THE MILKING MACHINE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XIX, Issue 3269, 5 November 1892, Page 2

THE MILKING MACHINE.

Another trial of the Murohland milking machine was mad« on the show ground on Friday afternoon, when four cows belonging to Mr. Spratt were experimented on. The principle 6ig tbe machine has been concisely dcV scribed to be the extraction of milk from the cow by the exhaustion of air in a can connected with tbe teats of the animal by four tubes attached to the teats by means of metal caps encasing rubber oases into which the teats fit. These are in* tended to adhere to the udder while tbe milking is going on by the force of the suction produced by the air in the oan by means of a vacuum pump. It is claimed that the action of the machine is a close imitation of- tbe natural sucking of a calf. Of course it must at the outset be admitted that a trial such as that on Friday cannot be regarded as conclusive. The cows were in a strange place, there were a good many people around, the experience was entirely novel to the cows, the apparatus had necessarily been hurriedly fixed, and, moreover, it at anyrate appeared to be not so well worked as it might have been. Theße were the conditions, and in view of them, although tbe trial cannot be said to have been a sac* cess, the want of success would not warrant condemnation of the machine. The ver* diet simply must be " not proven." The cows certainly did not give the milk down readily ; there was considerable difficulty in keeping the tubes on the teats, and, moreover, when the tubes were removed) it was found that the teats of the cows were blue and swollen. It was said, in explanation, that the tubes were too long and came down and stopped the outleti and bo not only prevented the milk flowing but also led to unnecessarily prolonged pressure. Whatever the oause the effects were plain, and, as we have said, they were not satisfactory. There were a good many practical men present, and they differed very widely on the question as to whether what they had seen gave hope of success from the theoretical aspect. Some who granted that under more favorable conditions success was probable, still were doubtful of how the invention could work out practically and eoooomi* cally. Less hands would be required if a machine or machines could be set to work perfectly in a milking shed, but the labour required might be more expensive and unless tbe machine worked so smoothlyas to require very little attention tbe number of hands would hardly be co reduced as to pay for the expense and risk of erecting machinery. However, the experiment on Friday simply resulted in the verdict that that a more complete trial made under more favorable circumstances mußt be held before a judgment could be definitely passed.