MILKING MACHINES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1446, 22 May 1912, Page 10

MILKING MACHINES.

A DAIRY ASSOCIATION OPINION. - MUST BE KEPT CLEAN. "In tho quality of milk supplied to factories," says the secretary of. the South Island Dairy Association, in his annual report, "wo aro greatly handicapped by the large use of milking machines. Butter factories are, it is -said, getting over the difficulty of faulty milk by-pasteurisation, but it is doubtful'if this is always "effective, but doubtless it largely helps to minimiso the bad effects of faulty milk. Cheoso factories, however, sulfer badly from milking machines and the consequent faulty milk. Here it. must be said that some users of milking machines are able to, and do, keep their machines clean and supply good milk; but the bulk of those using machines do not, and probably cannot, keep them clean, and send faulty milk to factories. So much is this tho case that many of our cheese-makers who usually competed at our shows are not doing so now, and the reason they-give is that they have too many milking machino suppliers. It will also be found that tlio factories who lire at the head of our grading competitions have either no milking machine suppliers or only a few. Tho milking machine is a great labour-saver, doubtless, but tho difficulty iu keeping the rubber tubes and parts dean is very great. A man lo do it must have a perfect genius for ■ cleanliness and an unlimited supply of water. Probably tho bad order in which milking machines siro Kept is duo to want of knowledge of proper cleaning methods and the upkeep of the machine; and, if so, our dairy instructors must be called upon to. enter upon a systoinat-ic campaign of instruction and c'ioso and constant inspection of all machines. As a- labour-saving appliance it is so valuable that such a course is advisable, even if it cost a good deal. If (hat proved ineffective, the only course is for dairy farmers to combine and import married couples with families, or boys from the agricultural districts of Home i Country to do the milking on shares or for wage 3. There are plenty of such willing to come from Homo if passages wcro arranged and provided, ami in any caso such a move would greatly assist dairy farmers, whether .they used machines or not."