18 • 



"Do not use soap powders. So far as we have been able to find, sal soda 

 is by far the best for this purpose. The object of it* use is to cut the fat out 

 from the interior surfaces of the rubber tubes. If this fat is not thoroughly 

 removed it will injure the rubber. 



"After washing the machines, draw out the piston and wipe it and the 

 inside of the cylinder clean and dry, and occasionally wipe these parts with 

 an oily cloth. 



"Each evening just before using, it is well to suck scalding water through 

 the cups, tubes anl machine, in order to destroy any bacteria which may have 

 lodged in them. 



"Before the teat cups are applied to the cow her teats should be 

 thoroughly cleansed with cool water during warm weather and warm water 

 in cold weather, but they should be dried before putting on the teat cups. 



"The pieces of hose that connect the pail with the stanchion cocks should 

 be kept clean inside and out. 



"During the winter, machines must be kept in a room where the tem- 

 perature is always above freezing. When the machines are too cold they will 

 not pulsate properly. 



"Never leave rubber parts hanging in the sun as it injures the rubber. 



"Soaking in Brine. — A wooden tank four feet six inches long by six inches 

 wide and six inches deep inside should be provided in which to keep all rubber 

 parts soaking in brine while not in use. 



"The brine should be one quart of salt (regular butter salt) to ten quarts 

 of water. The brine is very necessary to keep the tubes sweet and free from 

 bacteria, also it is of great advantage in preserving the rubber. 



"Later Directions. — In place of soaking the rubber parts in brine we 

 have lately been using lime water, made by adding quick-lime to water — say, 

 about one pound of lime to two pails of water. This seems to be very effective 

 in keeping the rubber parts sweet and sterile, and at the same time acts as a 

 preservative of the rubber and has an advantage over brine in that it does 

 not corrode the metal teat cups and connectors, and we would therefore sug- 

 gest its use in place of brine. 



"Barn Pipes and Drip Cocks. — As soon as the milking is finished, both 

 morning and evening, the drip cocks on the pipe which extends through the 

 barn should be opened and left open until the next milking. It is well to 

 occasionally open the stanchion cocks that are on the barn pipe and farthest 

 from the pump, and then run the pump for half an hour or more to thoroughly 

 dry out the pipes." 



On one or two occasions we had complaints from customers regard- 

 ing the flavor of the milk, but upon investigation we were satisfied that 

 any cause for complaint did not come from the milking machine, but 

 probably from a fly repellant which we were using on the cows to keep 

 off flies. Nearly all such substances have a strong odor, and there is 

 danger of tainting the milk unless used with great care. 



