Page 61

SOUTHERN WIS. CHEESEMAI;ERS' & DAIRYMEN'S ASS'N. 61
WHAT THE MILKING MACHINE HAS
DONE FOR THE DAIRYMAN.
Dalles E. Davis, Mgr. South Bros. Farm, Monroe, Wis.
The milking machine among mechanical devices is a
good deal like Mark Twain's dog, as he described him
chasing a jack-rabbit. He said of him, "he is in a class
very much by himself".   This is because of the element
of uncertainty and nerveness which goes with the machine
and the nature of the work which it is to perform.  This
work means dollars of profit or loss to the farmer accord-
ingly as it is well or badly performed.
But let us beginn at the beginning. In the first place
I wish every dairyman in my hearing this afternoon to
distinctly understand that what I shall say is for the purpose
of giving you the facts as I have found them in the dairy
which I operate. I am not paid by any company to talk
this afternoon and I am not even interested financially in
the machine which I operate.
When Mr. South, on whose farm I live and whose machine
I operate, talked of installing a milking machine I said
nothing, because I was doubtful of the outcome; but, when
he installed it I determined to do the best possible.
Logically the first thing to consider is the cost of the
machine. The B. [t. K. machine may be installed for from
five to seven hundred dollars, according to the size of your
barn, the number of pails you wish to use and the power
which you employ. In about twenty months use of the