The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-02
A MILKING MACHINE.
Study of Its Present Possibilities. Edward Van Alstyne in Rural Ne'


 A MILKING MACHINE.
 
 Study of Its Present Possibilities. Edward Van Alstyne in Rural New
 Yorker.
 Is the milking machine practical? This Is a question very properly In the minds of dairymen, and 1t Is an .m- portant one. If We can get machine with which one or two men can milk from twenty-five to seventy-five cows, do 1t we'll, and at a cost for the outfit within the means of the dairyman, who must get large part of his living from his cows, 1t certainly will be in demand. Being in the Mohawk valley, w here there are several machines In actual operation on dairy farms. took the opportunity to visit a dairy at milking time. I went unannounced. so would see the workings under evtry- day conditions, and not in special or der for company. This puts me ia position to speak of the outfit just as saw 1t, either to condemn or commend. I must say I went very sceptical as to its practicability. and I went away, on the whole. agree1bly disappointed l believe that 3 machine has at last been invented. which after little longer use to develop and correct weak points, will help to solve the growing problem of proper help to do the milking. also believe 1t will be an important step in making sanitary milk; fo" with it the milk Is not exposed to the air, and is completely shut in from paTtt- cles from COW. milker or stable, be- tween the udder and the pail, thus les sening the extra expense in making such milk. Of course sanitary milk means the perfect sterilization of all pipes and apparatus connected with the machine. It would seem with the machine as I saw it. this can be dcne as thoroughly as can the ordinary uten- sils. Necessarily they must be careful ly looked after. or they will be source of contamination, instead of protec- tion.
 Description of the Plant.
 First, there must be power. In this case 1t was derived from Q f1ve-horse power electric motor; the farm being close to a trolley line This power runs a pump, which is attached to a metal air compressor, that draws the air through three-fourths inch iron pipes run above the fastenings of the cows, with a tee and cutoff between every two cows. To this tee Is at tached a rubber pipe running to the top of a five gallon tin vessel. set be- tween the two cows. From this top or cover. run two more rubber pipes, one to each COW. to which are attached four small pipes: on the end of each Is hard rubber tube resembling tele- phone receiver. In the mouth of this is a rubber band that goes about the teat, like the mouth of a calf, thus milking two cows and all four teats or each at the same time. A loose glrlh about the cows body holds the suck CTS" in place. I placed my finger in the end of one of these, and after the cutoff" was opened, the motion was -Q Ttraer al A smell glass was on the end of each pipe, where 1t was attached to the cover, so one could see when the milk ceased to flow. There were thirty cows in this dairy. and four of these ma chimes Thus eight cows were milkGd at once, a man and boy tending them. The machine would milk two cows a: once, not twice as quickly Ls two men would, for there is little time loss in adjusting the machine. although it was done very quickly. Did they milk clean? In the majority of cases, yes; one COW that I tried with rather a heshy udder had so much milk left that I could milk 8 good stream with a full hand. The man said they went over them afterward.
 Satisfaction Given.
 How did the cows stand? Very quiet. more so than if hand nilked. and no bad effects followed if the ma chine was left too long. If the work ing of the udder, as is done by hand. could be done by the machine, I be lieve the milking would be perfect l took some pains to interview those who were using other machines. and others who were their neighbors. Sometimes after a man has bought an expensive new machine he does not see all its faults One man has used six all sum
 
 cows. He used d three horse power gasoline engine said half that power would be sufficient and that he would not part with it for twice the cost If he could not get another On another farm they used one last summer when the time was valuable, and the cows milking heavily. Now they milk by hand. but expect to use the machine again next spring. Another place. the day the milk was tested. they mixed bv hand. One man ran hls by a two- horse tread power
 What Is the MOstP
 The equipment. other than the pow CT, will depend on the size of the stable to a great extent. l should not think if should be over $100. Then each machine costs $75. This would make the outfit I saw -four machines) cost S40O. exclusive of power. On many farms there Is an engine or other pow CT that could be utilized for this pur- pose without additional expense except of attaching to the pumps. The ma chine Is simple and should be durable The one saw had been in use over six months. and the tubes were as good as new The rubbers in the receiver" have to be renewed occasionally. ItI should not be difficult to clean them thoroughly. A couple of men can take care of large number of cows With free milkers they will milk clean. oth-