El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-04-21
ARE TAUGHT HOW
To MILK BY USE
Of DUMMY COWS
New Schools of Farming
Turn Out Many Gradu-
ates in England.
MILK DUMMY AT
FIRST TO LEARN
COPIED HALL Engla- L. April 21.-i

COPIED HALL Engla- /. April 81
I The dummy cow" is perhaps the
! - most interesting part OF the ma
( cninery Of the new schools or farming
/ which are springing up all over rural
/ England for the purpose Of teaching
/ the rudiments 10 young women volun-
( teers for work on the land.
OF these schools, one OF the largest
( Is close TO London, on the borders OF
! Epping forest, which is 70 the British
metropolis what Bronz park IS to New
/ York The school IS on a large eccle-
| siastical estate known as "Copped
Hall" where the girls are billetted in
red brick. once the shelter OF hooded
monks and leisuriy friars
The school boasts Of en- dummy
cows" on which the ", ld-be milk
maids must practice milking. The
I dummy consists Of four tripod legs
and an india rubber bag with four
red rubber teats. The bag is filled
with water. then the Instructor adjusts
the flow at either hard medium"
work
From Dummy TO Nanny Goat.
After weeks parctice on the dunn
my two hours a day. the students are
allowed 70 try their skill in milking
nanny goats They must spend at least
week milking nanny goats before
they are allowed to touch a real COW
Il IS great occasion for a girl pupil
when she is allowed for the first time
10 milk a COW
I've been promoted" remarked ons
student with a proud smile. This is
my first COW 7 have had q week at
milking the dummy in the COW school
over the hill, and another week in the
goat stables. getting my wrists and
fingers into trim The goats are very
nice. but the dummy COWS are not pop
ular. It is very good parctice. but it's
very much like practicing On e dummy
piano. You can't get any sympathy
out OF it Some Of the girls close their
eyes and try TO imagine II is a real
COW, but IT takes a lot of imagination"
Farmers in Six Weeks.
The students are supposed to COM
plete their course in all around farm
work in about six weeks Then they
are sent out TO take places on regular
farms. where they usually work In
groups Of five or six.
The superintendent OF the COPIED
Hall school. who has been a practical
farmer for 80 years, is enthusiastic
promises to be much more successful
than I ever thought Il would be-" he
said. The girls mostly take very we'll
to the life. which is healthy and in
teresting- Best Of alI. the cows and
horses take to the girl labor quite nat
uraly. Girls are more sympathetic
WIN the cows lldn men Even
our vicious cows and 'kickers' are
much better behaved than they were
in the old days Of man labor When
a man is milking a kicking COW and
she suddenly lashes out he usually
retaliates by kicking back. and this
double show Of temper is bad for the
COW and worse for the milk The girls
don't kick back. because a girl can't
kick with any effect. They try sooth-
ing words instead. and II IS wonderful
what the human voice viii do with
animals"
Some Students AristOcrats.
Most OF the girls thus far recruited
are of little above the average mid
ole class socially. Some Of them have
been aristocrats. A young graduate
who was sent to 8 farm about three
miles from the school a short time ago
gave her new employer quite a shock
when she appeared with her trim
leather suit. knee boots Of Russian
leather. and a serviceable farm hat',
worth perhaps s25. The next day the
school superintendent received a note
from the farmers wife:
Dear Sir-Our new farm hand has
arrived and Is entirely satisfactorily.
But we are in a quandary. Does she
live with the servants or should she
dine with me2"