An electric milking machine was one highlight of "Beck's Circus." Adam Beck, wearing the bowler hat and standing on the right, attended this demonstration of a Sharples Mechanical Milker. Advertisements for the machine assured purchasers that "the cows are more contented. The teats and udder become far better conditioned. The milk product is absolutely uncontaminated - pure and more valuable. Labour cut to one third." Efficiency increased as electrical machines were improved. The DeLaval milking machine pictured here was introduced in the 1940s. It consists of an electrically powered vacuum pump and a magnetic pulser to provide the suction necessary for quick and efficient milking. A cow could be milked in three to four minutes.
Courtesy: Ontario Hydro and National Museum of Science and Technology, National Museums of Canada
