The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-08-15
MILKING MACHINES.


in progress concerning milking ma
chimes. They have been introduced
into several localities in the Pacific
with favor, although there has been
some criticism as to their final effect
on the COWS operated on.
The milking machine is being tested
by various experiment stations for the
purpose of determining it's practical
bility on the farm. The Montana sta
ton has been making special test,
and has recently issued preliminary
report covering the following points:
That the milking machine is not
practical on small dairy farm with
ten or twelve dairy COWS, unless the
farmer considers that the labor saved
! offsets the cost of a small equipment,
| but for diaries of twenty-five to fifty
or hundred cows the milking ma
chine is a very great saver of time
and labor
1t is generally conceded, but not uni.
versally, that the milking machine will
milk COWS as thoroughly as the aver
age mixer and that the great gain is
in the amount of time saved and the
fewer number of men required for
large dairies.
The COWS take kindly to the milk
ing machine and would just as soon be
MIXED by the machine as by hand.
The cost of installing milking ma
chine for a dairy of from twenty-five
to fifty COWS will be from $500 to $500.
With young COWS and heifers there
seems to be no tendency on the part
of the milking machine to dry up the
COW, but some think that older COWS
go dry little sooner than would be
the case with hand milking. AS to
the cleanliness of the milk some claim
that milk is much freer from germs,
while others disagree. The station
thinks that the cleanliness of the milk
depends largely upon the cleanliness
of the operator. The milking machines
are hard to clean unless man is
scrupulously clean himself The
scrupulously clean man has no trou-
BILE in keeping the machine clean.
There is nothing about the machine
that will cause it to get seriously out
of order.
A majority use gasoline engines for
power. The two-horse-pOwer size is
sufficient to run machine for fifty
COWS, and the cost is one-fOurth to one
half a cent per cow per milking. Vic
ious kickers sometimes kick off the
tubes, but what is the use of the vic
ious kicker in the dairy anyhow?
There are two styles of milking ma
chimes, one which goes by suction and
the other presses the milk out of the
teat The station believes that the
suction machine gives better satisfac-
ton, but declines to say it is absolutely
the best In fact, it regards both
types, to some extent, as in the eX-
perimental stage.
In January, 1907, the Oregon Ex
pertinent Station installed a milk.
ing machine in the college barn
The experiment then planned, was
to milk half of the herd of
fourteen COWS with the machine
and the other half by hand, and then
to compare the results. The machine
was used on the first seven COWS dur
ing the year 1907, and during this year
is being employed in milking the other
seven, and the first seven are again
being MIXED by hand
The records show that eight Of the
COWS made advances in their milk and
butter yields during the time they
were with the machine; while three
gave slightly less and one showed
very much lower record with the milk
ing machine.