

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. 
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