A NEW MILKING MACHINE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 37, 24 May 1910, Page 3

A NEW MILKING MACHINE

THE ALPHA; a DANISH INTENTION (Published by Arrangement). Word has just been received by Messrs E. Griffiths and Co. that a shipment of the Danish milking machine, the "Alpha." will arrive in New Zealand in time to be exhibited at the Palmerston winter show. Xne machine is considered the last word in mechanical milking. The machine imitates good hand-milk-ing as nearly as possible, forcing out the milk by applying pressure to the teat, first at the root of it and then gradually lower, avoiding any pulling action. This movement is performed ;by two so-called essentials for the teats, a larger one for the two fore teats, and a smaller one for the two hind teats. Each such essential consists of two rubber plates in a box cf sheet-iron, one of the rubber plates .being attacned to one of the long sides of the box, and the other being moved to and fro by piston-rods driven by means of compressed air. The upper piston-rod pushes the top part of the rubber-plate forward, thus closing the duct of the teat nearest the udder, then the lower piston-rod moves forward, causing the lower part of the rubber plate to press against the teat, and the milk to (low out through the end opening of the teat. This done, the air pressure is automatically shut off, and two springs within —e box .bring the robber plates back to their original position. The teat not being squeezed any longer, dilates and is refilled with milk from the udder: the new milk is pressed out in the same way, and so on. Between the two rubber'plates and attached to them is a rubber bag. with an outlet at the bottom, for receiving the milk, which from there flows through a groove into a milk receptacle that is hooked on to the machine under the belly of the cow. The rubber plates and bag. which by a simple grip can "he removed with one hand, are extremely easy to clean. The two essentials for the teats are each held m position .by a fork of eci tube. The forks are movably colnu , ctoci with each other, and thus, f]*J, CSsen ti a ] s can be put higher ,tf ] O(V(H , gu it dif- ' yuty'r?. Tinier the forks. & phisator Is .j?' a eedj which serves to shut off the air-pressure automatically, tl'Uh certain intervals, at the same time letting the waste air escape. The apparatus is attached to the cow by means of.two saddle-girths, one of which is put behind the shoulders of the animal and the other round its buttocks. Front one of the forks a rod protrudes as far as the fore girth, and j hook at. the end of the, rod fits into a loop on the girth, wjiieli serves to keep the apparatus imposition and also helps to support the "milk receptacle. The hind girth .carries the apparatus, which is attached, to it .by means of two hooks, one on each, a,rav of the outer fork. The compressed air -required for operating the machines is obtained from an air-compressor, which is common to the whole plant and may be placed in or outside the cowshed. The air-compressor is driven either by an oil engine, an electric engine^. or horsepower. The air is conducted from the pump, through' a pressure regulatingtank provided with a safety valve ana a pressure gauge, into a pipe system extending along, the stables above vne cows and having an outlet for each cow. Each outlet has an adjustable cock, by which the pressure can be regulated to suit both easy and heavy milkers. Here the apparatus is attached by means 01 a rubber tube with a specially devised connection at the free end. It takes but an instant to fasten this connection to the cock of the outlet. The action oi the rubber plates oi; the teats i.< elastic and uniform .by long and by short teats, and the cows are as easily milked even if their teats be but about an inch long. The use of the milking machine is very simple to learn; and the milkers are easily .broken to it, most cows sliowinw a liking for it from the first. A stock°of 100 cows is milked by two men with eight to ten machines in about two. hours, which is the length of time that seven or eight practised milkers would take. As no other parts of the apparatus than the rubber .plates come into ' contact 'with the milk, the cleaning is very er.=y and does not take much time. In some countries, the so-called vacuum milking machines have come into use. ■ Their ■promotors are well aware of the danger of drawing the milk exclusively by suction; they therefore affirm that • these apparatus also act mechanically on ' the teats. The mechanical treatment, '■ however, is of no consequence and only • serves to distract the attention from '• the fact that the milking is done solely > by suction. To ascertain this, it is sufti- < cient to cut off the vacuum, and let the ] pressure alone acts on the teats. No milk < can be ■ drawn in this manner, which s shows that with vacuum apparatus it is ' the suction, and not the pre-snre, that does the milking. There are many and 1 strict prescriptions as to the cleaning 0111 the vacuum apparatus, to he followed 1 before and after each milking; and in -1 neglecting these prescriptions one risks having the milk contaminated by milk I fat 'and other particles that deposit on J and stick to the inside of the tubes. It is doubtful whether, even if all these < prescriptions be observed, the machines i can be Ikeipt sweet and clean. But it U f certain that there are few dairy farms I where they can spend so much time and ] labor with the cleaning. Moreover, com- l plaints are heard from several sides that ■, the cows go dry sooner when milked by i vacuum apparatus than they do with ( hand-milking, which seems to imply that vacuum apparatus are injurious to the milk .production of the cows. ]