86 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



inrcease their herd or decrease it so as to make it practical for hand 

 milking. 



The cost of equipment for a milking machine depends some- 

 what upon conditions. At the present time the equipment required 

 to milk a herd of fifty cows in two hours would be as follows : 



1. Three milkers, costing $225. 



2. Piping for the barn. This depends somewhat upon the 

 kind of cows and upon the price of labor. Ordinarily it costs 

 about $30. 



3. A vacuum tank, similar to those connected with the ranges 

 or kitchen stoves, costing from $10 to $12. 



4. If the milker is to be operated by means of a vacuum pump, 

 the pump would cost $75. 



5. The motive power, if it is gasoline, would cost for a two- 

 horse power gasoline engine about $110. For a steam engine, $150. 

 For a tread power, about $75. 



If we take the gasoline engine and the vacuum pump into con- 

 sideration, the total cost of the milker would be $450. If a steam 

 air exhauster is used, a boiler can be purchased for $100 and an 

 air exhauster for $25, making a total cost of $400. For a dairy 

 of twenty cows, with two milking machines milking two cows each, 

 or four cows at one time, the cost would be about $16 per cow. 

 For a herd of forty cows it would cost $12; for a herd of fifty 

 cows it would be $9 ; for a herd of sixty cows it would be $8.50. 

 The above figures are approximate, taking average conditions into 

 consideration. 



HAED MILKING COWS. 



Cows that are hard milkers, but those that have small teats, 

 are milked more easily and more quickly by a machine than by 

 hand. With a hard milking cow it is simply a question of keeping 

 the machine at work a little longer, and with a small teated cow 

 care should be taken that the teat cup is properly fitted. Occasion- 

 ally a cow, for some reason or other, refuses to give down her milk. 

 This does not seem to be due to the nervous temperament. It is 

 possibly true that the change from hand to machine milking is too 

 radical for those particular individuals, and it takes some time for 

 them to become accustomed to the change. Such cows do not make 

 any objection to the machine being applied to them, but simply 

 stand still and allow the machine to pump away without withdraw- 

 ing any milk. As the cows that give this trouble are few in num- 

 ber, it is better for the dairyman to dispose of them. 



