COOPERATIVE MILK-DISTRIBUTING PLANTS. 11 



A convenient arrangement for loading the delivery wagons may 

 be provided by having small doors placed in the outer wall of the 

 milk-storage room, so that the wagons can be loaded directly at these 

 doors. To do this the room should be placed next to an outer wall, 

 with driveway for the delivery wagons. 



EQUIPMENT OF THE PLANT. 



Equipment for a milk plant must be carefully selected. In some 

 cases used equipment can be purchased, but it is usually not a good 

 plan to buy secondhand equipment unless it is in very good condi- 

 tion. When a business is taken over, or when several small dealers 

 combine, considerable used equipment is usually available. How- 

 ever, much of this equipment may not be suitable or of the proper 

 size or capacity, and it may be better to sell or discard it than to try 

 to use it. Some of the equipment may be used for a short time until 

 new equipment can be obtained; for example, a small bottle washer 

 may be used until a larger and more suitable one can be purchased. 

 Usually pasteurizers and bottle-filling machinery should be bought 

 new, and much care should be used to procure the best available. Of 

 course, secondhand bottles, cans, cases, etc., can be used. The advice 

 of persons of experience is necessary when the purchase of second- 

 hand equipment is contemplated or when new equipment is selected. 

 The following are some of the points to be considered in selecting 

 milk-plant equipment: 



(1) Simplicity. The number of working parts should be as few 

 as possible to do the required work efficiently. 



(2) Ease of cleaning. There should be a minimum of inaccessible 

 parts, for they make daily cleaning difficult. 



(3) Ease of sterilizing. It is important that all milk apparatus 

 be sterilized daily. The more easily this can be done the more likely 

 it is that the work will be done properly. 



(4) Ease and economy of operation. Unless a machine can be 

 operated economically, it will be a liability to the user rather than an 

 asset. If it can be operated easily much less attention will be re- 

 quired. 



(5) Durability. Apparatus of poor quality usually is most costly 

 in the end ; durability is an important factor. 



(6) Initial cost. While cheap apparatus may cost the most in the 

 end, it is not always necessary or advisable to buy the highest-priced 

 equipment. 



(7) Efficiency. In the case of pasteurizers, efficiency in holding 

 the milk at a certain temperature should be considered. It is very 

 important in pasteurization that the milk be positively held at 145° F. 



