The Madison journal., 1915-05-22


ment Of Agriculture)
A large PORTION of the dairy PROD
ucts of the South Is marketed in the
form of butter In the past this has
brought low prices because it has not
been regarded as of high quality For
| dairying to be profitable to him as II
should be, the southern farmer must
take pains to produce milk and cream
of good quality, as this determines to
a great extent the quality OF the but
ter.
To make good butter it is necessary
to have clean milk from clean, healthy
cows. Even If there is no visible dirt
in it, milk from unhealthy cows is not
safe. Special attention should be
given to the condition of the udder,
and any milk which appears Shiny or
ropy or otherwise abnormal should be
discarded Long hair favors the ac-
cumulation of filth. therefore the hair
on flanks and udder should be clipped.
The body of the cow should also be
kept free from mud and manure, and
the bedding must be clean and dry
and used in sufficient quantities to
keep the cow comfortable when in the
stable.
1t is impossible to keep the COW
clean If the stable is dirty. In conse-
quence a hard floor without cracks is
a necessity. The walls and ceiling
should be free from dust or cobwebs.
and at least once a year they should
be whitewashed. Manure should be
taken out at least once a day and kept
some distance from the stable. The
barnyard should contain no mudholes
and be so arranged as to drain away
from the building. A clean yard is Of
great help in keeping cows clean.
Avoid DisasreeabIe FIavors.
The character of the feed may also
affect the milk. Such feeds as rape,
cabbage, turnips and silage may i'm
part a disagreeable flavor and they
should, therefore, be given after in
stead of Immediately before milking.
When the pastures are overrun with
garlic or wild onion the cows should
be removed three or four hours before
they are MIXED. Moldy and decayed
feed should never be used. as it may
seriously affect the cows health and
change the character of the milk. 1t
is also importan: to avoid anything
that will raise dust in the stable at
milking time, and hence dusty hay
should not be fed Immediately before
milking, nor the cows bedded at this
time
Still another important point is the
water supply. Cows need an abun-
dance Of water and this should always
be fresh and pure. A good water sup
ply is, in fact. an absolute necessity
for the production of the best quality
of milk and cream. Without an abun-
dance of pure water 1t is unlikely that
the various utensils used in a dairy
will be properly cleansed. and there
fore the milk will inevitably suffer in
quality. A description OF useful equip
ment is contained in a special publi-
cation of the United States depart
ment of agriculture entitled Farm
Conveniences for Handling the Cow
and Her Product" which may be had
on application.
Cleanliness must extend beyond the
cow and the stable to the mixers
themselves. They should milk with
dry, clean hands. and the cows udder
and flanks should first be wiped of
with damp cloth to remove any loose
dust or hair which might fall into the
pail. Each time that they are used
all the milk utensils should be rinsed,
first with cold or lukewarm water and
then washed with hot water which
contains some washing powder, such
as sal soda. Soap and soap powders
are not desirable. Fiber brushes are
more easily kept clean than wash
rags and are, therefore. better After
the utensils have been washed thor
oughly they should be rinsed in scald.
ing water and inverted in a rack in a
clean place and screened from flies.
Improperly washed utensils tend to
turn milk sour and also acquire a bad
odor which warm milk quickly abb
serbs.
The milk should be removed at once
from the stable and taken to some
place where it can be cooled to a tenn
perature Of so degrees Fahrenheit or