REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



35 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



little information on this most important question of dairy labour-saving machinery is 

 at hand that it was considered necessary to install a milking machine with which to 

 conduct a series of experiments, and to acquire these much-needed data for the com- 

 mercial dairyman. A Sharple3 Mechanical Milker, consisting of six units, was 

 installed, and during the subsequent eight months much valuable information has 

 been acquired. Altbough no conclusive evidence has yet been obtained, there are a 

 few facts which., even at this date, are evident. These are briefly as follows: (1) At 

 least 50 per cent of the labour in milking may be saved by the use of the milking 

 machine, but this is partly offset by the extra work in washing and sterilizing the 

 machine twice per day. (2) Scrupulous care must be taken in the cleaning of the 

 machine. As yet, careful hand milking has given milk freer from bacteria, which is 

 due largely to the difficulty of obtaining absolute sterility of the rubber parts of the 

 milking machine without destroying the rubber. (3) The machine performs the 

 milking operation more thoroughly than the majority of average farm hands. (4) 

 Cows take to, and respond well to, the machine, as a rule not drying off in their milk 

 much more than by hand milking. A separate publication covering the details of 

 this work is planned when the experiment has covered a greater period and solutions 

 of the many difficulties, of minor detail, have been achieved. 



Dairy Cow Returns. 



It is worthy of mention that the quality of the dairy cattle on the Central Farm 

 continues to make improvement. The following is a brief summary, showing returns 

 of some of the cows in the four herds. Profits are based on the following valuations : 

 Butter, 30 cents per pound; skim milk, 20 cents per hundredweight; pasture, $1 per 

 head per month ; hay, $7 ; straw, $4 ; green feed, $3 ; and meal, $25 per ton. 



The above figures include only cows which have finished their lactation period, 

 some of the best profit-makei-s in the herd not being reported. The grade herds also 

 are not included, as they have not yet finished a year's work. Although, in the above, 

 the milk is valued on the basis of butter at 30 cent.-' per pound, or milk at $1.65 per 

 hundred pounds, yet, in reality, the manufacture and sale of cream. Coulommier and 

 Cheddar cheese, certified milk and the like has, on a large part of the milk, netted $3 per 

 hundredweight. The demand for these finished dairy products in all the larger 

 Canadian cities has opened up the possibilities of splendid markets for farmers who 

 are willing to go into the manufacture of the same. 



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