MILKING BY MACHINERY

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12442, 3 March 1906, Page 6

MILKING BY MACHINERY

A NEW ZEALAND INVENTION

(BT OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.)

Various attempt* hare been made during the last sixty years to spive the problem of milking oem by mechanical meaas, so as to reduoe the cost of production and relieve the dairyman of tho most tedious part of his work. Two kinds of machines hare hitherto been brought out. The best known snd most successful are those that employ suotion, and the -system of the others is that of pressure by solids, one, for exI ample, employing; a series of pistons ' pressing in succession against teh teat, a jneiv principle, that of -pressure by a I fluid (water or sir), has been worked out in imitation of hand milking, the inventor being Mr G. Hutohinson, of Wellington. Mr Hutchinson was formerly on the staff of the "Wellington College, and resigned three yeans ago to devote his whole time to working out his idea of a machine that did not employ suction. He was first financially assisted by Messrs Nelson, of Hawke's Bay, Mr G. Nelson being the first engineer to reoognise the possibilities of -Mr Hutchinson's crude models. Two and a half yeans ago a small company was floated, and through its assistance Mr Hutchinson has' been enabled to perfect his machine and secure the patents in' different oountries. A small but complete manufacturing ~ plant has also been established and the cost of the production of the machines brought down to' the lowest point by the design snd manufacture of special: tools for quick reduplication. A reo&nt inspection of the machine at work at Spreydon leaves no question but that Mr Hutchinson has brought it'to a highly satisfactory working point. The principle of tha -machine is very simple, though it ihas taken considerable time to work out the details of construction. The inventor .having decided to work upon the idea of a machine that would imitate the action of a handmilker, as distinct from the suction action of the calf, has produced a mechanical "hand" that does its work in drawing the milk from the udder as thoroughly as tha human hand. A rectangular metal case contains two rubber proofed bags, one on either side; -the teat is inserted, between these bags,, air ia injeoted into the bags, and the.milk, pressed out of the teat. In order that the pressure may begin from the top of the teat, as in the case of milking by hand, so that the milk may not escape back into the udder, there is an interior bag, about the size of a finger, in each of the main bags along the upper edge, and these are. inflated a trifle earlier, and at a higher pressure than the main bags themselves. This corresponds with' the closing of the forefinger and thumb in hand-milking before the pressure of the whole hand is exerted. The '-.'hands' 1 are each attached to aa arm, jointed to allow of speedy adjustment in, all direo? tions to suit the positions of the teats on. cows with udders of different eise'. The air is supplied through fine rubber tub-, ing to the "hands" by means of twin pumps, the one pump acting upon what may.be termed the thumbs and forefingers, or tipper bags, and -the other pump acting on the main bags in the whole set of four "hands." * Cams, or eccentrics are so shaped aa to cause the successive inflation and the simultaneous collapse of the upper and lower bags. On -the release of the pressure the milk naturally flows down into the teat in readiness for the next inflation; The number ofstrokes found most expedient for an average cow is about-00 per minute, so that one can readily test this apeed in comparison with that of a hand milker, and at the same time it must be remembered that the machine is' operating upon the whole four testa at once, while a hand milker can only deal with two at a time. - The- pumps are held on a frame affixed to the floor of the bail, opposite the cow's right shoulder, and it may be mentioned that an ordinary bail, 4ft 6in in width, gives ample room. This frame at this- same time provides bearings for the'shafting which drives the eccentrics, and which passes from stall- to stall under the. cows' threats. '" The jointed arms that, carry the "hands" are attached to a padded crosspiece of wood that is placed under the oow's body, immediately in front of the udder. * This is held in position- by a wooden arm, curved to clear her body, and 'hinged at its upper end to a spring Eole, which finds ita own positron above er back. The 'pad under' the cow's body presses lightly upwards, and this and the "hands" /themselves are all. that touch her. v " Thtrg- all Irritating

straps or cither attachments are avoided, saving time in handling, and the whole arrangement moves? with' the cow aha keeps its position. "*/ One of the most important essentials, whether in milking by hand or by machinery, is to keep the milk as clean as possible, and it is a great feature' of Mr Hutchinson's machine that the jets of milk do not oome into actual contact with any part of the apparatus. Tlie "hands" " "themselves are covered with rubber envelopes, seamless, and easily removed for washing. Thus there -is no lodgment, for germs in these parts of the machine in tne case of their getting wet with' spray or accidental splashing of the milk. The milk is received into a tin tray, covered with gauze, to act as a strainer, and thence conveyed by a ball jointed metal tube into a covered tucket, and all these are easily cleanedThe power required to work- t t*he; machine is comparatively small, one horse-power being, capable of working sixteen machines One man can attend to about five machines, and trials show that with four machines five cows can easily be milked; in 20 minutes, being equal to 15 cows per hour per man, and the best trial- yet made has indicated 18 oows per hour for one man, he doing everything necessary but baiting-up and leg-roping the cows. As a'precautionary measure the cows aire stripped after each milking,* the strappings from five oows seldom exceeding a quarter of a pint for the lot. In about a fortnight's the first largo dairy farmer's shed will bs installed in Canterbury, and several others will follow. About the middle of the next month a catalogue and price list "wUI be issued ,and attention will be turarcd to supplying machines to Taranaki. Meanwhile the company is negotiating for tho disposal of foreign rights.