Living in the country should make possible an adequate and safe milk supply for the family. The transportation of milk from the farm and its distribution in the city constitute a costly process under present methods, and this limits consumption. Furthermore, the ordering in advance of a definite quantity each day means as a rule that only the milk delivered will be consumed. A maximum amount of milk is thereby set, based upon factors that may be alien to real needs of the family for this food beverage. Using milk and dairy products freely from a near-by supply will contribute much to the health of the entire family and especially of the children. The term “family” is used in this case to denote two or three adults and the same number of children.

Nutritional experts declare that milk is the most important of the “protective” foods. Scientists agree that milk protects by providing in the best form those necessities which are often lacking in other foods. Milk supplies calcium so necessary for sound bones and teeth, phosphorus, easily digested protein, butter fat and milk sugar. Most important of all are the vitamins found in milk. Milk acquires these properties from the cow, a living factory manufacturing milk from raw products, which are the foods the cow eats—the pasture grasses and the cured hay, supplemented with carefully blended grain rations. Nutrition authorities recommend at least a quart of milk daily for every child and ample amounts for adults as well.

Sources of Milk Supply.—The country resident will have little difficulty in securing an adequate supply of wholesome milk at low cost. He may obtain it from a neighbor who is in the dairy business or he may maintain a cow or two where the area is large enough to provide some pasturage and where a building for stabling is available.

If the milk is bought from some near-by farm it is important that the purchaser assure himself of the health of the cows producing the milk and of the sanitary conditions surrounding production and handling. Quality in milk is much more than cream content. Cleanliness in production and handling is far more important, and this the country resident can personally determine by occasional visits to the source of supply, an advantage difficult for the urban resident to attain. Quality in milk is not necessarily measured by the investment in the milking barn or the showy external features of the producing and handling plant.

The essential factors in the production of clean, wholesome milk are healthy, clean cows; healthy milkers; clean, sterile utensils; and sanitary stables and premises. These conditions can be attained by any careful dairyman and can be checked by any layman interested in securing a dependable supply of safe milk. The purchaser should insist that the cows be tested regularly under government supervision for tuberculosis and the reactors to the test removed from the herd. This is important in all circumstances and particularly so where the milk is consumed in the unprocessed state by children.

Producing Milk at Home.—It is entirely feasible for the rural family to produce at home an ample supply of milk at low cost. To do this it is only necessary to have stabling facilities for one or two cows and to have a member of the family sufficiently interested to feed, care for and milk the cow or cows. If this plan is to be followed the owner, if he is inexperienced, should enlist the aid of a neighbor or friend in making the purchase. The animal should be fresh, that is, just starting the period of lactation, and preferably not more than four or five years of age. A cow that is fresh can be judged as to ability to produce good milk from all four quarters of the udder in adequate amount.

Selecting the Family Cow.—The breed to be selected is not important, except that for family use a cow of the so-called Channel breeds (Guernsey or Jersey) is considered better adapted because of the higher butter fat content of the milk as compared with the Holstein-Friesian, for example, which usually produces a larger total quantity of milk with less butter fat. It is not necessary to purchase a pure-bred animal of any of the breeds, so far as milk production is concerned. On the other hand, a pure-bred registered cow may often be purchased at moderate cost. The owner will undoubtedly take greater pride in such an animal and her offspring will have higher selling value.

In making a purchase the new owner should insist upon having a tuberculin test chart delivered with the animal, and certification as to freedom from contagious abortion (B. abortus) should also be obtained if possible. If production records have been kept during the animal’s previous lactation periods, these should be secured, as they will definitely indicate milk-producing ability over a considerable period of time. For family use a cow that produces milk steadily in uniform amounts over eight or ten months is far more desirable than one which produces a large volume following freshening and then slumps off rapidly.

Desirable types of utensils for a small dairy. A. Crock for temporary milk storage or for gravity separation of cream. B. Milking stool. C. Twenty-quart milk can and cover. D. Strainer. E. Stirrer. F. Circulating water cooler for freshly drawn milk (not essential for a one- or two-cow dairy if other cooling practices are followed). G. Sanitary covered-top milk pail. H. Measuring rod. I. Small churn for family butter making.

Importance of Pasture.—Pasturage plays so important a part in economical milk production and in contributing to the health of the animal that it is unwise to consider keeping one’s own cow unless 3 or 4 acres of pasture land per animal are available. When the cow is on pasture from May until November no other roughage is required, provided of course the grasses and clovers are plentiful. Plenty of water is essential, and if this is not made available by a stream in the pasture, it will be necessary to furnish drinking water three times daily.

Stabling and Feeding.—From early November until May it will be necessary to provide stabling facilities, roughage in the form of hay, ensilage or beet pulp, and concentrated feed to keep the animal producing. About 3 tons of good timothy-and-clover hay or alfalfa will be needed per animal during these six months. Storage room will be needed in the building for the hay and for the concentrated feed. A good practice is to keep the cow in a box stall 12 by 14 feet in size. Ample bedding should be provided, consisting of straw, wood shavings, shredded corn stalks, peat moss or dried leaves. These will absorb the liquid manure and after such use should be applied to the garden or other land areas for fertilizing purposes.

The daily ration of the cow when stabled will consist of from 15 to 25 pounds of hay daily and 1 pound of concentrated feed for each 3½ pounds of milk being produced. (A quart of milk weighs about 2.2 pounds.) Milk flow can be stimulated and the health of the cow conserved by feeding moistened beet pulp, where silage is not available. This may be purchased locally at the feed store, where the grain concentrate may also be obtained. The latter can be bought in bags and a mixture analyzing about 20 per cent protein is recommended. When the cow is on pasture the grain ration may be reduced by one-third or one-half, depending upon the quality of the pasture available.

Cost of Milk Production.—Where all of the feed mentioned above is purchased, the cost per quart of the milk will approximate 3 cents, excluding labor and overhead costs of buildings, etc. This cost can be reduced if pasture does not have to be rented and if some of the other food requirements are raised at home.

Management.—Feeding the cow twice daily and milking at the same interval will give the best results. Morning and evening are usually the most convenient times for milking and the same hourly routine should be observed daily. Feeding the grain ration after milking is desirable. A good practice is to furnish hay and beet pulp between milkings.

To insure cleanliness of the milk, the udder and teats may be wiped with a damp cloth before milking. Flanks and the udder should be clipped of hair, thus facilitating a clean condition of the animal at all times. Soiled bedding should be removed and clean material substituted as required.

The normal cow should produce an average of 10 quarts of milk daily over a period of ten months. In the remaining two months the cow will not be producing milk but will be resting and building up body reserves for the coming period of lactation. The cow should be bred about nine months before it is desired to have her bear a calf. The time of year when such freshening should occur is not important, although either spring or fall months are considered best, to avoid weather and temperature extremes at the critical calving period. Under this plan it will be noted that the family will not have milk from home sources for two months during the year. The alternative is to have two cows, one freshening in April and the other in October, ensuring a continuous supply, or to purchase milk during the “dry” period.Utilizing a Large Supply of Milk.—The urban consumer of milk accustomed to 1 or 2 quarts daily may wonder how an average of 10 quarts or more per day can be utilized. Plenty of uses will be found for the product. Milk will be used more often as a beverage; cream will be found delightful in many ways, in the form of butter and home-made ice cream, for example; and cheeses will provide an outlet for surplus whole or skimmed milk. Milk of good quality can be disposed of readily to neighbors. If two families own one cow each, a plan may be worked out for furnishing each other with milk when one cow or the other is not producing. Wherever facilities are available and there is a willingness to care for a family cow or two, the availability of large amounts of milk will compensate for the trouble and bring health and vigor to the rural family.

The Goat as a Source of Milk Supply.—The milk goat is especially useful to those who desire a smaller quantity of milk than that produced by a cow and where the space is inadequate for keeping a larger milk-producing animal. In composition, goat’s milk closely resembles that of the cow, the butter fat ranging from 3.2 per cent to 4.4 per cent with total solids of nearly 12 per cent. The average production of a good milk goat is about 2 quarts of milk daily, sufficient for many a family. The milk is pure white in color and the cream rises very slowly. If goat’s milk is properly produced and handled, the bad odor, associated with the animal in the public mind, should not be present. Keeping dirt or hair out of the milk when it is being drawn, and clean quarters, are essential in eliminating odor in the milk. It has been proved that goat’s milk is especially valuable for children and invalids and exceeds cow’s milk in ease of digestibility.

Goats are in their prime at about five years of age, but will continue to produce milk for several years after that. They should be bred twice a year. The usual number of kids is two, although occasionally four are born at one time. The period between breeding and giving birth is about five months. Goats may be successfully fed with the same rations as the dairy cow. Although they consume only about one-seventh as much feed as the cow, the common impression that the goat can produce milk on practically no feed is erroneous. A ration for winter feeding, suggested by the United States Department of Agriculture, consists of 2 pounds of alfalfa or clover hay, 1½ pounds of silage or roots and from 1 to 2 pounds of a concentrated grain ration, composed of 100 pounds of corn, 100 pounds of oats, 50 pounds of bran and 25 pounds of linseed meal. In the summer when pasture is available they should be fed 1 to 1½ pounds of the grain mixture. Data from experiment stations indicate that the annual feed cost of a milk goat is about $11 and the feed cost per quart of milk produced, about 1½ cents.

Good milk goats bring good prices and in most instances will cost almost as much as a cow. They are much more prolific, however, permitting more rapid additions and offering greater revenue from the sales of young animals, wherever there is a market for them. The two principal breeds are the Toggenburg and the Saanen, both originating in Switzerland, and the Spanish Maltese whose original home was in the island of Malta. Goats are thoroughly domesticated, are contented with a small grazing area and may be easily handled. They are subject to stomach worms, indicated by loss of flesh and weakness, and to Malta fever, which can be transmitted to man, in whom it is evidenced by recurring high temperatures. The former can be controlled by using, as a drench, a copper sulfate solution of 1 ounce to 3 quarts of water. Where the latter trouble is present the milk should be pasteurized or scalded before it is consumed. As an economical source of easily digested milk, the goat is recommended, especially to those families with rather small acreage. They can make the most of poorer pasturage, are clean in habits and docile.