On the Wednesday morning an appreciative audience assembled at the Shoeing Forge to listen to an illustrated lecture by Mr. John Malcolm, F.R.C.V.S., one of the Judges, on "The Horse's Foot, and How to Shoe it."

CONCLUSION.

As a perfectly ordered display, brought together in a charming locality, the Maidstone Exhibition can have left nothing but agreeable impressions upon those who visited it. By its means there were carried into a corner of England choice representatives of many British breeds such as had never been seen in that part of the country before, whilst of the better known or more widely distributed breeds some of the most noted specimens were on view. The display of implements and machinery, though not so large as in most recent years, left nothing to bẹ desired in point of quality or in wealth of illustration, and such an imposing demonstration of the mechanical aids to agriculture has never previously been afforded in the southeast of England. Nevertheless, the public support accorded to the Show was so inadequate that financial failure became inevitable.

In the interests alike of English Agriculture and of the Society it is desirable that the Shows should not only continue to maintain the high degree of technical success which has long been associated with them, but that they should result in something better than a drain upon the Society's funds. It will be generally felt that the time has come when a reconsideration of the Society's present system of rotation of districts may advantageously be undertaken. It may be hoped, therefore, that the Special Committee to whom this inquiry has been remitted by the Council will be able to devise a scheme which, while providing for the annual continuance on their present scale of these great national agricultural gatherings, may make the holding of them less of a financial risk to the Royal Agricultural Society than hitherto.

13 Hanover Square, W.

W. FREAM.

525

THE TRIALS OF CREAM SEPARATORS AT MAIDSTONE.

Of all the machines in general use on a farm there is none more scientifically and delicately constructed than the cream separator, neither is there any whose working it is more difficult to follow. So great, however, has been its success that a separator is now regarded as an essential in every properly equipped dairy. When it is remembered that the first machine for separating cream from milk by means of centrifugal force was the "Laval separator, invented by Dr. Laval, a Swedish chemist, and exhibited at the Royal Show at Kilburn in the year 1879, it must be acknowledged that the principle has come to the fore and established itself in a remarkably short time.

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In the year 1891 the Royal Agricultural Society offered prizes for Cream Separators at the Show at Doncaster. Entries were made by four firms, and the results of the competition were duly recorded in the Journal.' Since 1891, however, so many alterations and improvements have been introduced that it was considered advisable to hold a further competition, and accordingly, in the Implement section, the following prizes were offered this year at the Maidstone meeting:

CLASS II.

Cream separator: Power machine, suitable for farm use. 1st prize, 201. ; 2nd prize, 107.

CLASS III.

Cream separator: Hand-power machine, the power taken to drive the same not to exceed 2,500 foot lb. 1st prize, 201.; 2nd prize, 107.

The points which the Judges were directed to specially consider were the following:

Price.

Power taken per gallon.

Time taken per gallon.

Efficiency of separation.

Means of regulating thickness of cream.

Facility for dismantling and cleaning.

Mechanical construction.

Freedom from froth, both of separated milk and cream.

See The Trials of Cream Separators at Dincaster, Journal P.A.S.E., 3rd series, vol. ii., 1891, p. 497.

VOL. X. T. S.—39

NN

The following machines were entered for trial:

No. in Catalogue.

CLASS II.-Cream Separators (Power Machines).

2545 Watson, Laidlaw & Co., 98 Dundas Street, Glasgow. “Princess," belt-power, price 557. Declared output per hour 250 gallons. 2546 Watson, Laidlaw & Co., 98 Dundas Street, Glasgow. "Princess," driven by steam turbine, price 327. 10s., stand 22s. 6d. extra. Declared output 100 gallons.

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2567 The "Fram" Dairy Machinery Co., 1 Holborn Circus, London, E.C. Fram," No. 4, price 291. 58. Declared output 75 gallons. 2892 Melotte Separator Sales Co., Counterslip, Bristol. "Melotte," No. 5, price 271. 108. Declared output 85 gallons.

3922 Dairy Supply Co., Museum Street, London, W.C. "The Farmer's Surprise," No. 3, price 317. Declared output 110 gallons. 3923 Dairy Supply Co., Museum Street, London, W.C. "The Farmer's Surprise," No. 4, price 357, Declared output 150 gallons.

CLASS III.-Cream Separators (Hand-power Machines).

2547 Watson, Laidlaw & Co., 98 Dundas Street, Glasgow. "Princess," hand-power, price 197. Declared output 50 gallons.

2548 Watson, Laidlaw & Co., 98 Dundas Street, Glasgow. "PrincessVictoria," hand-power, price 121. Declared output 25 gallons. 2549 Watson, Laidlaw & Co., 98 Dundas Street, Glasgow. "Victoria," hand-power, price 81. Declared output 10 gallons.

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2568 The "Fram" Dairy Machinery Co., 1 Holborn Circus, London, E.C. Fram," No. 2, price 177. 178. Declared output 44 gallons. 2785 Pond & Son, Ltd., Prize Dairy Works, Blandford, Dorset. "Crown," price 201. Declared output 50 gallons.

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16 gallons. Butterfly," No. 2,

gallons.

2812 Vipan & Headly, Church Gate Works, Leicester. "Butterfly," No. 1, price 97. 108., stand 208. extra. Declared output 2313 Vipan & Headly, Church Gate Works, Leicester. price 117.. stand 208. extra. Declared output 27 2893 Melotte Separator Sales Co., Counterslip, Bristol. price 187. 10s. Declared output 45 gallons. 3924 Dairy Supply Co., Museum Street, London, W.C. Surprise," No. 1, price 127. Declared output 45 gallons.

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Melotte," No. 2,

"The Farmer's

It will be seen that four separate firms competed in the power machine" class, and six in the "hand-power machine" class, and that altogether six different firms entered for the trials.

All the entries put in an appearance at the Maidstone Showyard, and were ready to start at the time appointed. The trials commenced on Wednesday June 14. At the commencement the Judges-Mr. Douglas Gilchrist and myself-were met by a difficulty, inasmuch as the first three machines on the list were driven by self-contained steam turbines, while the last three were driven by belts, so that it was practically impossible to exactly compare the power taken.

In the case of the three turbine-driven machines, the turbine

acting direct on to the bowl spindle and forming an essential feature of the machine, it was a little difficult to make a precise comparison of the power taken as compared with the belt-driven machines, as in the latter case no losses in shafting or engine were considered, whereas in the turbine machines any loss that might occur in the turbine was included.

As a comparative test of the power taken to work these machines, steam was supplied to them from an independent small boiler, and the quantity of water used by each machine from the time that steam was turned on until separation was completed was carefully weighed.

Referring to the trials of light portable motors at Plymouth (Journal, 3rd series, vol. i. 1890, p. 589), it will be seen that the steam consumption for single engines indicating 5·17 and 6.20 H.P. was at the rate of 64.73 lb. and 57.75 lb., or a mean of 61.7 lb. of steam for 5.6 H.P. The actual steam consumption measured for the turbines compares favourably with that of an engine of one H.P., a smaller engine and boiler than which is not likely to be used in any dairy using steam power.

During the trials the milk for each day's use was placed in a receptacle and kept constantly stirred, and a sufficient quantity for a 20 minutes' run carefully weighed out to each machine, a sample of the milk being at the same time taken for analysis by Dr. Voelcker, the Society's Consulting Chemist. After separation, the separated milk and the cream and the contents of the bowl of the machine were separately weighed, and samples taken for the same purpose. Before running, each exhibitor heated the milk to what he considered the most suitable temperature.

Several runs were made for various purposes, such as ascertaining the power taken, the efficiency of the arrangements for producing either thick or thin cream, &c.

It is satisfactory to be able to say that all the machines were capable of separating the amount of milk claimed for them.

CLASS II.-POWER SEPARATORS.

No. 3922, The Dairy Supply Company's Cream Separator, "The Farmer's Surprise," No. 3, Steam Turbine, price 317.This machine claims to be the direct descendant of the first Laval machine which was exhibited at the Royal Show at Kilburn in 1879, though it has been so much improved that it has little in common with its progenitor.

The original machine had an "empty" bowl, but in the

year 1891 it was fitted with cone-shaped discs placed inside the bowl, these being arranged one over the other on a central tube, and entirely filling the bowl with the exception of a space of about inch between each disc, and being kept apart by small projections on the surface of the discs. The effect of these discs is to split the milk into thin layers, the result of which is to enormously increase the rapidity with which the separation is effected.

This year another most important improvement has been introduced. Hitherto the in-flowing milk has passed down the central tube to the bottom of the bowl, where it escaped through

an outlet, and, in order to distribute itself amongst the discs, had to make its way through the cream which had already been separated, thus disturbing the latter, and partially undoing the work of separation. In the improved type (figs. 1 and 2) the milk flows, as hitherto, down the central tube and escapes through narrow slots made in wings, which project from the central tube far enough to deliver the milk outside the inner wall of cream, and at a point where the specific gravity of the contents of the bowl corresponds with that of the incoming milk, thus reducing the disturbance caused by the entry of fresh milk to a minimum. The slotted wings have the further advantage of giving a more even distribution of the milk to the discs than was hitherto