A Fine Farm

Horowhenua Chronicle, 21 February 1914, Page 2

A Fine Farm

• MR F. RETTEIt'S, E.IMBEKLEYROAD.

The old order changeth and so does the new. It is only a few years since milking machines have been placed on tiie market, yet the improvements effected in that time are very marked. To appreciate this fact and se<* the latest in this line of mechanical invention a Chronicle reporter visited Mr ¥. better's farm, liiniberley road, where a Treloar three-cow milking plant has been installed since last October—a length of time sufficient to give ii a thorough test and enable one to say confidently that it fulfills all requirements satisfactorily. The cup of this machine is of aluminium, with three flat sides, and the rubber inside is of a like shape, perfectly flat on the outside, but convex or* the mside, the rubber at the centre being about twice the thickness that it is near the corners; also it is thicker and stronger towards the bottom than it is at the top," consequently, as everything yields first at its weakest point, the pressure on the teat commences close up against the'udder and comes downwards. These rubber milkers are of the best quality rubber, and will last throughout a season of heavy work, l'rom the milker the milk is lifted through rubber tubes, fitted with a short length of glass tube for observation, to a long, straight, brass, tin-lined pipe, which conveys the inilk to the releaser, an extremely simple contrivance in two halves, the lower one of which has four divisions, and is constantly revolving. The milk enters the top half, which is provided, with an opening at the bottom, and as each division of :thc revolving lower half conies underneath it, in its turn it is filled with milk, and as it moves further around it empties into the spout which conveys it to the cans. The procedure is: one division is filling, one is full, one is emptying , , and the other is empty. The parts are closely fitted and from the top is a pipe connecting with the vacuum tank ensuring an absence of air: The spout conveying the milk from the releaser to the cans has a double bottom, and between the two a stream of cold water flows in the opposite direction to the milk and cools it most effectually. Under the outlet a cross spout with four holes in the bottom ii placed, enabling four cans to be filled at the same time. The pulsators are driven by a connecting, rod worked from an eccentric sheaf on the intermediate shaft. The power is supplied by a %\ horse- power Blackstone kerosene engine, and costs about Is per day to run. The herd of sixty cows is milked in two and a half hours by two lads. The most noteworthy point about the milking shed is its cleanliness. The concrete floor is thoroughly iiosed and swept perfectly clean, the cups, milkers and tubing are well washed, and kept in clean, cold water, to which a little lime has been added. The plant cost £190 - a little more than it should have done owing to the difficulty of getting the type of engine usually supplied with it. Mr Better was sceptical as to the results of his venture, and lie retained the old shed and bails in case he wanted them again, but he is now satisfied that he will never use them again. With the machines, the hours of labour are shorter and the drudgery associated with, hand milking is entirely absent. That the machines do their work effectively is shown by the fact that close' hand-stripping of sixty cows only returns six gallons of milk. Mr lletter's herd is of a mixed character, with a preponderance of Jersey, and he is going further in this direction, as he finds that the Jersey gives a higher return of butter-fat per acre than any other breed. The best milkproducing ration Mr Retter has found to" be a mixture of green oats, peas and maize. He also keeps a reserve supply of ensilage and the large silo at present contains 40 tons. The carrying capacity of the farm ino- Last year it carried 40U sheep and 108 head of cattle of all sizes on 180 acres. The farm is most up-to-date, and well repays a visit, as Mr Better is a' studious farmer, and follows the advice of an American agricultural paper to American farmers to lubricate their muscles with brains." .