Milk and Milking.
The practice of milking thrice a day, especially when cows are in good pasture, is recommended; each milking will give almost as much as if only done twice, for, when the udder is full, the milk begins to be absorbed into the body of the animal. The practice will be found not only to increase the quantity of manure, but of milk.
Milk should be poured into pans as soon as possible, and if carried far, or too much shaken, never gives abundant or good cream.
In order to find the richness of the milk of your different cows, pour the first of your milking of each into glass tumblers, and when the cream has risen you can easily see which bears the thickest coat. Winter’s milk, although less abundant, will be found to be richer than summer’s
Milk gradually increases in richness from the first drop to the last. Take a tumbler full of the first, and another full of the last; you will find that the first yields not one tenth part as much cream as the last; and the quality is as great as that of its quantity. They who by careless milking leave half a pint, in reality lose not only as much cream as the first five pints afford, but also all that part of the cream which gives richness and flavour to the butter, and dry up the cow into the bargain.
A milk pan should not be above three inches deep.
AMERICAN FARMER – Baltimore, April 3, 1829