130 



Aua:ufit, 1913 



Milking MacKines. 



By F. Wit^an, Daicv Instructor in the Agr.ittiltural Gazette of 



N.S.W. 



IMilkinjr machines have of late 

 years been very larjrely adopted 

 by the dairymen of this State, 

 and there is no doubt but that 

 they will be more larg'elv used in 

 the future. The steady increase 

 in their adoption is a practical in- 

 dication that from the point of 

 view of efficiency they are, to a 

 certain extent, meeting the de- 

 mands of the dairymen, although 

 we hear of manv who would prefer 

 hand-milking if labour were pro- 

 curable and reliable. It is not the 

 intention in this short article to 

 deal with the merits or otherwise 

 of the different makes of machines 

 on the market, nor vet as to their 

 efficiency in milking the cows, but 

 it mav be wise to set out the 

 chief points requiring most urgent 

 consideration, not onlv by those 

 about to instal machines, but also 

 bv those in whose dairy sheds they 

 are already in operation. I trust 

 that the farmers will follow this 

 advice as closely as possible, and 

 if this is done we can look for 

 less second grade cream from 

 dairies using milking machines, and 

 thus effect a- big financial saving 

 to the farmers and the State as 

 a whole. 



The most successful users are 

 amongst those farmers who have 

 their own lads and girls to assist 

 in the milking, and who take a 

 keen interest in the whole Imsiness; 

 for milking machines, like most, 

 other machinery, require intelli- 

 gent and, careful handling. 



iMilking machines may be classed 

 imder three main headings : — 



1. A^acuum machines. 



2. Air pressure and vacuum 

 machines. 



3. Machines not using vacuum. 



With the latter I have had no 

 ])ractical experience, but the suc- 

 cess of all vacuum-using machines 

 alike, as compared with the ori- 

 ginal L.K.G. machines, is the ad- 

 mission of air into the vacuum 

 line by different machi-nes in differ- 

 ent ways, some admitting through 

 the teat cup, others on the claw, 

 and others again through the jjuls- 

 ators ; and this has l>een the chief 

 factor in making it practicable to 

 milk the cows without injury. 



I/eaving the question of the ef- 

 fect of the machines on the cows 

 for the farmer to decide before 

 making his choice, we will go 



right on to what materially af- 

 fects the dairying int'nstry, and 

 requires maich more consideration 

 than it has previously received, 

 i.e., the effect of the machines on 

 the milk or cream, and ^ how to 

 avoid inferior quality. 



Unfortunately, a great amount 

 of machine-drawn milk is not up 

 to that high standard that it 

 should be, and we frequently hear 

 of complaints of milking machines 

 tainting the cream and milk. A 

 slight rubber taint may be no- 

 ticed for the first few milkings, 

 and I have noticed a taint from 

 the oil engine when used too close 

 to the milk or too carelessly, i.e., 

 not kept clean, or when the engine 

 exhaust is not properly disposed of 

 by carrying the exhaust pipe clear 

 through the roof. It is advisable 

 that the oil engine and vacuum 

 pump be partitioned off from the 

 milk-receiving room, or room' con- 

 taining the separator and milk 

 vat or milk, releaser. These taints 

 are physical ones, directly attri- 

 biitable to the machinery, and can 

 be easily rectified wreh proper pre- 

 cautions when having the machines 

 installed. More serious taints, how- 

 ever, are due to microbes of differ- 

 ent kinds which accumulate and 

 live in all seams, corners, etc., of 

 any part of the machinery through 

 which the milk passes, or comes in 

 contact with, namely, teat cups, 

 claws, j-ubber connections from 

 claws ~fo buckets, or overhead milk 

 l)ipe buckets, milk releasers, or 

 tanks, if these parts are not kept 

 thoroughly clean at all times. 

 Metal parts are fairly easily kept 

 clean, but once the rubber becomes 

 contaminated and neglected, it is 

 very difficult to thoroughly cleanse 

 it, and thus milk at all subse- 

 (|uent milkings, becomes contaniin- 

 aled with the particxilar germs 

 which have fastened themselves in 

 these ])arts. It is thus .seen that 

 the milking machine is an addi- 

 tional home for harmfid microlies 

 on the farm, if not systematically 

 and thoroughly cleaned ; at the 

 same time the milking machine is 

 a means, when carefully and tho- 

 roughly handled, by which the 

 farmer can ])roduce an article of 

 verv high standard,' as it affords a 

 means of prevention of contamin-- 

 ations from foreign matter and 

 germs. Unfortunately, milking ma- 

 chines lend themselves to the faults 

 of the careless producer, and it is 

 then that bad results ensue. 



A brief outline of the 'way in 

 which to handle the machines on 

 ^he cows, and their care and 

 cleansing after using, will be of 

 value. We will assume that the 

 ])larit has been properly erected, 

 having due regard to facility in 

 operating. That is to sa^■, the 

 piping shoidd be placed in a eon- 

 venient i)osition, with a fall of at 

 least 3 inches from the furthest 

 end of milk pipe into the milk 

 releaser, and the releaser in a milk 

 room outside the milking shed pro- 

 per and the engine in a room se- 

 parate, or properly partitioned off 

 from the milk room. I advocate 

 the use of either double bails or 

 the .Echelon stall system : the for- 

 mer hieans two cows to each bail, 

 and one machine to each bail ; in 

 the latter the cows are behind one 

 another and side on to the milk- 

 ing passage. In each instance 

 there is no obstruction between 

 the milker and his cows, thus 

 facilitating changing of teat cups 

 from one cow to another, and also 

 the stripping. To prepare for 

 milking, place a clean milk can 

 with strainer in the milk room at 

 the end of the bails to receive the 

 strippings, ^as, of course, the cows 

 require to be stripped after the 

 machines are taken off, and the 

 mas.sagirig the teats receive dur- 

 ing this ])ro9ess is beneficial. Then, 

 also, keep a couple of buckets of 

 clean cold water in convenient po- 

 sitions in the milking shed, having 

 a clean cloth in each with which 

 to wipe down each cow's udder, 

 teats, and flanks, before applying 

 the teat cups. This not only re- 

 moves dust, etc., from the teats, 

 and thus prevents .same from be- 

 ing drawn into the milk through 

 the teat cups, but also makes a 

 more satisfactory joint tD hold 

 the vacuum, and thus the cnps 

 hold O'U better when first applied. 

 Having quickly wiped the udders 

 as directed, take the set of cups 

 and apply to the teats in the 

 usual care^ taking care that the 

 teat goes straight into the cup 

 and is not twisted ; also, in long- 

 teated cows be careful that the 

 point of the teat does not go too 

 far down, and thus get tem.porari- 

 ly a hard blue point to-_the teat, 

 wihich mav start innammation in 

 the quarter. When the cow is 

 milked -out, or nearly so, can be 

 judged by experience, by noticing 

 the condition of the cow's udder, 

 and the milk sight-glass. Now 

 make a kink in the main milk rub- 

 ber to shut off the vacuum, and 

 with the hand take hold of the 

 teat cups and, gently pull off same 

 quickly, releasing the kink in main 

 rubber to allow milk to be drawn 

 out of cups instead of spilling on 



