MEHANICAL MILKING IN AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81894, 26 November 1906, Page 4

MEHANICAL MILKING IN AUSTRALIA.

Aie milking machine- a .-u<e-'-s r Tiik question i> I'mjutully a-kcd by daiiyimn, who find it diflicult to finil K-li.iblc mlp. Judging bv re•ults dial have i'olowcd the inlioducti: n if mci'h.ii'ical milkers on scores »f Australian dairy farms, the an--uer m«v be aliiunuiiw. N', w South Wal's oumu have not taken >o readily tn tiiem a- Yidnriau dairymen, but thc.ic are a number giving good resuls in this Stale, 'flu.' opinions of practical' men who have ijpr'.ug-hly it'siid the machines have ben given in this column from time to time, and there i; ample evidence that they arc gaining in popularity. An enormous number of machine- have been insialkd in Victoria duiing the pu-t iwelvc months,

and one New South Wales firm claim to have instated over 50 plants during the past fi.ur mouths. It is noticeably that more machines have gone in'o new dairying- centres than into old part-. Then: is always a certain amount of prejudice against new methods but time and good practical results overcome all opposition. The cream separator, when first introduced, was looked at askance by many who rynv use : it to advantage. Owner-, however, canrot be blamed fur being careful about the way in which the milking is (lone. Cow* are the dairyman's s ock-m-trnde, and anything that woif d reduce the- milk yields or injure the animals means loss. Care has to.be exoici-ed in supervising hamf-milkers, and careless and incompetent treatment is always fol-> lowed by reduced yield-, and frequently by permanent injury to the cows. It does not pay dairymen io employ unreliable hand-mi'k-crs, neither can they afford t.l experiment on valuable, ho.rd:- with mechanical appliance- 1 . The milking machine has, however, practical':.' passed 1 tit of the experimental stage, and is giving satisfaction in sores of instance-. One Australian dairyman slates that if a machine can be made to do any kind of work, it is morn reliable than the man. That he further states has fren his practical experience in connection with the mechanical milker-. —Sydney "Mail."