MILKING-MACHINES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1465, 13 June 1912, Page 8

MILKING-MACHINES.

DEFENDERS OF THE SYSTEM. . The milking machine came in for a rather severe handling in the annual report of the South Island Dairy Association, but the annual meeting was not in entire agreement with the report on this question. During a short discussion on the refer- ; ences in the report, Mr. D. R. Hunter said he ditl not see eye to eye with the secretary in regard to milking machines. He was a great user of these machines himself. He used four- machines in milking 80 or 90 coivs, and considered them a great blessing. If it had not been fon the machines he would have had to go out of it. It was the same with other large suppliers at Edendale. In his own' case, it took a man over four hours in the morning to clean the machines. He believed that the machines, in the hands of a man who used them properly, would produce milk that was betUr than the average hand milk. They might as well close the association up if they were to give up the machines. ("Hear, hear.") The milking-machines had come to slay and they might as well try to got rid of the steam , engine. No doubt, tiiev must be kept clean, and in that respect the clause in the report bearing on the subject would do gcod. Mr. Bacon said he could not altogether endorse the remarks made by Mr. Hunter. He thought there would be si.me trouble in the future oyer the milkingmachines. These machines were comim* into very general use now, and were getting into tho hands of careless individuals. The only remedy was either for factory managers to go round and inspect the machines, or for inspectors to go round. There must be some inspection to keep the machines up to the mark. Mr. Ward said ho thought it was nnito wrong to condemn the machines. It vas the men who handled the machines who should be condemned. Mr. Wilson said he thought that if tho directors would uphold their managers and tell them to lake nothing but first-class milk, the machines would'be kept clean. Other speakers supported the use of the milking-machine if it was taken care of and kept clean. Mr. Mahcr said milking-machine l ; must be kept clean. It was absurd to suggest that factory managers should go roni'il to inspect the machines. A machine might bo clean to-day and dirty to-morrjw. It seemed to him that proper supervision was not made for taking milk into factories. If the machines were not in use the dairying industry would go to the dogs. As tho representative of a new factory he wished to express his thanks to the association for its assistance. Their factory could not have kept going without the help of the association. Mr. Foster hoped the portion of tho report condemning tho milking-machines would bo withdrawn. II; was 'possible with steam plant to clean a machine in ten minutes. ("No.") The chairman (Mr. John Gray) said they had had enough now about the milk-ing-machines. He did not mind saying • that he was going in for a milkingmachine himself. When he told this recently to one of the principal checscmakers the advice ho got was this: "Keep your machine clean, and clean to kill, which meant to clean with hot water. As for hand-milking, it was necessary to wash tho hands after milking each c.w. ITe knew what milking was; he had been milking all his life. "The Power behind the Farm" is the title of an interesting booklet published by the manufacturers ol' "Anderson'' Oil Fingines. It. shows the many uses of these splendid New Zealand-made Engines and tlieir superiority over imported nvil;c3. Farmers will find this booklet profitable reading. A copy will be sent to any addles on Application to Ancler. Boas, Ltd,, Christohurch or Wellington, 1'.,.