MECHANICAL MILKING

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6176, 6 April 1907, Page 3

MECHANICAL MILKING

THE 3IAOHIXE IX TAif.AXAia, XNOEEASIXG IX rOPI'LARITV. At iljo end of January there were AW milking machines in use on 225 farms in the colony. The major iioridon of the installations were in tho Taranaki province. That tho machine has conui to stay is not now n matter of speculation: experience has proved that it is a practical solution of tho labour difficulty in dairying, '['he most conclusive proof of the success of the machine is not so much that farmers <iro satisfied with it, but that the manufacturers of butter and cheese declare that where ic is handled properly it is enabling a much hotter conditioned milk to bo supplied them than where tho milk is drawn by hand. Some factory managers taking a special interest in mechanical milking have instituted tho practice of chocking quality by tho curd test, and in „ hinoty-fivo per cent, of cases tho best curds have been those from herds milked by machine. And it is a significant fact that during tho hot spoils in tho past Taranaki summer practically no milk drawn by a machine had to be refused, while hand-drawn milk had to bo refused on numerous occasions. Advocates of mechanical milking declare that it will yet prove tho greatest factor in indue, ing dairy farmers to adopt sanitary methods of handling milk, the great requirement' of the industry. It is imperative that the machine should bo kept thoroughly clean; that the pulsators should be removed after ovory milking from their metal attachments and washed in hot and allowed to stand in cold water. Unless this is done the fanner will soon bo told of it by the factory manager, but there is a still more cogent reason why this should not be neglected. Fatty matter is most destructive to rubber, and if the pulsators—which arc subject to the principal wear and tear—uro allowed to stand with particles of bnttcr-fat adhering to them thoir life will be very short. It will probably mean that they will have to ho replaced at least twice as often ns whore they arc kept thoroughly clean. The cost of a set of pulsators is £2, so that tho benefits of cleanliness appeal to farmers in tho most direct manner. Apart from this enforced cleanliness, there is a general tendency towards increased interest in dairy farming where the machines are installed. There is one drawback to the machine, however—and we are speaking of tho L.K.G., which is tho only typo at present in general use—and that is the difficulty it presents in facilitating the weighing of tho milk of individual cows. Divided buckets are being made so that the milk of each cow may bo kept separate, but this entails drawing off one lot of milk by way of a tap, which means a certain loss of time, and loss of time is the only tangible excuse a farmer has for not making a daily test of the weight of milk, though the. advantages of testing are so great that hardly any loss of time in this connection should be considered a drawback. Wo may take it, however, that tho demand for a style of bucket which will enable each cow’s milk to bo ’weighed with as little loss of time as possible will lead to an improvement being introduced which will solve the difficulty. Given this the mechanical milker should prove an absolute success. A very satisfactory feature in tho work of introducing milking machines to this colony is that the agents, jealous of tho reputation of their machines, endeavour in trace every plant not- being worked to the

best advantage, and by frequent visits In the earele-.s user introduce him as far as possible to a proper method of management, ily this means they ere unconsciously acting litt■ rolo oi dairy inspectors. Wlim keen computation comes into the business—as it is promisin'; to do in tint immediate future —we may anticipate an army of expertn working among dairy farmers endeavouring to tiring about more sanitary methods in the drawing and handling of the raw product. The milking machine— in reducing the cost of production and raising the condition of the milk lining delivered at our factories—is having a splendid influence on the industry in general.