8 Feb.. 1907.] A Milk-Producing District. 95 



milking hands. The casual or nomadic milker is not usually over-cleanly 

 either in his milking methods or his personal habits, and the knowledge 

 that his services nevertheless are in keen demand during good seasons ren- 

 ders him intolerant of suggestions in this regard ; but, where the milking 

 is done by families on the share system, or by members of the owner's 

 family with onlv one or two hired hands, or where an employer has suc- 

 ceeded in getting together a few steady reliable men, the milking opera- 

 tions are conducted in a business-like manner. Apart from the fre- 

 quent non-observance of the practice of washing dirty udders, one point 

 where laxitv is in many cases shown is in not straining the milk before 

 passing it to the cooler vat. Milk should be strained directly from the 

 milking bucket to the receiving can, and the strainer cleansed frequently; 

 for, after unstrained milk has l>een repeatedly mixed up in a can by other 

 bucketfuls being added to it, the dirt becomes broken to very fine particles, 

 and subsequent straining will collect only grit and hair, and not the fine 

 particles of filth held in suspension. 



The milk is cooled on all these farms immediate! \ after milking, and 

 is forwarded straight awav tO' its destination, except in the case of those 

 fanns which supply the Willsmere Certified Milk Company. This firm 

 has recently erected a receiving depot, with refrigerating plant, at the 

 Yering railway station, on the Healesville line, the centre of this district, 

 for the use of those shareholders of the company who' ai'e its milk sup- 

 pliers. The milk received at this depot after having been cooled on the 

 farm to an average temperature of 60 degrees, is further reduced to 45 

 degrees or under, and then forwarded in cool trucks to the city twice 

 daily ; the morning's milk reaches Melbourne in the evening, and the even- 

 ing's milk next morning. There is another similar plant on Mr. D. 

 Syme's farm at Killara, on the Warburton line, froin which milk is abso 

 forwarded to the same compan\-. 



This sale of new milk finds most favour with farms milking 50 head 

 of cows and over, Init, where the herds run nuich below that number, the 

 separating of the milk on the farm, and forwarding the cream tO' the fac- 

 tory, is by far the most popular wav of dispoising of the produce, the skim 

 milk being used for calf-raising or pig fattening on a small scale. Near 

 the Lilydale township Mr. D. Mitchell's cheese factory at Cave Hill uses 

 a good quantity of the milk from the neighbouring farms, in addition to 

 tliat from the home herd of o\'er 100 head. The bacon factory on the same 

 farm is also- a remunerative market for all dairy-fed pigs, and is the desti- 

 nation of practically every porker of this class for many miles round. 



There are se\eral silos of various sizes in the Shire. Their use has 

 been attended with such success that each season sees an increase in their 

 number, and they bid fair to become general before many years. Maize 

 is the crop most generally grown for ensiling. 



Between Lilydale and Yering there are a number of farms milking 

 from 60 to 100 head. When more than 100 head are milked the herd is 

 usually divided for convenience of handling. This allows of the cattle 

 travelling more quietly to and from the sheds, and in each lot being a 

 shorter time off the pasture. The extra labour the division of herds in- 

 volves is, in this way, soon paid for. Probably before long some of the 

 larger of these estates will be subdiyided, and their carrying capacity 

 should consequently increase, for. in addition to closer and therefore more 

 effective management, the loss of enerfrv involved in the walking of cattle 



