HAND v. MACHINE MILKING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12564, 16 July 1910, Page 3

HAND v. MACHINE MILKING

As reports and rumours of heavy los;es through using milking machines aro at the present time considerably agitating the dairy community in various parts of the Dominion, a- brief review of the facts which led up to the , present milking machine boom may be .of interest. For considerably over one hundred years attemps have been made to introduce .a successful mechanical milker and it is now generally recognised that the- first really successful maI chine both from a mechanical and economic stand-point, was the Lawrence-Kennedy-Gillies which was introduced eight years ago to New Zealand. For •closo on six years the L.K.G. was the only pebble on the beach and so conclusively proved it had solved the great problem of successful mechanical milking that the immense field opened up was recognised and taken advantage of |by others with, the result that during tiia past two years well on to a score of machines mostly of local origin have been energetically exploited on the New Zealand market. It is worthy of record that while the rest of the world took nearly one hund'ed years of experiment to produce the first successful milker, New Zealand has produced nearly a .score of machines in less than 20 months. In no other country in the world can such a development be found and it is just a question whether these developments have not been too rapid with the result of a certain degree of failure being registerd on the milking machine barometer. The reason for these abnormal developments are not far to s-e-p-k, and are found in the urgent demandr for mechanical assistance to overcome the extreme difficulties experienced in securing competent labour at reasonable rats. The L.K.G., having established after six years' practical use tho possibility of producing a successful milker the rest was easy because the demand for milking machines was established years before the L.K.G. .came on the horizon and increased annually as the labour conditions became worse. Tho Public were therefore ripe for the general adoption of • milking machines and eagerly accepted everything offered thus creating the present extraordinary boom in mechanical milking appliances. In America} Great Britain, Denmark, and even nearer home in Australia the conditions are reversed. The labour trouble, is not present, and the demand for labour-saving 'appliances is therefore much less making their introduction comparatively difficult and sloav. Outside of New Zealand the dairy countries of the world only know and recognise the Lawrence-Kennedy-Gillies as the one successful mechanical milker on the market. Owing to the rush to supply the extraordinary demand in New "Zealand it is only to be expected that an element of ignorance and error should creep in resulting in varying degrees of failure which must have a tendency to check the present boom. All things find 'their normal level with time and because some machines may not bo successful it is unfair to rusW to tho other extreme and condemn all milking machines. The- L.K.G. is one of the striking examples of the survival of the fittest, as after eight years on the market the number of users continues to increase in spite of competition. Today over 1500 machines are in u~e in New Zealand estimated to be milking upwards of 50,000 cows daily, which is equal to over ten per cent, of the dairy cows in the Dominion. The Agents report that sales during the past wesson increased'by 30 per cent .while ciders in imnd for the ensuing season aheady exceed the total sales for the previous period. These facts, combined w-fch the testimony from over /00 satisfied u.sns, many of whom have used ihe r/iaclnm-*. for "five, six and sev,en years, proved that the L.K.G. at least has .iota failure in comnarison to hand milking