The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-08-15
Dry and Wet Milking.

AS it is reasonable to assume that
many readers of Farm and Home, al
though intimately acquainted with milk
itself, can scarcely know much about
the way in which it is drawn from the
COW, it may be well before discussing
the question to describe what is really
meant by the words at the head of this
note. A cows teats when she is
brought out of the field to be MIXED
should be dry-that is to say, there is
no moisture of any kind upon the sur
face of the teat, unless the COW has
been wading through ditch or stream,
or has been lying upon the wet grass. A
mixer who believes in " dry" milking
will sit under the COW and take care
that none of the milk which he extracts
from the teat shall come between his
hands and the teats of the COW, so that
at the conclusion of the performance
the skin shall be as dry as when he be-
gan to milk. The "wet" mixer, on
the other hand, as soon as he begins his
work, deliberately milks into the palm
of his hand and at once clasps the teat,
80 that the skin is moistened and re-
mains wet until the whole of the milk
has been drawn. Now, it is not sur
prising that some people object to the
latter process. They contend that the
milk thus put into the hand of the
operator is certain, sooner or later, to
find its way into the pail, and this, in
their opinion, shows lack of cleanli-
ness. Others affirm that the wetting of
the teat paves the way for udder trou-
bles, and do not hesitate TO assert that
sore teats are the outcome of the prac-
tice. 1t cannot be denied, however,
that wet teat is the natural way of
drawing the milk, and that the wetter
it is the more rapidly is the milk ex-
tracted by the calf. Look at calf six
weeks old taking its food in the ordi-
nary way. The tongue envelopes the
teat and a portion of the milk drawn
lies around it throughout the operation,
and so hastens the process that an
animal of this age can easily empty the
udder in much less time than the fastest
mixer, although the latter has two teats
in hand at once instead of one.
AS one who has perhaps MIXED as
many COWS as any reader of this sjour-
against wet milking is uncalled for, but
that it is utterly impossible for any
herd of cows to be MIXED entirely
without some of the milk coming in
contact with the hand, and thus finding
its way upon the teat. We must re-
member that no two udders are exactly
alike in shape, and the same must be
said of the teats. 1t may be an easy
matter to milk some cows without
wetting the teats at all; but in others
the teats are so placed that some of the
first milk drawn will wet the hand
thoroughly, and it will not be dry again
until anothertow is started upon. /
have MIXED many COW whose teats
were so short that they could not be
clasped without milking the fluid into
the hand; is it possible for such as these
to be MIXED on the "dry" method?
That sore teats are the result of wet
milking, do not for moment be-
lieve. If this were the case, it would
be the rule for most of the COWS to be
affected at the same time, whereas it is
rare that more than one or two in a
large herd-say three or four per cent
are victims, and their sores may
arise from other easily explained
causes. So with udder troubles; these
are due to chills or imperfect milking
On the whole, then, l cannot but think
from my own lengthy experience
(Which dates from the fifties) that the
objection 10 " wet" milking is case
of much cry and little wool. Farm
and Home, England.