The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-04-20
TEACHING WOMEN TO FARM.
Dummy Cow" One of Mechanical Con.
trivances Used in England.

! COPIED Hall, Eng, April l6-The
dummy COW" is perhaps the most inter.
esting part of the machinery of the new
schools of farming which are springing
up all over rural England for the pur-
pose of teaching the rudiments to young
women volunteers for work on the land.
Of these schools, one of the largest is
close to London, on the borders of Eppinp
forest, which is to the British metropolis
what Bronx park is to New York. The
school is on a large ecclesiastical estate
known as "Copped Hail." where the girls
are billetted in towering, lavish build
lngs of ancient red brick, once the shell
ter OF hooded monks and leisurely friars.
The school boasts of ten dummy cows, Z"
on which the would.be milkmaids must
practice milking. The dummy consists
of four tripod legs and an india rubber
bag with four rubber teats. The bag is
filed with water, then the instructor adj
justs the flow at either hard, medium, I"
or easy" and the novice goes to work.
After weeks practice on the dummy.
two hours a day, the students are al
lowed to try their skill in milking nanny
goats They must spend at least week
milking nanny goats before they are al
lowed TO touch a real COW. 1t is a great
occasion for girl pupil when she is al
lowed for the first time to milk cow.
I've been promoted" remarked one
student with a proud smile. "This is my
first cow. / have had week at milking
the dummy in the 'eow.schooP over the
hill, and another week in the goat sta
bles, getting my wrists and fingers into
trim. The goats are very nice, but the
dummy cows are not popular. 1t is very
good practice, but its very much like
practicing on dummy piano. You can't
get any sympathy out of it, Some of
the girls close their eyes and try to
imagine it is a real COW, but il takes a
lot of imagination"
The students are supposed to complete
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 practical farmer |
for thirty years, is enthusiastic about |
their work. "The experiment promises |
to be much more successful than ! ever |
thought it would be-" he said. "T7he girls /
mostly take very well to the life, which /
IS healthy and interesting. Best of all, /
The cows and horses take to the girl Ia.
Dor quite naturally. Girls are more sym.
pathetic with the cows than men or
Boys Even our vicious cows and kick
RS arc much better behaved than they
we're in the old days of man labor When
man is milking a kicking COW and she
lashos out, he usually retail
ties by kicking back, and this double
how Cf temper is bad for the COW and
worse for the milk The girls don't kick
Jack, because a girl can't kick with eff
ect They try soothing words instead,
md it IS wonderful what the human
.oice will do with animals
Most Of the girls thus far recruited
re Of little above the average middle
lass socially. Some Of them have been
ristocrats. A young graduate who was
ent to a farm about three miles from
he school a short time ago gave her
ew employer quite a shock when she .
ppcared with her trim leather suit,
nee boots of Russian leather. and a
erviceable EARN hat" worth perhaps !
p. The next day the school superin
endent received a note from the farm
RS wife:
Dear Sir: Our new farm hand has
rrived and is entirely satisfactory. But
- are in a quandary. Does she live
18th the servants or should she dine
18th mes"