PRODUCING CLEAN MILK.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1729, 21 April 1913, Page 10

PRODUCING CLEAN MILK.

=•' EXAMPLES WOJtfH STUDYING. ' Apropos of tho coinpluints which havo ■ been made, by tho dairy authorities of ,'New Zealand- of late as to the want of "care, in , itlio'; milk supply of tho dairy factories, an example of what might bo done by .dairy farmers is outlined in an article in a recent number of the "Bri-tish-Board of Agriculture," entitled "The Production, of Clean. Milk on Two Large Dairy Farms." .' Tho herds named aro thoi'iKelmscott herd of purebred dairy .Shorthorns,.. owned by Messrs. H. W; Hobbs and Sons, and Lord liayleigh's herd oft-mixed cattle, maintained on tho farm at l'erling, Withani, Essex, whence the milk'of 900 cows is sent daily to the AVest End of London. Messrs. Hobbs also send "much to London daily from than 200 cows, and they farm an ami ot' 214-1 acres. Hero careful milk "records have been kept lor ninny years, and every cow's milk is weighed daily. Tho milkers havo clean smocks twico .a week, , the smocks being provided and tho washing being dono by tho firm. Tho men are-rerpiiral to wash itheir hands .before.and 'after each milking, and it is ,proposed;.to,.provide them with paper or washable cans. During most ol the year tho c6ws'are"all groomed before milking, 'and tho udders aro washed. Tho tails, udder's, and hindquarters aro kept clip- ;' pdcl.' . The' buildings to which the milk is taken are cut off. from the cow-houses, 8(j that' cattle do not pass them, and thero very little,other traffic. _ The milk is pa-stuerised, but is simply cooled. The averago'milk yield per cow per year for the three years ending September 30, 1011,: .at. Kelmscott,,Was for 131 cows 60151b., this' being the lowest average for-mally-years owing to tho summer drought, j The average yield per cow for 1910 was j 63301b; .(lOJlb: to the gallon), and for 1900 j 65001b., .'i'lie average yield of an averago farm cow in Great Britain is, perhaps, 45001b. During the past three r years"ffie're havo been on an average fifteen co.w's milking at Kelmscott, yielding - about 1000 gallons or over. Rose 26th yielded 13,9031b. from June 10, 1901, to June 10,' 1905. At Tring Show she gave 7211b.' 1 60z., ii twenty-four hours. Blossonr'Sth," between December 28, 1898, and . September' 2, 1908, produced ten calves., I Her. average annual yield for ten years , wa5,.80191b.,f and her total yield 86,5231b. ! The'-herd ' lias been bred for milk sinco j 1878| , and' cows and heifer calves are rarely purchased. At Terling about . £3000 has. been spent on the construction i of! modern cow-houses of an excellent! type, and some building is in progress, j AH the houses are kept white-washed and | disinfected. ' It is a rule that the cows : ; shall; be'kept clean by grooming with | currycomb and brush twico a day. All j . cb'wS.'.a^..'. 'inspected monthly by a v-eter- j inary surgeon, who is under contract to .- attend at any time_ whpn_ called upon. . Evefy milker is provided with two white' coats and aprons, which must bo changed j onco a week. Tho cows arc chiefly Shorthorns., Thero is a herd of Hotsteins- and tirossbreds kept: An effort llia'a been .made to bring in good milkers, I but extravagant prices have not beer, paid. Breeding is done wholly with an ■eye to inilk. : 'i'lio yield of every cow is ■measured ouce a week. The cost of- food is not so high as might, bo supposed, ; "being about 3s. 6d., including hay, but ! rtot 'mucli hay is used.' Of course, It ! would require more money than the ever- | age dairy fanner can afford to provide ! ;such an equipment in tlio way of build- ; ings, but -where cows are kept in the j open,.' as th'ey are in New Zealand, such j expenditure is iiot required. The meth- ; ods adopted to ensuro cleanliness it. j milking are such as might bo carried out,! \Hth somo modifications in regard to tho ! tihio and labour' available. Olio lias only to Jiot'o what a difference thero is, however, between, tho best methods and the careless style, of dairying that is too frequently adopted.