MILKING MACHINES AND DISEASE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1322, 28 December 1911, Page 8

MILKING MACHINES AND DISEASE.

_SAFER THAN MAX!) IIITJCIXG. Anions the various injuries trhiclt the milking nmchiuo is alleged, by some to iullict on tin; cow, are the charges that it causes haemorrhage, that it causes nininmitis, or inflammation of the udder, mut that it is a modi (tin for (lie spread of contagious mautinilis. These statements have been refuted time and again, but in these days, whoa mure and mure dairymen a>te looking to mechanical milking to solve the problem of securing adequate and competent labour, it is well that the ease for the machine in vesiieet to these detrimental charges should In- analysed as to what degree of truth there is in them. This is best done by Iho trained veterinarian, and in the latent issue of the "Agricultural Gazette" of New South ■Wales, .Air. Jinx Henry. M.K.C.V.S., goes thoroughly into the question. As to the machine causing haemorrhage, Mr. Henry points out, that no machine which was responsible for such obvious injury could exist on the market at the present day. With regard to it causing mamniitis," ho proceeds first to consider what this affection is. Essentially, he says, it is an inflammation of tlio udder, but the causes which may lead to it are numerous, and common amongst them are bruising and wounding, overstocking, chill, and invasion by organisms, such as the tubercle bacillus, or the streptococcus of manimitis. This invasion l.y organisms of some sort, or other occurs in practically every instance of manimitis. There is nothing in tho action of the well-con-structed milking machine of Ihe present day which can of ilself bring about these causes; nor can the machine, if properly looked after, infect tho udder with microorganisms. Herein we come to tho really serious charge made against the milking machine— that it spreads contagious mnin- ' mitis—and there is no doubt that in the condition in which the milking machine is too frequently kept it will spread it. Xorjs it difficult to understand the reason why this is so, and why in some- cases it appears to' spread the disease moro rapidly than occurs in (he case of handmilking. In a herd milked by hand, the chief agents in the spread of the disease arc tho hands of the milkers, which, becoming moistened with infected milk while milking a disused cow, are next used, without washing, to milk a healthy cow, often with disastrous results. Stilt the milkers', hands aro washed occasionally, at all events between milkings, and they are used for mauy other purposes (luring the day. so that most of the infectious material is removed; but. in (ho case of ;t machine cup'which'is allowed to remain in a dirty or partially-cleaned condition, thero is not even that alleviation, and it remains a perfect breeding ground for any organisms of tho disease which may have .been deposited unon it.' In this way tho dirly milking machine cups are a very potent influence- in spreading the disea.se.

Ho much for the dirty machine, what of clam .■ippliiinces? Air. Henry has no hesitation in saying that the clean liinchiiifl will not spread the, disease even us. much as dean hands. He points to the experience at tho Hawkesbury Agricultural Collcfro, to which institution, lie has been visiting veterinary officer for some years, a.s a very line example of that fact. It iiiis to be remembered, however, as ho points out, that no cow with a defective udder, or ilrjwiu],' any lesion likely to bo due to mammitis was, as far as possible, allowed to be milked byniatliine at the college. This is » point dairymen should beur iu mind, for to deliberately milk a diseased cow with a machine, then to milk: a healthy one; and blamo the .machine for spreading the disease if the healthy cow contracts it, is distinctly unfair. .Tho Maine is on the farmer for.not keeping his diseased cows separata from his healthy herd. And yet, says' Jfr 1 . Henry, one must qualify that to y. certain extent, because there are many cases of contagious- maminitis which are not obvious to the layman, but require some', skill and knowledgo ,in detection, and in any district in which contagious manimitis is present it would pay the farmer to have his herd examined by a l|ii{ililic(l. veterinarian, with a view to putting out any suspicious cows. This applies not only in connection with ma-chine-milking, for contagions mammitis is one of tho most insidious' and troublesome diseases a, man eiin got into his herd. Although wo may say, Mr. Henry continues, that these diseases are not carried' or spread by milking machines property looked aft or, yet there is a. condition found in the udders of cows due lo machines built on defective principles; It is noticed that sbnio few days after the milking machines arc put on the cows appcar to bo going off their milk, and the udders are noticed to swell, become somawhat bard, hot,'nnd painful; the cow objects to the machine being put ou ( and ii\ the. teat is examined afler milking it will lje seen that it has the appearance of having hud a ligature round the top, so thai: the circulation of tho blood has bean stopped. If by way of experiment the thumb or finger is placed iu the machine cup it will tend to become numb, swollen, and painful, owing to Iho continual suction and iho pressure of Iho top ring of the cup. In such cases drastic- treatment of the cow's udder is unnecessary. If the milking machines aro discontinued and the udders b,'ithe<l with lvann water arid gently rubbed with olho oil, they will conic back to tho normal, although the milk supply is likfcly to be l-essencd. Now. this affection can hardly be, described as a iiKimmiti.?, but is rather a condition of congestion; but there is little doubt that' an udder so affected would present a very favourable field for ths invasion of micro-organi.-nis. and so nn attack of mammilis liiisht result. This swelling is certainlydun to.the milking muchine, but. the best types of 'machine will no I, and cannot, cause iI, since it is due to two factors—a. continual pressure and the presence of a. metal ring at (lie top of the cup.- The m'achins with nn. intermittent actiou, having air admission, would be incapable of pausing such a congestion. Mr. Henry's conclusions arc that ■ (he milking machine will not cause injury or disease, or spread disease,'providing (1) that it is kept scrupulously elpjin ; 12\ that it i> not used on diseased cows; (?>) that it is of the. right lype.