Willmar Tribune

Skill in Milking.

One Who Does Not Possess It Should Not Be Allowed to Handle Dairy Cows.

Milking is an operation which requires skill, as it has an important effect on the amount and quality of milk given. Dairymen know that there are as great differences between milkers as between cows, and that cows will do much better with some milkers than with others. Indeed, good cows are often almost ruined by poor milkers.

The milker should avoid handling the cow more than is necessary, and he should make it a rule to do his work quickly and thoroughly. He should never go from a sick to a well cow without first cleansing his hands. The habit of wetting the hands with milk is filthy in the extreme and should never be practiced. Some people think it is necessary, but this is a mistake. The hands should be kept dry. If they are not, it is impossible to prevent drops of milk from constantly falling from them into the pail, says Farm, Field and Stockman.

The pail should be held close to the udder, so as to expose the milk to the air as little as possible. The farther the streams fall and the more they spray, the more dirt and bacteria they collect. Contamination from the foremilk must be avoided, by discarding the first few streams drawn, or less than a gill in all. This entails little loss, as the first milk drawn is always poor in butter fat, and if it happens to be badly contaminated, as is frequently the case, much injury and trouble may be saved.