II2 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Q. — How would tread power do? There are a large number of dairy- 

 men who don't feel as though they could afford to buy any machine, 

 gasoline engine or other powers than the tread power, small tread 

 power. I know a great many who use that. Some have a large dog to do 

 this work. The best idea of all is, use a bull on the tread power. 



A. — Yes, the tread power is a a very good machine, if you get the 

 right kind of an 1 animal. It all depends on the bull or other animal you 

 get in there. The trouble is in starting out. You have got to 

 teach this animal, and the first thing he will do, will be to jump and 

 land on the other side of the tread power, and considerable difficulty in 

 getting such an animal trained, but a bull is really the steadiest power. 

 I have never had any experience with a dog. It may be a dog may be 

 more regular, but I have never had any experience; sheep are not very 

 regular. The proper way to overcome all this is with a large balance 

 wheel. I have seen this worked successfully. Build the tread power to 

 a large balance wheel and the belt irom the balance wheel to the separa- 

 tor. The governor on the separator will tend to check the speed when 

 it comes over a certain point, and the balance wheel will tend to keep 

 it in motion when it falls below. But an animal can be used if it is not 

 too lazy. Sometimes they lean back and then come forward gradually; 

 they do it so nicely you don't realize it at all. It is a pretty hard matter 

 to govern it. I know it has been successful in some localities or in some 

 barns where they have the animal nicely trained. 



Q. — Just a word on tread power. I can't see how an animal can 

 shirk, unless he has some way of stopping himself; from getting off be- 

 hind. He can't run it faster or slower, and if governed by a governor 

 on the fly wheel or balance wheel of the tread power, because when it 

 runs above a certain place it locks itself? 



A. — That's true, the tread power is a gravity machine. If you can 

 keep that bull on the gravity all the time, but you can't keep them on that 

 incline. If he is a new animal he is apt to come down, unless you have 

 a bar back of him; and if you have a bar he will rest on that bar a little 



