LAWRENCE-KENNEDY MILKING MACHINE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2051, 11 April 1907, Page 4

LAWRENCE-KENNEDY MILKING MACHINE.

Mr Alexander Miller, of Hunlly Farm, Dundee, in » l>»P°r recently road beforo the Glasgow and os o Scotland Agricultural Discussion .Society, gavo liis oxporionco of milking macliinos us folows:

MECHANICAL MILKER. Tho "Murclilond” was my first venture, and I worlcod it continuously for some years with varying success. It milked tho cows fanl> well, but. it was so troublosomo to koop cloan that it created .la or rather than saved it. Then, it had a peculiar effect on tho cows’ teats. Working by continuous suction it caused tho skin of the teat to adhere to tho metallic lining of the cup, an< thus interfered with the blood circulation, so that, when the cups wore taken off, tho teats >\oio o <n blue. However, it worked away quietly, and never spoke hack and for that I liked it—so I kept it going, hoping against hope that something better would turn up. When at last the Lawrence Kennedy machine appeared with its pulsating movement, I saw at once that it solved ono working difficulty the I interference with tho blood circulation. Tho “catch” and “relieve of the pulsating movement—so closely resembling tho action of the oalf s month sucking—made it evident that there would ho no more blue teats at any rate, and the rubber tubing of* the Lawrence Kennedy machine looked as if it would be much oasior kept in order. So I bad it fitted up experimentally at Huntly Farm, and, after three months’ trial of it there,l was so well pleased witli its work that I ordered an installation for my othor farm, and for almost two years now- I have had this machine working twice daily on two separate farms,'and managed by two separate staffs, milking twelve •ow;at a time on the one farm, eight at a time on the other, I liavo thus boon having experience in duplicate form, and, having been for years in the habit of keeping an accurate note of tho milk lirougld from tho out-farm, I am in a position to compare results with years of hand milking. Taking the year ending loth November last, and comparing it with tho out-turn of 1904, with tho same number of cows milking, viz., fifty, and fed and treatod in pretty much the same manner, I find there is a balance in favor of tho machine period of 187 gallons. "When I compare tho average of the four years before 1904, tho balance is 19G gallons. This is not voTy much per cow if spread over twelve months, hut it is on tho right sido. I am not able to give such accurate figures for Huntly, as for a time some were milked by hand, and tho milk was all totalled together, hut I can compare the out-turn of butter during twelve months of machine milking and twelve months of milking by hand, and hero again tho out-run is slightly in favor of the machineperiod. When I made my calculations previous to ordering an installation, I did so on the supposition that possibly the machine might do almost as well as hand milking, bui the result lias bettered my expectations. Then, I find another point gradually coming into prominence. The cows

ACTUALLY THRIVE BETTER when machine-milked. Almost all take kindly to it from the very first. It is so regular and gentle in its action that even the most nervous cow soon forgets her nerves. The cow knows exactly what to expect when the machine is set agoing at her teats, hut it would he a very knowing cow that could tell beforehand what to expect from a hand of hand milkers, especially if there had been some quarrel in the kitchen or on the way to the byres. Of course, with two separate installations, rendered necessary by the distance between the farm steadings, I alii not ' 1 vorably placed for working with the utmost economy. I have two ngincs to keep going where one could suffice, and I have one operator and one stripper more than would be necessary if all the stock acre housed together, but my experience enables me to see that three operators, working nine . machines, and two strippers, would easily milk 150 cows in an hour and a half. There is thus a saving of ten milkers. Against this, my coal account for the year is £ls more, and repairs and renewals total £8 7s, so that there is a very largo balance to make good depreciation of plant and meet the interest on the first cost. In answer to questions, he gave the following replies:

“His dairymaid found that the Murcldand machine was difficult to keep clean. There wore ninety parts which had to ho taken down twice a day and cleaned. With the Lawrence Kennedy, cold water and then hot water were run through the pipes, and they did not got tainted. The cows never resented the Lawrence Kennedy from the first. They had never been beat with any cow, nor had they any expense from machines being damaged or broken. “He had never experienced any difficulty in milking queys (heifers) with the machine; in fact, they were easier handled than cows which had been accustomed to hand milking. They had to have strippers after the machine, but they had to have that with hand milkers. 'He gave the cows an ounce of salt per day in the food. A person of average intelligence could work the machine, and the term changes had less terrors for him now than formerly. His practice was to house the cows in the heat of the day in summer, as they were out all night. When they were tied by the neck they did not gallop.”

In the discussion which followed another farmer gave his experieno with the machine as follows:

‘“Very recently an improved milking machine was placed on the market, and he could endorse everything that Mr Millar had said regarding it. The machine did its duty quietly and well. But a good deal of the success of the machine depended on the parties who worked it. For himself, ho found that a girl newly left school could work it. lie looked upon the milking machine asbeing a thorough success. One important point in the supplying of milk was the question of cleanliness, and ,if proper means was taken to clean the cows’ teats before the cups were put on, it was a perfect impossibility for such a thing as ash to get into the milk.”