The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1876-06-08
Plain Words About Milking.

"A FRIEND OF ours recently purchased
tub of butter for family use which turned
out to be so tainted with the filth of the
cow barn as to be entirely unfit for the
table and could not he used for culinary
purposes. This butter was of good color
and texture, and was so we'll made as to
have commanded the highest price in
market had the flavor been perfect.
A merchant recently showed us a few
cheeses which lie had purchased to sup.
ply customers who desired something
choice. The cheese was we'll made, very
rich in fat, but it had we'll marked taste
of the cow stable, and customers who had
taken one piece wanted no more, as it was
unfit for the table. These are by no means
exceptional! cases. Our attention has been
called to like cases over a wide extent of
country in the dairy districts, and we are
quite certain that large amounts of both
butter and cheese are injured from this
cause alone, and which would otherwise
take the place of a tirst-class article.
At the late meeting of the American
Dairymen's Association, Mr.. Robert Nc
Adam, a well-known factoryman and
cheese expert, gave an account of the va
rious kinds of filth which he had found
in the factory strainer after receiving milk
from his patrons. And yet some people
wonder why progress is so slow in i'm
proving the flavor and character of our
dairy products. At this time, when
prices have deprecated and are unsatisfac-
tory, it behooves dairymen to make every
effort possible for improving the flavor
and quality of their goods. The respon-
sibility must not be shifted wholly upon
the manufacturer. In most cases it lies
back of this and rests with the dairyman
in his management at the farm.
The defect to which we have alluded
comes from uncleanliness in milking; and
especially is this the case during spring
and fall, when the COWS are more or less
confined to the stable. Some dairymen,
even if they do not themselves milk upon
their hands and wet the teats Of the cow
before commencing to draw the milk,
they allow those in their employ to do so,
and the result is, more or less filth drops
into the pail to faint its contents. 1t is a
very nasty practice, and should be guarded
against in the most rigid manner.
liza cows bag is besmeared with dung
and dirt from the stable, it should he
washed with water and wiped with a
cloth, and then the operation Of milking
should be done with dry hands. Aperson
who has once adopted the practice of
milking with dry hands, finds the milk
can be drawn quite as easily and rapidly
as by constantly wetting the hands; while
the latter practice must always result in
more or less filth falling in the milk to
give it faint of the stables and thus in
jure the product which is manufactured
from it.
In summer, when cows are at pasture,
and when they are not allowed to run
through swamps and muddy places, the
udder will be generally clean and will re-
quire only few brushes with the hands
to free it from dust and loose hairs. One
fault common to many diaries is that &C.
cumulations of manure or mud are allowed
to remain at the entrance of the milking
stables, and the cows, tramping through
this every time they 60 to and from the
with the filth, and as the mixers do not
properly cleanse the cows bag before
milking, the dirt falls into the pail and
avoiding this difficulty except by plank
stable doors; and keeping it dry and clean.
sideratiOns be taken into account beyond
the comfort Of those who do the milking.
This story of cleanliness has been very
often urged in connection with other
advice on the dairy; but it needs 10 be
urged much oftener before it will be
properly needed, One great fault COM
plafned Of in American cheese is it's de-
fective flavor, and there can be no coubt
that if taints could be traced directly to the
cause, they would often he found to come
| from tho enurco 1u,o bovo nanood IF foin<c