“Another condition which causes trouble in sampling, is found where some of the cream is firm and floats around in hard lumps but is not churned. This kind of cream is also hard to sample and these lumps are liable to be left behind on the sides of the can and cover. We believe this condition is caused by allowing milk to cool spontaneously. That is, instead of cooling quickly, the farmer fills up his milk can and lets it stand to cool slowly. This is liable to give a hard cream on the surface which does not break up readily. The farmer, therefore, will get a better test by cooling his milk quickly and thoroughly and refraining from using the top milk for family use.
“We have come to this conclusion, namely, that certain conditions affect cows and their work, the same as that of human beings. As someone has said: ‘Put yourself in a cow’s place and try to get her point of view. Could you do good work if a swarm of flies were bothering you all the time? What effect does an extremely warm day or two have on your capacity for work? If you were out in a cold, rain, and wind storm, how would it affect your work? Suppose you were thirsty and had to wait two or three hours before you could get a drink and then got foul and stagnant water? Or, suppose that someone stronger than yourself would chase you away from the shade or sheltered spot or forced you to move when you were resting or eating? Suppose you were forced to eat food that you did not like or enjoy? How long would it be before these things would show in your work? Any or all of them would impair your efficiency and lessen your ability.’”
CHAPTER VII.
SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING A BARN.
Since there is so much information available concerning construction of barns, it is not necessary for me to discuss it here except to criticize the standard forms. On most farms at hay-making time there is no time to haul hay to the dairy barn so it is stacked in the field and hauled in during the winter. Many large dairy barn hay mows are constructed at a great deal of expense and stand empty most of the time in this climate. Before building large, expensive barns it might be well to consult those who have built to see how they are getting along. On an average farm I would suggest a one story shed for the cows built as a lean-to or butting up against a hay shed. This hay shed need not be very large.
In most expensive barns there is installed a litter-carrier that runs on a track. If I were going to use a litter-carrier at all I would have the thing so that it could be let down below the level of the gutter and shove the manure down the gutter into it. This means would save all the liquid manure which is more valuable and would save the effort required to lift the manure with a shovel. When full the carrier could be hoisted, run on the track, and dumped into the wagon or wherever desired. But why use a carrier? Why not have the gutters run through the side of the barn and a wagon or manure spreader standing beneath? It is very easy to push the manure from ten cows down the gutter. Two gutters could run into one wagon which would be left standing outside of the barn on lower ground. The barn could either stand on a side hill or a place could be dug to run the wagon into. If hogs are to work over the manure, a concrete basin should be constructed to hold it.
The feed trough should be so made that it may be used to water the cows during cold weather.
CHAPTER VIII.
MILKING
The cow’s milk is partly manufactured in the udder at the time it is being drawn. The process is like digestion and is interfered with by any nervous tension or shock. The prick of a pin that will make a cow jump at the time of milking has been known to greatly reduce the butterfat of the milk given and at the same time to reduce the supply. Shepherd dogs that go after cows are likely to perform their labor at a very high cost in milk. A milk stool used as a weapon knocks a lot of money out of the farmer’s pocket. A rough milker who irritates a cow causes much trouble also. If I were to judge a dairyman by just one thing I could tell most about him by noticing how well the cows liked to have him milk them. Where a cow has to dance to the jerking of rough hands and listen to profanity of the milker, that is plenty of information to decide that on that farm dairying does not pay. There are few cows that will treat a milker any better than he treats them.
For sanitary reasons I do not believe in milking with wet hands, but if a cow’s udder is caked, the best cure that I know is to draw the milk into the hands very slowly and rub it into the caked udder until it is absorbed through the skin. I do not know or care why, but there is something about a cow’s milk that is good for her caked udder when applied to the outside. One treatment of an hour’s duration, milking the milk a stream at a time and working it into the caked udder, is often sufficient to cure even bad cases. Cow’s teats should never be allowed to get sore, for clean milk can not be produced from sore, bleeding teats. It may be necessary to apply antiseptic medicines when they are sore, but a good way to keep the teats soft and pliable so the cow will not be irritated by milking is to take the last streams or two in the udder, milk it into the hand and use it to rub into the teat. The solids in the last streams of milk are about one-half butterfat and this greases the teat with the best kind of grease that I know.
Having employed a great many men on the farm I have found from experience that two out of three do not know how to milk. Of these, some can be taught but many are not worth bothering with. Many are too rough and many do not seem to be able to get all the milk from the udder. To get all the milk from one quarter of the udder the milker should use both hands, using one hand above the teat to squeeze the milk into the teat and with the other hand milk it into the pail.