Milk and its Production

Southland Times, Issue 12771, 2 December 1893, Page 2 (Supplement)

Milk and its Production

Milk is the product of the female mammal, intended by nature sustenance of its j oung. As the .young i animal must subsist on milk for a considerable period of its life, and at a time when itsabilityto digest and assimilate its food is’the weakest, and when it requires such food assill supply every requirement, of its system milk must be fully nutritious,' easily diges. tible, and contain every element of nutrition needed for the support and growth of the animal.. It must also be free from every taint of disease that would convey infection to those who use it for food. Milk.is supposed, with every reason of probability:and apparent certainty,,to be produced in this way: The cow-?or any other female animal—digests its food and converts -it'-into tissue; not into milk directly. The digested food first makes blood, and this is changed into the glandular tissue of the. udder, The udder consists of a mass of this kind of tissue, made up of cells and forming exceedingly minute lobules or roundish bodies,- each of which contains one or more very small globules of fat. These lobules are .arranged in connection with a large number of minute vessels or duots, very much as the grapes arranged on the stalks in the bunch. These ducts are connected with tbe lobules so that every one of them has its duct, and these ducts join together as the stems of the grapes are joined to the stem of the bunch, and those to the b anoh o i which it is borne. And as these are connected with the small branches of the vine, and these with the larger ones, until all meet at the main stem, so all t-iese ducts join other and larger ones until they all have emptied into the main duot which has its outlet at tbe teat.

The whole mass of tbe udder is made up of these bunchc j packed so clossly together thatthe whole udder is completely occupied and appears as a mass of ordinary flesh, or rather fat, for the time of tbe udder really consists of a kind o’ solid fat and not flesh. The upper part of the udder is more particularly of this character, and of a much more solid ch ’raster than the lower part, which is more a mass of ducts, surrounded with this tissue, than anything else. The lobules are much more numerous at the upper part, though they are attached to all the ducts down to tbe ultimate outlet. This is tbe character of the cow’s udder. Il is not a receptacle for milk which might flow into it merely. It is, in fact, on the contrary, an apparatus for the manufacture of milk. The tissue is formed from the blood as any other is,and each smallest part of it is a sort of ceil in which is contained a globule of fat. Now the milk is formed from this tissue. We all know how at times the muscular tissue breaks down into a semi-fluid matter,as in the case with wounds when it becomes pus, and is discharged,as it occurs during the healing process. In a much similar manner these minute lobules of the glandular tissue of tbe udder break down into a fluid substanceor serum,which is the milk. Each minute globule thus changing into a fluid, of course Jets loose the small globule of fat it contained. As the milk flows down the ducts those fat globule#go withit,and are intimately mixed with it.

This process is not going on all the time. It may bo, however,to some extent in some cases, but this is only done to a small extent. When the cow under a condition of excitement which is wholly nervous lets down her milk, as it is called, then this process goes on with great rapidity, and the milk flows copiously. Then the full udder, which was previously hard and tense, soon becomes loose and flacid, and as the tissue becomes exhausted it hangs limp and loose. Just here may be explained why, as is so well known, the last milk drawn ia richer io fat than the first milk. It has been satd that the udder is made up almost wholly of fat and the duots are extremely small,while tbe lower part is not so fat and consists mostly of the larger ducts. Thus, when tbe milk is drawn these lower ducts and the tissues of the lower part of tbe udder are first exhausted and then tbe milk flows from the upper part. And thus, because of the immensely greater number of lobules and fat globules, tbe last drawn milk is so much richer in fat.

Thu» ia explained the fact that the milk is a part of the cow itself, and must partake of all it» peculiarities. If a cow ia sick the milk will be sick. If ebe hai any disease that affects the blood and the system generally.it must also affect the milk. If the blood ia poisoned by any imparity or affected with any virulent matte.’, the milk must have its share of it. Even the air breathed has been known to communicate its color and flavour to the milk. A quantity of decayed turnip tops of tbe milking stable has been known to taint the milk. And the taint of a dead animal in the pasture has been known to do the same. And if tbe air breathed will be sufficient to do this, how much more may the food affect the milk ? And as we know that oils and fats are exceedingly absorptive of odours, bow much may the butter be affected injuriously by them ? This is a great truth to be noted and remembered by all concerned. But much more still if the cow is affected by any disease of a virulent na’ure, and the blood itself is poisoned and tbe system is actively engaged in efforts to throw off the poison by every secreting organ,how easily may the infection be carried off with the milk,and thus become a source of the same disease to persons who may use it.

This is a matter of tbe greatest moment to all engaged in producing milk for sale, and quite as much to those who make butter or cheese; for those do not fail to carry with them all the qualities of the milk, be they good or bad. Of course, a thing is ns the materials of which it is made. Gan a clean thing come out of an unclean one ? The very highest authority has said it cannot, and if our own reason has not compelled us so to believe we may be guided by this. And as the food is, so is the milk. If we will have pure milk the food must be pure. And as the water is more than 80 per cent of the material that goes to make the milk, the supply of pure water is indispensable. The food required for the making of good milk must contain all the various elements that are contained in the milk. That any person should deny such a rational belief is one of the curiosities of modern agricultural science, for many of those who profess to be scientific teachers are emphatic in their denunciation of those who believe that milk which contains from 1 to 8 par cent, of fat, can only be made by means of food that contains this fat in addition to a sufficient supply for the sustenance of the animal.— PIIOTESSOR Henry Stewart, in New York Times.