Morag, M., Department of Agriculture, The University, Reading, United Kingdom

The changes in the size of the milking and residual fractions following milking intervals of 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 h were investigated in 18 ewes receiving regular injections of oxytocin at each milking. The observations were carried out using a 6×6 Latin square design in which each treatment interval was repeated 4 times. The milking and the residual fractions were found to increase significantly with the lengthening of the interval. The amount of hand strippings was also related to interval length. When a given interval was repeated there were no changes in the relative sizes of the fractions. A change in the milking interval, however, caused significant changes in the various fractions. It is suggested that in the present experiment the milking fractions consisted in the main of milk that was present in the sinuses prior to milking. © 1968, Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research. All rights reserved.