CHATS WITH FARMERS

Otago Witness, Issue 1866, 26 August 1887, Page 6

CHATS WITH FARMERS

MR JOHN BUTEL'S DAIRY FACTORY NEAR ARROWTOWN. ;

(By Ouk Own Reporter.)

De Laval's Patent Cream Separator— lts ad-

vantages— Ease of Working— Seven Thousand Eevolntions per- Minute— Capacity for Work— From 60 to 70 Gallons of Milk Treated per Hour— The Churn— The Separator, in Cheese Factories— Water the Best Motive Power for Separator— The Water Wheel-Rye as Cattle Food— The Corncrusher' Be Laval's Separator. Butter making and dairying are fondly considered by most people as .beyond , the reach of modern mechanical and chemical invention and innovation. Though it is true that these operations have longer than ; almost any other domestic occupation preserved their pristine simplicity, they have had to give way at last. Cream separators and salicylic acid are now invading many dairies, and though still far from being generally adopted, both are finding their votaries. Fortunately, however, the mechanical invention makes the chemical acid superfluous, and so great are its advantages thatjthey, combined with a knowledge of the proper manipulation of the machines, only require to be known and understood to secure their almost universal introduction' into all large dairies. A Short Description of the Machine will help to make further references to its performances more easily and' correctly understood. The parts are not many, and anyone endowed with an ordinary amount of mechanical skill will be able to fit up and work the machine. Themilk,'as it comes from the cow, is poured warm into a receiver, from which it is fed into a small intermediate receiver by a. tap -provided with, a selfregulating float, so that; only 'a .certain quantity of the milk flows in in a constant and regular stream into the separator. This quantity may be > altered, as thick or thin cream is desired, by a gauge in the' intermediate receiver, from which the milk runs into the separator proper. This ' is > a strong iron bowl about 18in in diameter; with a ; neck about 6in high, having an opening about 4in wide. About 3in from the top rim. of, the neck is a round hole scarcely one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and at the top of the rim a groove resembling a saw-cut about one-eighth of an inch deep, and certainly, not wider than an ordinary hand-saw would make. The milk is forced through the small round hole by the extreme force of the revolutions, while the cream is discharged through the groove in the rim at the top of the neck. From' this it will be seen that the respective specific gravity separates the cream and the milk. The former, being the lighter of the two, flies to the top, while the latter, being the heavier, cannot rise so high, and is forced through the hole at a lower level. Bound the neck fits a collar-shaped tin dish, provided with a spout for the milk, and closely upon this an exactly similar tin dish for the cream. These . collar-shaped tin , dishes fit upon a bowl-shaped stand, which is a fixture, and within which the separator proper revolves, and this completes the whole apparatus. The Advantages of the Separator are as manifold as they are great. It separates the cream from the milk in cold weather as well as in hot. When inspecting the machine at 9 o'clock on Tuesday morn-, ing last the thermometer stood at about 80deg Fahr. The oil, the taps, and the bearings had to be thawed. But, once set in motion, the machine started work and did its required task as well and perfectly as on the warmest summer day. The cream is always even, and of course perfectly sweet, while the milk, being quite new, when fed to calves makes them as glossy in the hair and as sleek in the hide as if they were drinking it from the teat. The effect of the skim.-milk upon calves is nothing short of surprising. The butter made from the cream got by the separator is superior in every respect to that made in the ordinary way. It is as hard and solid as can be de- j sired, and therefore stands the effect of j changes in the temperature very well with- j out any loss to its flavour or general quality. One churning is as regular as another, and so is the butter turned out, and the person in charge can. correctly estimate from previous experience how long the butter will keep before it has to be salted down. There is little to Clean in the shape of dishes, and what cleaning there is is easily done. ATI that is required is that the milk shall go into the* separator warm — as nearly at blood heat as possible. All the annoyances from milk getting thick in summer before the cream rises, from its declining to do so in winter, and the trouble of warming dairies, are done away with by the use of the separator. , i The Ease with Which the Separator Works is marvellous when a proper motive power is available. In Mr Butel's estimation there is nothing to beat water power. Steam power, when well regulated, may answer as well, but the main object is to have a constantly equal and perfectly regular power. The success of Working the separator depends upon this condition. For this reason horse power is not suitable, and not to be recommended. Mr Butel has now used the separator every day for nine months with perfect

satisfaction/ 'Etofing^"that l ''time f^has nJ 'owtliing for- repair, noraias~iweqmrecP{g| other expenditure beyond that rendew .necessary in oiling- the~bearings.- But the* he treats the machine in, a common,^ •manner. , ,It,is,fstarted gra4ually ! <;^h<3a'|| ! , desired speefl has been attainled^itjis k"epL iVand'is allowed to run^d'owrTa^'it^ started. ■ - 7000 Revolutions per Minute is its, maximum, but it acts quite as well at j a.soniewhat reduced' speed, putting thronrt a correspondingly less quantity of milk in , given time. It is surprising to see t^ stream of milk that is forced through the small hole, giving an index to the speed & which . the machine works. 'A proper in<ji. catorregistering^the -number of^revolutioiu per minute is provided with the 'machine, $5 that' it may N be worked vat any desiipedspe^ The size' of the holes for the discharge.of tin milk and the" cream dahriot be altered, anj the quantity put through the separator i&j given time, as well as the quality of the cream; and milk, is .'regulated/ by a gang fixed to the intermediate receiver. But it stands to reason that the greater the spe^ the more whole milk may be treated in t given time. ( The capacity vfor^ work maybe estimated from the fact that "

From GO to 7O Gallons per Minute B may be put through with perfect satisfacticiH — that is, taking ©ff "all the cream,' H Separators worked by hand are also giving ■ very good results, when the revolutions ciH the machine are well regulated, and may b;H salely recommended to, all; small farmers. H Mr Butel attends to the separator, which, ■ although it has now been in daily use fot Bj nine months, is almost as gpod as new.^nd B the cream when separated is Sanded foritj 8 final manipulation in the .churn, to Mr I Butel, whose reputation for' the excellence B of ' the article produced dates "back to the 9 dark ages of the district, now some 23 yean Bj ago, when people waited" their turn to be M served at the rate of 5s per' pound, and were 9 often glad to get half a pound at a time; B nor has that reputation suffered in any^H spect. There are, on an average,, from 18 to B 20 cows in milk nearly all the year round, B and 'the .butter is mostly sold in advance ß before it is made in the local markets, being B one of the choice brands sought after in all fi parts pf the district. Churning takes place B twice a week generally, and amongst the im. n plements in the dairy •■ H The Churn 8 deserves mention. It is of 'Mr Butel's own I construction and invention, combining the I cradle and the churn principle. In a barrel are two revolving arms, with longitudinal boards about Gin broad fitting closely on the sides of the cask. Being set in motion they ca^se the cream to fall , in,to; the centre of .the,, cask, without in any way beating-it. .The churn answers all the requirements, and the butter is soon obtained,- • The • further ; treatment of the butter is completed 1 in the ordinary way, and besides its fine quality is known for its' 1 liberal weight. ' , ' ; The Usefulness of the Separator to Cheese Factories is very apparent, for after all the cream has been taken off the milk exactly the quantity necessary fox any- desired (-richness of the cheese to be manufactured may be returned, when price and quality need be no further object of guesswork or speculation. Besides, by using fresh or nearly,^ fresh milk, that abomination, -\ sour " cheese, may become totally unknown ?in 'the market. Colonial cheese — at least', that sold, in the countryleaves much to be desired, most of it being more like compressed sawdusttfl&youred with sour milk than anything else; 'Mr Butel has no hesitation in saying that j, 1 / V Water Power is the' Best Motor for the Separator— , „ in fact, horse power would not answer at all, as the secret of success depends entirely upon the regularity of the.revoluiions. Any- I one intending to use the separator would do I well to pay a visit to Mr Butel's dairy, where I he will find everything fixed and working to the utmost satisfaction that mechanical ingenuity can attain, while Mr Butel i 3 ever ready to give any desired, information, ; The Water Wheel is 12ft in diameter by 4ft in width. A lever in the dairy, which a child s can work with one hand, turns on and shuts off the water, and as the same lever works both the stream gate and the sluice or bye-wash gate at the same time, a constant and regular current is secured in a moment.. Holes* in an upright of the dairy indicate the quantity of water turned on, and a peg secures the lever at the exact amount required. The water wheel, having rather a low fall, is a combination of a bucket and undershot wheel, and may be . worked up to between three arid four horse power. Besides the separator, the wheel drives also the churn, a lathe, a grindstone, a circular saw, and a seed and corncrusher, the whole of which are placed in different divisions in or under the floor of the same shed. Under the shed is also a cellar, opeD on two sides to the air, for the cream and butter, and the building is further sheltered against the effects of the sun by a dense plantation of firs and poplars. I have had previously occasion' to refer to Mr ButeVs mechanical skill, and anyone visiting hi' farm can scarcely open or shut a gate or j turn in any direction without evidences of \ its practical application meeting him every where. In everything there is clearly appa; rent purpose, order, and system of no mean degree ; and it is not too much to say that, taking it altogether,' his farm may be described as a model farm, and when it is added that these qualities are worthily backed by Mrs Butel's careful and indnstrious management, the success that has attended their efforts to get on need not be . wondered at. Mr Butel, by way of expenment, has several patches of land under a crop of Rye for Cattle Food, and also some intended for seed. The advantages of rye to farmers in this district are that a green crop can always be relied upon, and when sown about December, ana cut green, it will last for two or three year»< Most other grasses, and oats and turnips. have been found to be far too precarious to be depended upon for anything like a paying return. Rye has previously been tried here, and has done very well, and should the pfl| sent experiment be successful a filhp very likely be given to dairying products, and the district rendered independent os

rnSbntter. Mrßatel speaks in high terms of the usefulness and advantages of The Corncrusher, feVh is one of Bentall patent. By it he f'mates that about two-thirds of the corn fA I to pigs and horses is saved, as it can be frnshed to any degree of fineness without K» ground to meal, and he values the JuMjhine as one of his best investments on the farm.