HOME SEPARATION

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1724, 15 April 1913, Page 8

HOME SEPARATION

TREATMENT OP SEP ABATOR. ] The treatment of the separator is the ' subject of notice by Mr. U. it. Valentine in tho couri'c of all article on Home separation written tor the Department of Agriculture's Journal. The fii>t- two or three gallons of skim milk should, says Mr. Valentine, be returned to tho fecd-liink, as it has always a fairly large percentage of butter-fat left in it. Whilo the best temperature fyr separating is tho natural heat of tho milk when it comes straight from the cow, good results will be obtained with fresh milk not colder than 86 degrees Tahr. If the milk from one milking is left over till tho next, it will bo necessary to fioat it to SO degrees Falir. before separating, and it will be all the better if held at this temperature for a few minutes to ensure a thorough heating of the fat-globules. Cokl milk will give less cream with a higher test, but will mean n very serious loss of fat in tho skimmilk. This is caused by the increased viscosity, or stickiness, of the cold milk, which prevents a clean separation of the fat. The amount of milk fed into tho bowl is regulated by a float, which will act welt with'the tank supplied with the machine; but if » larger tank is required the pressure on the float, will be greater, and care must.be taken not to feed tho machine too fast, as this will result in a thin cream and loss in the -skim-milk. Underfeeding is also to be avoided. An uneven feed will cause an accumulation of, thick cream in the howl, and a consequent lossiin skimming. -Maintain a uniform feed, speed, and temperature throughout the run, and flush out at tlio finish with.,a. gallon of skim-milk or clean warmwater, to force all'the cream out of the bowl. Wash the separator immediately after separating is finished, and do not forget to keep tho frame sweet and clean as well as the bowl and tinware!;; Set the machine to deliver a cream containing not less than 10 per cent, of butter-fat, but do not be surprised if the test should vary a few points either above or below that from time to time, without altering the cream-screw. The test will be higher if the machine is.run overspeed, tho milk too cold, tho feed not. sufficient or irregular, and the -cows are going off in milk, etc. Thin cream will result from slow speed, overfeeding, fresh cows, cold weather affecting cows, too much flushing of tho bowl, aud tho machine running rough, etc. A separator which is in good order should run with n smooth musical hum, and without vibration, and should deliver the cream and skim-milk in a steady stream. Vibration aud noise are signs of something wrong, and should be seen to at once. The more common troubles are —frame not being level, bowl-spindle bent, a broken spring in the top-bearing throwing the bowl .out. of .plumb, bearings worn and having too much play. A frequent' cause of, tl'oublo in disc.'; mil- i chines is through the discs getting -worn j with use, and fitting loosely on tho centro pillar, thus causing vibration. This can be overcomo by putting an extra disc in. the bowl. i A separator set to deliver a 40-per-cent. cream in spring with fresh cows will give a much richer cream in the autumn, all other conditions being equal, and will require to bo altered a little. A sample of skim-milk should bo tested frequently. This can best be done by punching a small hole in the shoot, if one is used, and catching tho drip. If thero is no shoot, a largo jug, or billy, cfm bo held under tho skim-milk spout at frequent intervals duriug the whole run, and ' a sample taken 'from it after it has been thoroughly mixed. Tho fact that no cream rises in a sample of skim-milk is no proof that it contains no butter-fat. The argument that "tho calves and pigs got it, anyhow." is, after all, only an excuse for bad work. '" Tho old raying that "if a thing is worth doing at-'all it is worth doing .well" still holds "good. If a farmer is. going to .separate his own milk, lie should do it as it should be done, and lie will bo suprised how interesting it will become. By all meansi rear good calves and pigs, but make a business proposition of that also, and remember that butter-fat at Is. per pound is rather expensive pig-feed.