A NEW MILK-STRAINER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 21

A NEW MILK-STRAINER.

A LOCAL INVENTION. A matter of vast importance to the dairying industry and the general public? is the securing of a supply of clean, pure milk from which all foreign matter has been eliminated. The systeni generally adopted is to strain the milk directly "it has been taken from the cotvs. and the strainer hitherto in general use has been of that design where the milk is poured into a receptacle at the bottom of which is a, wire gauze wherein the foreign matter accumulates. With a little thought, it will be seen that if a, larjre quantity of milk is to be dealt with the amount- of. ..dirt which will accumulate will probably bssomething considerable, and the result willj be that as every succeeding bucket of milk is poured directly on to this wire the dirt thereon will be broken up and forced into solution and carried through the wire into the milk in a form in which it is impossible to be extracted. " To obviate this difficulty an invention has been made by which the milk, as it is strained, does not produce any friction upon the dirt. The inventor is Mr A. M'Donald. who has been experimenting with and perfecting the idea for a couple of year* r»ast. The principle is that the milk shall percolate through an upright *rauze, while the dirt will have previously fallen to the bottom, and wi'l consequently bo undisturbed by the pressure of milk. The strainer is divided into

"two compartmer.ts, and the one ' into -whicK the milk- is first poured is provided with a " baffle-bottom," set at an angle, so that milk being poured into it flows down and underneath, carrying with it all sediment' which then falls" into "a "trap there provided and is altogether undisturbed by succeeding buckets of milk being poured in. The milk then rises against the upright gauze, through which ;t; t percolates, continually draining off from the surface in obedience to the law of liquid finding its own level. On^Saturday a trial was made with the new sti-ainer at a l local dairy farm. The milk of some 28 cows, amounting to about 24 gallons, was put through, after, which the dirt trap was' cleaned, and" a fair .amount of foreign matter extracted. It is contended that with the old system of ahorizontal gauze this dirt would h!ave beer* pulverised by_the falling-- milk and; carried through the sieve in solution, consequently making the milk tainted. Trials nav<* previous}}- been held at which Government inspectors have been present, and- thess gentlemen have spoken in the very highe-^ terms of commendation, of the invention, and approval has . been expressed of cho devjee by the^ Prime Minister .(Sir Josepjr Ward) and" tlie Hon. "Thomas Mackenzie. Saturday's trial was witnessed by a number of gentlemen interested in the, dairying industry and- the -question -of pur* food. The Kev._A. .Chodowski was present and. after witnessing J:he trial said that h& was convinced that the strainer exceptionally gcoc' device and ' di 3 all that was claimed for it. The' makers of the machine are Messrs Brown and Glaister. of Princes street South, and they would bo pleased ~to conduct trials at the dairies of any persons interested.