THE MILKING PLANT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 587, 19 July 1933, Page 7

THE MILKING PLANT

KEEP IT CLEAN MR. BURROWS GIYES FARMERS HINTS ON SHED HANDLING. BOILING WATER ESSENTIAL. The'ihost important thing in connection with' the running of a milking plant is to have plenty of boiling water, said Mr. C E Burrows in the course of a hrdef address to the farmers at Ngongotaha during the field day gathering last week Hot water, he went on to say, was no use; it must he boiling It was a very simple thing for :a farmer to provide for hot water in his shed It was not difficult to install a copper or boiler It was useless to a.ttempt to clean things as some farmers did with water from the engine: It was quite unsatisfactory and there was always a smell left in the water l ! The machine which Mr. H. M. Martin had in his shed was specially referred to, Mr. Burrows pointing out the advantage of being able to take all the piping to pieces for cleaning, with the result that the fresh air was able to circulate through the p.ipes and keep them sweet and clean, which was a very important point to he remembered He had found that a lot of the socalled washes were no good. The best thing to use for cleansing purposes was a teaspoon to a dessertspoonful of caustic soda. to four igallons of boiling water. This was the very best wash that could be applied. It was necessary, however, to see th'at the mixture was not made too strong, otherwise it would take the tinning off the pipes and spoil them. Watch the Cream. The use of coolers was also important If the cream was cooled as they separated there should he no trouble in getting a good grade. Then, again, many farmers took great care in their sheds in the preparation of the cream and afterwards let it stand for two or three hours in the sun. Putting a sack over the cans did no good, as it only kept away the air The best thing for the farmer was to have a cream-stand — they did not cost much. The cream could then stand for two or three h'ouxs and not come to any harm He laid strong emphasis on the fact that butter was made in the sheds and not in the factories They could not make it in the factory The care had to he exercised in the- sheds If there was more care in the sheds there would be a better grade of butter made in the factories. He was pleased to know, however, that matters had been tightened up in the sheds generally. A point worth remembering was that cream should be kept stirred so that the fat which accumulated on the top was brolcen up Unless this was done the had odours could not escape. They could only grade the cream as it arrived at the factory and it was sometimes remarked that cream from a dirty shed got asi good and better

grade than that' from a clean shed, but, he pointed out, that if such cream were allowed to stand until next day it might be found very poor. The fact of taking the cream quickly to the factory enabled the farmer to get the superfine grade, whereas when the dirty cream was allowed to stand the had elements began to work and the next day the cream would only be second grade. Various Hints In reply to a question, Mr. Burrows said that it was not necessary to take the lid off the cans if they were left on the stand The removal of the lid was calculated to let in dust and other impurities. The real trouble was that farmers would not bother to put up stands This neglect would not do now; they had to he seientdfic. But taken on the whole the New Zealand output was good; Danish was not better. If the pipes of the milking machines were not flushed properly after the use of the caustic soda it would h'ave a detrimental effect upon the cream. Probably some of the tainted cream complained of was due to that neglect. It was also unwise to use sandsoap for cleaning because it left a very. strong flavour It was a good plan to wash all cans again when they eame back from th factory. from the factory. The pipes of the milking machines should he first flushed with' cold water to wash away the m.ilk, because if the boiling ' water went in first it only turned the milk remaining in the pipes into casein