CANADIAN EXPERIENCE OF MILKING MACHINES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 6

CANADIAN EXPERIENCE OF MILKING MACHINES.

In any q#estion relating to agriculture und more particularly dairying, on wind exact information is required, it has be come almost a habit to look to Canada On the milking-machine question, how ever, this source fails us. Tests of th usual thorough character have been carrie< out at the Ontario Agricultural Collegi farm Mnoe 1895, and as yet only tentative conclusions have been anived at. Th authorities see nothing in the physiologi cal processes to prevent the satisfactor milking of cows by machinery, and the; have fiiith that such a machine will be come practicable, although they hive be fore them the dictum of FleLschmann, ; German authority, that : '• It is only thos who are entirely ignorant of the natur of the milking operation who can abnndoi themselves to the idea of using milkin, machines of any description." A pulsatini suction machine, practically identical wit! one well-known in New Zealand, has beei the most satisfactory o£ those tried ij Ontario, yet it w pronounced to be fa from peifeetion The defect is that man of the cows will not give down their mill to it. The average results with tlimachine were inferior to those gained b;

hand-milking, but whether this was due T < l to the methods of milking or to something j : else is still a question which is not i answered positively. Mr H. H. Dean, professor of dairying at the college, came to the conclusion that in short tests the . results were in favour of hand-milking : in all tests except one ; that there was little difference between the results of machine and inexperienced hand-milking ; that there was a tendency for cows to go dry sooner with machine than with handmilking (though, on this point, there was ' room for doubt, as cows vary in this respect from year to year) ; results have indicated that it may be possible to breed and train cows which will give fairly good results with machine-milking. though probablj not so good as if trained to handmilking ; special care needs to be exercised in the cleaning of the machine, for the best results all' parts which come in contact with the milk should be thoroughly scalded or steamed daily, and in any case at least once a week ; the economical aspect is- worthy of careful consideration ; great improvement in the machines is looked for. Mr- S. F. Edwards, professor of^ bacteriology at the college, in summing *up the_ results of his invesMiratk ns, says that it is possible and practicable to produce pure milk either | by hand or by machine-milking: that to attain this bv 'either system scrupulous cleanliness must be maintained about the stable and animals, the person of the milker, and the utensils ; that strict sanitary precautions being observed, handdrawn and machine-drawn milk in the 1 Ontario test showed approximately the same bacterial content; that the mere fact that milk is drawn by any of the machines tested is by no means a guarantee of its purity; and finally that no one should instal a milking-machine unless he is prepared to fulfil the sanitary conditions 1 essential to the production of pure milk. . According, to those several ronclrsions. it 1 would appear that the question of machine ■ versus hand-milking is mainly one of > .economy ; does the saying in the cost of ■ labour comnensatfi for Che possible draw1 backs which^ire set out.