, 35; J. Stringfellow's White Leghorns, 35. The highest totals to date are: T. Kennedy's Silver Wyandott-es, 655; A. Padman's White. Leghorns, 569; Now Zealand Poultry Journal Institute's White Leghorns, 569; Drury .and Roso's White- Leghorns, 555; Allan Petrio's, White Leghorns, 540; W. Sail's Whito Leghorns, 536; and W. A. Nixon's Whito Leghorns, 506.