CASEIN IN THE WAIKATO

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 466, 15 April 1919, Page 2

CASEIN IN THE WAIKATO

The greatest feature of dairying in the Lower Waikato during the current season has probably been the development of the casein industry. The NZ. Dairy Association has recently opened seven new factories for this purpose, and made additions to nine others for the precipitation of curd. The great majority of these new and renovated factories are situ* ated in the Lower Waikato.

The new factories, as designed by Mr V. C. Daniel), of Hamilton, are fine and ornamental buildings. They are of the gable type, with red tiled roofs and heart of matai walls, painted ivory white, relieved with dark green and black, and covering an area fifty feet square. There is an open verandah running the whole length of the front, with a low level milk receiving 6tage, and storage vat from which the milk is afterwards pumped to the higher level, an arrangement which obviates the necessity, (as in the older type), of starting the machinery directly tbe first supplier makes his appearance. The buildings are so designed that each can be used as an ordinary creamery, casein precipitating and forwarding station, or cheese factory as desired. It has been the aim of the Association to cut out all unnecessary delay to the supplier, and in this respect they have been strikingly successful, some of the factories disposing of great waggon-loads of milk in less than three minutes. At Otaua, for example, where it is expected to deal with the milk of 1200 cows, there are installed four vats, with a capacity of 950 gallons each. A 15 hp. Massey boiler, and a 6 h p. Tangye steam engine provide the motive power, which is distributed to the machinery by means of a shaft running the whole length of the buddiog This shaft drives the pastueriser, the whole milk pump, three Alfa Laval separators with a capacity each of 660ga's. per hour, and a whey pump,assogals hot water tank, made of wood to retain the heat, and heated by means of theexhaust steam passing through a Berry heater, supplies hot water throughout the

building, and also to the manager'* house alongside.

The process of treating the milk is shortly as follows: from a low-level receiving stage, the whole milk after being weighed, is emptied into a large storage vat of 1000 gallons capacity, whence it is elevated as required by means of a centrifugal pump, into the pasteuriser. Here it is heated to the requisite temperature, and is then allowed to gravitate into the distribution vat, and thence into the separators. The cream is again elevated by a valveless pump, passes over a cooler, and is ready to be loaded straight on to the waggon to the butter factory. The skim milk is treated with lactic acid, and allowed to "ripen." This process takes roughly eighteen hour 3, and at the end of that time, it looks very much like ordinary junket The curd is then cut to liberate whey, the heater grids dropped in, steam turned on, and the whole is oooked. This cooking hardens the masvand tends to kill any germs that may be present. The whey is drained off and returned to suppliers, the curd, or casein, as it now is, remaining in the vat. Boiling watpr is now admitted, and the casein is washed to remove all traces of whey. This completed, the whole is run into large crates lined with a special strainer cloth, and when sufficiently drained, put into spiral hoops (an idea of Mr Shaw's, which the Association has since patented), and thence into the press. After abont 24 hours the moisture is reduced as much as possible, and the casein is ready to be packed into bags and forwarded to the drying factory at Frankton Junction. Here it is dessicated, bleached, bagged up, and is then ready for shipment. Such is a brief description of the manufacture of casein. Its uses are manifold, and are being constantly added to. It may be used for nearly everything that celluloid is now used for, and does not possess the latter|s dangerous inflammability. From it can be made buttons, knife handles, cigar-holders, glue, divers paints, photographic plates, shoe polish, a sizs for artist's canvasses, toilet soap, many human foodstuffs, such as Sanatogen, Plasmon, and Lactarine, and also an excellent poultry food. It is thus evident that the field of application open to casein is practically illimitable, and is as yet explored only on its verge. In a few years we may expect to see the great majority of the small etceteras used in our daily life made from this versatile substance. In the meanwhile we will watch with interest the venture of the Dairy Association with what is practically the foundation of a new industry in New Zealand. With dried milk, glaxo, casein and butter factories, all competing for a share of the products of the milkingshed, the dairy farmer's outlook on the future should be a rosy one. It will be interesting to see if they will choose to float round the country in aeroplanes, or be satisfied with merely buying larger and more up-t-o date cars.