THE TRANSPORT OF MILK.
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The Employment of Petrol and Steam Vehicles in this Service is Economical in Every Sense.
THE PASSING of the last few years has witnessed a revolution in the methods of handlingproost of our raw materials. Milk is no exception. The change in thii instance has been brought. about by several factors. One is, undoubtedly the increased importance which has been attached to the sanitary handling of milk, and another is the general improvement of transport. At one time, it was quite usual to carry milk in the general utility vehicle of the farm. As it was often impossible to clean it out after the many and varied loads it carried, the cessation of this Practice is to be commended on sanitary grounds. IA here the farmer has to haul a compara, tively small number of churns to the station, or to a milk depot, it probably still pays to convoy it by horsed transport. This is especially so where the lanes surrounding the farin are narrow and hilly, or where the farm is approached by an occupation road. Where it is necessary to collect large quantities of milk, it is now, as a rule, found more economical to collect by petrol or steam transport. In -town and urban areas, the electric vehicle has a distinct niche, ... but, for the collection of milk in scattered country districts, it is not so suitable on acount of the difficulty of charging its batteries, and its limited radius of action. Where once, therefore, it was a common sight to see horse wagons pulled by two or three horses and loaded with milk churns, collect-Mg milk round the countryside, it is now no uncommon thing to see powerful and substantial commercial vehicles performing the same service.
Selection of Vehicles.
A fair amount of attention has been given to the selection of vehicles for this work. As a general rule • a fairly large size -vehicle is selected, generally one with, sa.y_, a carrying capacity of about three to four tons. This enables something between 30and 25 churns to be carried at one time. In some districts, and on some roads, steam wagons have been very successful. For other districts and on other roads, petrol vehicles have been found the best, and it is probable that the best fleet will comprise vehicles of each type. It is obvious that an exceptionally reliable vehicle is required for the collection of milk. • Breakdown means a serious loss owing to the highly perishable nature of the commodity carried. Then,too, the Work, as a rule, has to be doneevery day inthe.week. Most People, therefore, go in for a vehicle of proved reliability, and in this they are undoubtedly wise. At the present time, a milk-collecting lorry suit-. able for holding about 30 aurns costs well over £1,000. It also costs a lot of money to run, somewhere between £20 and 25 tier week. It is obvious, therefore, that every care .should be taken of the lorry, and •every effort made to get the", maximum. amount of work out of it. When the lorry is standing idle, it is not earning anything to wipe off its high capital cost. In the old days, a horse and cart worth,' probably, about 2100 to 1:15Q., standing at the gate ot a farm, did not represent a very big capital o-Ut-: lay, or much loss through idle time. The wages were ncit so high, and if the driver had to wait ten minutes for the milk it, was annoying but not very serious .financially. In these'days of milk collection by motor lorry, we have an outfit worth ten times as morqh, and driver and assistant getting considerably higher wages for less .hours. It is obvious, therefore, that any waiting they May have to do is a very expensive .matter, and whatever-can be done to reduce this will be an advantage. There are many things that will 'help to • attain, this, end.' First of all, the vehicle should be run to a. schedule. The farnier should be notified at what time his milk will be collected, so that he will not have to wait about with it, should the arrangement be for him to bring it to the end of the farm road to meet the collecting vehicle. Again', if leaves it there, it will not be lying in the SAM or exposed to the weather for longer than is necessary. If the arrangemeat is to pick up the milk at a Certain time, andthe vehicle is unpunCtual, the farmer, too; Will became iinpurictual, so that, whenever the -vehicle is up to schedule time it will have to wait for the milk. All this emphasizes theoneed for. a reliable vehicle and competent oversight, as well as good drivers.
Loading Devices. .
To reduce the standing time, various loading devices are being tried: • On the Sentinel lorry, the makerahave, in so-me instances, fitted a runway runring the length of the hicle and 'bridged slightly over the rear. By means of this and a -quick. acting . pulley block, the churns can be lifted on to the vehicle with ease.; In one or -two.iristances, we have seen a small elevating platferni Worked by a winch which raises a chum practically:from the ground to the platform height. • A simpler device is to have: a falldown flap at the rear of the lorry whieh halves the lift between the ground and the lorry, and se makes it easier for the mon to get the churns --On to the vehicle. Strange to say, the•majority'of the men fail to use these devices even when they Are provided, and all they seem to wantiSa body as 'low as. possible. This is often obtained by having the body right down on the chassis nienibers, over the •vvineels Ileing fiatAopped wheel arch, which is itself 'arrangedto take several churns. Collecting Platforms.
In some oases • where the dairy at the farm situated a little distance from the main' road, it has bee,n• found advantageous to provide the farmer With a small trolley on which he pulls the .milk down to the main road. This dispenses -with the necessity for the vehicle to go.Inside the farmyard on rough and poor ground to pick up the milk, and is a great time saver. In other cases, platforms are built on the main road at a spot which is roughly the centre of a fair number of farmsteads. The farmers all bring their milk to the platform, and the Milk collecting lorry often,picks up practically a full load at once. The driver leaves the, empty churns on the niatforin for the farmers to collect the next time they bring the full churns along. Arrangements to erect these platforms have to he made with the local authority or County Council. As a rule, there is not much difficulty in obtainin.gpermission, providing 'the platforms, aresubstantially built, well set back [rota. the road and provided with a metalled approach so, that the collecting vehicle does not obstruct the main road.
By watching the points with which We have dealt, and by studying the journeys dailY.,with the aid of a map, so that unnecessary mileage can be avoided, it is possible to work milk collecting 'lorries economically and satisfactorily. The business is a peculiar one, owing•to the cornmadity collected being of such 'a perishable nature. The advantages of motor transport for this purpose, however, are becoming more, and more realized, and not only greater economy but—a more important thing—an improvement in the quality of the milk have been effected li3r the extensive adoption of modem methods of transport.
It is without doubt largely due to the efficient colle-ction and delivery of fresh milk supplies byiniotor vehicles that townspeople are enabled to secure early morning deliveries of this eSsential commodity. In many instances, the motor vehicle is now performing the one-time duties of the railway, and, what is more, undertaking them with greater expedition, which, so far asimilk distribution is concerned, is a factor of paramount importance. Terminal delays, which -are usually involved when the• railway is employed, do n.ot occair when the motor vehicle is used.