-FAN Z 
 
 J N I V r. k 5 I T Y 
 
 Tke Milck Goat 
 Dai 
 
 airy 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 
 By G. H. WICKERSHAM 
 
 WICHITA. KANSAS 
 
 PRICE FIFTY CENTS 
 
XX 
 
 Tke Milck Goat 
 Dairy 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 By G. H. ^Vickersham, \Viclaita, Kansas 
 
 F 
 
 r 
 
 "Black Oak," one of the Writer's Finest Breeding Bucks. His 
 
 Blood is one-naif Swiss Toggenburg and one-half Nubian, weight 
 
 175 Ibs. He is one of the best to be found in this country. 
 
 PRICE FIFTY CENTS 
 
 "Go, little booklet, go, 
 
 Thou bear'st an honest name, 
 And everywhere, where thou hast went, 
 
 They're glad that thou hast carre." 
 
 
JOHNSTON PRESS 
 WICHITA 
 
MILCH GOAT DAIRY 
 
 By G. H. WICKERSHAM 
 
 IF there is one feature of agriculture more worthy of development than 
 another it is the milch goat industry. Goats have been associated with 
 
 man dating back as far as our most ancient history. In the scriptures 
 goats milk is mentioned more frequently than any other kind of milk, show- 
 ing that it has been used as an article of food for mankind from the most 
 remote period. Three of the most important requisites of ancient man were 
 supplied him by the goat; they were meat, milk and clothing, and in many 
 countries today the goat is the chief sustainer of the inhabitants. 
 
 The milch goat industry in the United States is a comparatively new 
 one, having received very little attention in this country prior to 1909, 
 owing to various reasons. First of these reasons possibly is due to the 
 fact that to secure importations from the countries where the best milk 
 producing stock were to be had was almost impossible, as the inhabitants 
 of these countries were loath to sell any of their stock to importers, just 
 as it has been in securing and importing the Angora goats from Turkey 
 and the countries where the best of its kind was to be had. Second: The 
 importation of goats is forbidden or so hedged about with restrictions of 
 the department of agriculture that there is great difficulty in securing the 
 number of pure bred animals which breeders would like to have, but with 
 the stock received prior to the laying of the quarantine some excellent 
 milking strains are being developed. Third: The foolish ridicule that has 
 always been attached to anything bearing the name of "Goat," has kept 
 its true value as a milk producing animal more in seclusion, but since it 
 has become an evident fact that the Angora goat industry is a grand suc- 
 cess and is securely established throughout the country in general, many 
 people have very naturally cast aside the idea that ALL goats are worth- 
 less and were guilty of making old shoes and tin cans their chief article 
 of diet. 
 
 There has been so much of ridicule attached to the goat for some un- 
 known reason that people here have been slow to accept them. However 
 ithey are beginning to come into their own, and a person can confess that 
 he uses goat milk without fear of a sneer or a funny look greeting him. 
 Physicians are helping along, for they prescribe goat's milk for babies and 
 invalids when nothing else agrees with them. The people of the United 
 States are at last beginning to wake up to the possibilities of the milch 
 goat. We are the last civilized country to raise goats for milk purposes, 
 for every other country from Bible days down have known them. Germany, 
 Italy, Spain and Switzerland, where they are brought to their best and 
 from where our best goats are imported. People of moderate circumstances 
 in the suburbs of our cities are asking whether they can do better by keep- 
 ing milch goats. The poorer classes of these suberbs, to whom milk is a 
 
 3 
 
luxury, arc wondering if they can not find a blessing in a milch goat. With 
 the miners in the coal districts the milch goat is a proven friend. And 
 while the milch goat is often called "The Poor Man's Cow," yet we find 
 many of the wealthy classes now harboring the cunning milch goat and 
 appreciating it's milk and friendship. 
 
 Prior to April, 1904, there were scarcely no pure-bred Swiss goats in 
 the United States. In that month the first consignment of Swiss goats to 
 our country was made, consisting of sixteen Toggenburgers and ten Saanen. 
 Since this date only a few of the recognized milch goat breeds have reached 
 our shores. 
 
 The husbandry of milch goats in some of the European countries forms 
 the chief occupation of the people, particularly in Switzerland, the total 
 area being only 16,000 square miles. This country is less than half the 
 size of the state of Indiana, yet in 1901 it is officially stated that the pro- 
 duction of goats milk alone was 19,875,000 gallons, and that the estimated 
 value in that country of goats milk being ten cents per quart, it would 
 equal nearly $8,000,000. The annual estimated value of goats milk in Ger- 
 many is worth about $39,000,000. Spain, Italy, France and Norway derive 
 a large revenue from the milch goat industry. 
 
 Some figures are shown here, quoted from Detweiler, which give some 
 very interesting statistics with reference to the milch industry in Germany. 
 They are as follows: 
 
 Value of Goats $11,900,000 
 
 Value of Goat's Milk Products 35,700,000 
 
 Value of Goats Slaughtered 1,547,000 
 
 Value of Kids Slaughtered 1,785,000 
 
 This shows the importance of the industry in Germany alone. 
 
 ADAPTABILITY OF MILCH GOATS TO OUR CLIMATE 
 
 THE milch goat is an animal that adapts itself very readily to most 
 any climate that might be found in the United States. It is un- 
 doubtedly the most hardy of all domestic animals, thriving well in 
 our most extreme northern states and in extreme southern. There are, 
 however, a few species of goats native to Southern Europe, India, and 
 Africa that can not be kept profitably in this country unless it be in our 
 most southern states. Some of these breeds are our very best types of 
 milch goat stock and by crossing them with our hardy northern breeds it 
 is possible to produce the very best milking stock that will adapt itself to 
 the various conditions and climate of the United States. 
 
 Swiss Toggenburgs, Swiss Saanen, Spanish Maltese, and Nubian cross 
 bred goats thus far have proven to be very successful in this country. 
 The above mentioned breeds do as well here as the Angora and are prov- 
 ing themselves to be a more remunerative animal. In some ways they 
 resemble the Angoras, prefering as they do the higher lands and shunning 
 any low marsh soils. They shun dampness in every form and would prob- 
 ably not prove themselves so well adapted to the low swampy localities of 
 our country. 
 
 In 1909 our government located a milch goat farm thirteen miles out 
 of Washington, D. C,, with the idea of studying the possibility of producing 
 useful milch goats from native stock with the use of sires of imported 
 blood. The first step was to purchase a number of southern native does. 
 During 1910 and 1911 milk and feed records were kept. In 1911 a pure 
 bred Saanen buck was procured and in 1914 they had ten half blood Saanen 
 
 4 
 
does in milk, one of these does averaging over five pounds of milk a day 
 on dry feed. In 1912 and 1913 part of these does were bred to a Toggen- 
 burg buck. 
 
 HEALTHFULNESS AND SUPERIOR QUALITY OF GOAT'S MILK 
 
 THERE is but very little question as to the immunity of the goat from 
 germs of tuberculosis, in fact an eminent Paris physician states 
 
 that he experimented by inoculating goats with virus of tuberculosis 
 and that none of them ever showed any evidence or indications of having 
 had the malady communicated to them by the inoculation nor has he ever 
 found a goat infected with any other similar malady. Some authors claim 
 that it is possible for goats to contract this disease, but it is conceded by 
 the greatest majority of writers that the milch goat is free from liability 
 to any of the diseases incident to or prevalent among other species of farm 
 animals except the foot and mouth disease. 
 
 It has been a common practice to keep a goat about a stable of fine 
 horses or cattle for the supposed purpose of warding off diseases and keep- 
 ing the other animals in a perfect state of health. Many physicians recom- 
 mend keeping one on the premises for the health as well as the amusement 
 of children. This accounts to some extent for the fact that goats are to 
 be seen in a great many of our larger cities in this country and among the 
 families of the old world. The Swiss people attribute their remarkable 
 good health to the constant association with the milch goat and the ex- 
 tensive use of the milk in their diet. 
 
 The facts as stated above show plainly why goats milk is superior to 
 that of cows in that it is practically immune from the diseases that are 
 prevalent with the cow and through the milk is transmitable to those 
 using it. 
 
 The problem that is almost incessantly confronting the American people 
 today is that of getting good pure milk. In most cases it is undoubtedly 
 the fault of the milkman that so much milk should so closely resemble the 
 contents of the pump, but through the agency of infection the cow will 
 have to share some of the blame in producing milk that is not thoroughly 
 wholesome. Milk, when it is pure, is one of the most wholesome of all 
 foods; it is the first food of man and he is dependent upon it to a large 
 degree throughout life. Would it not seem most necessary that the problem 
 of placing in the reach of every one absolutely pure, sweet, wholesome 
 milk be solved if such a thing is possible! To all intelligent people the 
 fact is well known that the goat is practically immune from all infectious 
 diseases and that goat's milk contains about double the nutriment as that 
 of the cows. Then why wouldn't the milch goat solve this problem? 
 
 Nearly all foreign writers agree in their claims as to the value of goat's 
 milk for invalids, children and for cooking and table use. Some of them 
 regard it as most beneficial when taken medicinally for certain diseases 
 and ailments. The claim is generally made that it is absolutely free at all 
 times from the germs of tuberculosis. The milk is specially recommended 
 for infants because of its similarity in composition to the mother's milk; 
 
 5 
 
and the literature is full of instances of success attending the use of the 
 milk with children that, previous to its use, were rapidly wasting away. 
 Goat's milk is used quite largely in the hospitals in the Swiss and French 
 Alps for tuberculosis patients and those suffering from stomach troubles. 
 
 "Doctor Boissard, obstetrician of the Paris hospitals, published last 
 year a report on the results given by the use of goat's milk, and the latter 
 were favorable. There is a special establishment in Paris where goats 
 from the French and Swiss Alps are kept. The greatest cleanliness is 
 observed, the jugs being washed in boiled water at milking time; the milk- 
 
 "AFTON CURLEY" when one year old, a % Swiss Toggenburg and % 
 Swiss Saanen buck, used by the writer in 1910 as a breeding buck; his 
 progeny developed into good milkers, which has shown his prepotent 
 powers. This buck is the result of scientific cross-breeding with the 
 best of results. 
 
 men are 'obliged to wash their hands with soap; and the bottles and milk 
 cans are sterilized by being boiled in a solution of carbonite of sodium. 
 It is a well-known fact that the goat does not readily contract tuberculasis, 
 and this, of course, is a guaranty of some importance." The Medical Times, 
 May, 1902; Modern Medicine, July, 1902. 
 
 "Goat's milk has the advantage over cow's milk of being free from 
 tubercle bacilli, and can be taken quite fresh. Contrary to general opinion, 
 the taste is not disagreeable if the animals are properly selected and 
 properly kept, being considered of a more delicate flavor than cow's milk. 
 
 6 
 
The quantity of fats, casein, and salt varies greatly in the different varieties 
 of goat. For infants and dyspeptics the weaker milk may be chosen, while 
 the stronger answers better for debilitated subjects." Paris Journal of 
 Medicine. 
 
 The leading characteristics of goat's milk is its delicious cream like 
 taste, and the easiness of digestion, due principally to the minute size of 
 the fat globules. These are so small that cream rises very slow on the 
 milk. This feature of goat's milk makes the ordinary method of separating 
 the cream nearly impractical, but with the modern cream separator it is 
 probably that this feature, in regards to butter making, can be overcome 
 entirely. The keping qualities of goat's milk are about the same as that 
 of cow's milk. But too much stress can not be put on the importance of 
 cleanliness in milking, which affects to a large degree the keeping qualities 
 of any kind of milk. The strong acrid taste often noted by people that 
 have drunk goat's milk either in our country or abroad is without doubt 
 due to two causes; that of uncleanliness in milking or improper feed. If 
 the milk is drawn perfectly clean and kept in clean places, it does not have 
 any unpleasant taste whatever and it would take a very exacting critic to 
 detect it from the richest cow's milk. The flavor of goat's milk is affected 
 as is the milk of the cow by the character of the feed. Because of the 
 fact that the goat will eat most any kind of weeds and plants and if allowed 
 to make this its chief diet, it is only reasonable to confirm the notion that 
 some people have that goat's milk is poor in flavor and has a bad odor. 
 
 In most of the foreign countries the milch goat is allowed to shift for 
 itself as best it can, which necessitates the animal eating much bad food 
 which is nothing more than refuse. Because of its ability to thus secure a 
 living and produce milk without expense to its owner, it is kept by those 
 who are unable to provide food for it. 
 
 The American people understand fully well the causes that produce bad 
 flavored milk in cows and will not expect anything radically different in 
 the milk goat. If the milking does are permitted to roam about the streets 
 and alleys at will and feed upon garbage, shrubbery and aromatic plants 
 of every description, good flavored milk could not be expected from either 
 a goat or a cow. All these things have their influence upon the flavor of 
 the milk. 
 
 "Many persons are impressed with the idea that this milk has a 
 peculiar flavor, but this impression is entirely erroneous, for when drawn 
 clean from an animal in health it resembles cow's milk, both in taste and 
 appearance, the only difference being that it is richer, thicker, and slightly 
 sweeter, containing as it does a larger proportion of sugar and cream and 
 less water." Pegler. 
 
 "The milk from goats fed upon what an English meadow or roadside 
 yields has no flavor to distinguish it from cow's milk, except, perhaps, its 
 extra sweetness and creaminess; in short it is only distinguishable by its 
 superiority." Hook. 
 
 "An after taste of goat's milk, according to statements of veterinarians, 
 should not exist, and if any such taste or smell exist it must be traced to 
 
 7 
 
unclean stables or bad feed. Even cow's milk very frequently smells badly 
 under these conditions/' Milch-Zeitung. 
 
 "It (the milk) possesses a singular but not unpleasant sharp taste, the 
 strength of which varies with the feeding and keeping. The better the 
 feed, the cleaner the bedding, the better ventilated the stall, and the more 
 painstaking the care, just so much more pleasing will be the taste of the 
 milk. The goatish taste is always to be attributed to the lack of attention 
 to one or more of these points." Dettweiler. 
 
 "Innoxious, uninfectious, sanitary nourishment for the infant, the 
 child, the invalid and the aged, has been until recently a reflective problem 
 for the medical man as well as the layman. All the different stages of 
 our existence depend not only upon nourishment, harmless in character, but 
 its perfect assimilation for best results. The ideal food for our purpose is 
 human milk, from healthy, unimpregnated mothers. Its only substitute of 
 equal value is now offered and can be supplied from matured, healthy, un- 
 impregnated milch goats. It is the only and reliable wholesome milk in 
 reach. The statistics of the world are against the use of cow's milk today 
 for food in the above mentioned classes. 
 
 "The fourth annual report of the District of Columbia Association for 
 the Prevention of Tuberculosis, and this is from the most reliable and 
 highest source of information in the United States, tells us that one-fourth 
 of all cases of tuberculosis among children under 16 years of age, and one- 
 eighth of all fatal cases under 5 years of age are due to bovine tuberculosis. 
 And among children fed exclusively on cows' milk, nine out of ten cases 
 of fatal tuberculosis revealed that five, or 55 per cent, were due to bovine 
 infection. The most noted authorities of Europe and America agree that 
 the qualities of goats' milk lie in its chemical composition, its immunity 
 from the danger of carrying the germs of tuberculosis make it the "ne plus 
 ultra" of all foods. As a prophecy, remember that the goat will be the 
 foster-mother and wet-nurse of generations yet unborn." Louis G. Knox, 
 M. D., D. V. S. 
 
 A prominent Buffalo physician says: "I take great pleasure in com- 
 mending goats' milk for the infant, where other foods fail. I have resorted 
 to goats' milk feeding in quite a few cases, and only recently have fed two 
 premature (7 months' gestation) infants on this food with most flattering 
 results." 
 
 A happy mother, Mrs. George Hoffman, wrote: "We cannot speak too 
 highly of the use of goats' milk for premature infants. Our boy at one 
 month old weighed 3% pounds, and at three months (after using the goats' 
 milk obtained from the McKeand farm) weighed eight pounds." 
 
 To make a fair test of goats' milk, one must be sure that the milk 
 has been prepared by the latest methods that are used in certified dairies. 
 Under these conditions the milk is pleasant to the taste and has a digesti- 
 bility second only to mothers' milk. Mr. J. L. Strutton, in the British 
 Medical Journal, writes that in Alexandria the matron of the hospital says 
 that babies in that city are fed direct from the goats, that is, by having 
 the mouths applied to the washed teats. The article goes on to say that 
 the babies are rosy and plump, rarely cry, just eat and sleep. This direct 
 
 8 
 
method of feeding cannot be carried out as a general practice, but the clean 
 milk from sterilized bottles will produce good, strong babies. In comparing 
 goats' milk and cows' milk, Dr. Voelcker, analyst to the Royal Agricultural 
 Society, says: "The cream globules in goats' milk are smaller than cows' 
 milk, and as the milk is more concentrated than cows' milk, the cream glob- 
 ules are contained in a more perfect state of emulsion than in cows' milk, 
 in consequence of which hardly any cream rises to the surface on allowing 
 goats' milk to stand for twelve hours or longer." 
 
 It is this quality of goats' milk that explains the fact that it is more 
 easily digested by young children than cows' milk. According to the re- 
 port on this subject at the International Congress of Medicine in Paris some 
 years ago, the following statement was made: 
 
 "A GOOD SPANISH MILCH GOAT," by Fairchild, 
 Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 (1) The curd of cows' milk forms a dense adhering mass, which by 
 agitation separates into clots that are but slightly soluble. The curd of 
 goats' milk, on the other hand, forms very small, light flakes, which are 
 soft, friable and soluble like those of human milk. 
 
 (2) The curd in both human milk and goats' milk, after agitation, is 
 precipitated very slowly and incompletely, while the curd of cows' milk is 
 precipitated very rapidly and completely. 
 
 (3) Digestive ferments when goats' and human milk were experi- 
 mented with, digested these completely in twenty hours, while cows' milk 
 showed only slight advance after sixty hours. The goats' milk approxi- 
 mates more in composition and digestibility to human milk than any other 
 animal. 
 
 Another very strong argument in favor of goats' milk is the fact that 
 goats are free from tuberculosis. The fact that goats' milk contains more 
 proteid than cows' milk makes the food value, without question, greater 
 than cows' milk. It is a fact that bottle-fed babies as a rule are under- 
 
 9 
 
fed; that is, the amount of proteid is lacking in sufficient quantities because, 
 undiluted cows' milk cannot be digested by an infant until the tenth month 
 is reached. 
 
 In modifying goats' milk it has been my policy to base my modification 
 on a 5% fat basis. 
 
 All weights herein given are in ounces. 
 For the first month: 
 
 Goats' milk, % ounce. 
 Boiled water, % ounce. 
 Lime water, % to % ounce. 
 
 Feed every three hours. . 
 
 Lime water is gradually diminished until the second month is reached, 
 when the formula is changed to 
 Goats' milk, l 1 /^ ounces. 
 Boiled water, 1% ounces. 
 Mead's Depti Maltose, 1 teaspoonful. 
 Feed once in 3 hours. 
 
 I find malt sugar superior to either sugar of milk or cane-sugar in 
 modifying goats' milk. Third month: 
 Goats' milk, 3 ounces. 
 Water (boiled), 1 ounce. 
 Mead's malt sugar, % teaspoonful. 
 Feed every 3 hours. 
 Fourth month: 
 
 Goats' milk, 5 ounces. 
 
 Water, boiled sufficient to bring fats to 5%. 
 Feed every 3% hours. 
 
 Each month, after the fourth month, gradually increase the amount 
 of the feeding one-half to one ounce a month until eight ounces is reached. 
 And then feed once in four hours. I find that eight ounces of goats' milk 
 will satisfy a child of eight months and will continue to do so until the 
 child has reached the twelfth month, when other food can be given in 
 addition. My experience has been so satisfactory in using goats' milk that 
 I want to recommend it generally to the medical profession. 
 
 CHAS. E. IDE, M. D. 
 
 In Dr. Eustace Smith's well known work on "The Wasting Diseases of 
 Infants and Children," we read: "With some children, in spite of all pos- 
 sible precautions, cows' milk, however carefully it may be prepared and 
 administered cannot be digested * * * In such cases, if there are objec- 
 tions to a wet nurse, recourse must be had to milk of some other animal, 
 and preference should be given to a milk which contains a smaller propor- 
 tion of casein than that found in the milk of the cow, such as goats' milk." 
 
 The "British Medical Journal" of May 12, 1906, quotes with approval 
 the following extract from a paper read by Dr. J. Finley Bell, of Engle- 
 wood, New Jersey, before the New York Academy of Medicine, in which 
 he gave reasons for recommending the more extensive use of goats' milk 
 in the feeding of infants: "Dr. Bell reports two cases of wasting infants 
 in whom improvement began as soon as they were put upon a mixture of 
 goats' milk and water in place of cows' milk modified in various ways, and 
 suggests that the fat of goats' milk being fluid at a point below the normal 
 
 10 
 
temperature of the body, may interfere less with gastric secretion, while 
 it is not less digestible by the pancreatic juice. Other advantages which 
 he claims for the goat are: She is more docile, less excitable, not subject 
 to tuberculosis or other disease in this climate. Being browsers rather 
 than grazers, they will thrive when cows would not; and, above all, she is 
 cleanly. Her excrement is solid and her tail short; consequently she is not 
 covered with manure, as is the cow. It is safe to assert that the produc- 
 tion of cows' milk free from manure bacteria is commercially impossible. 
 Not so with the goat; she can be easily washed (tubbed if necessary) and 
 aproned for milking." 
 
 "I am quite certain," writes Dr. Lee r of the Children's Hospital, Great 
 Ormond street, London, "that if a hundred children were fed on goats' milk, 
 and compared with an equal number of corresponding ages (all circum- 
 stances being similar) who were fed on any other milk, except that of their 
 mothers', the goats' milk choldren would, in comparison at least with 'those 
 fed o:?. cows' milk have an advantage." 
 
 A fuller explanation by Dr. Demande, director of the sanitarium at 
 Haelbert, Belgium, which was read at the First Annual Congress for the 
 Improvement of the Goat, has just been quoted by Mr. Holmes Pegler in 
 the "Bazaar" (a journal which has given space to the subject of goat-keep- 
 ing every week for many years). "It is not only," says the doctor, "that 
 among the 300,000 goats of Belgium there is probably not one affected 
 with tuberculosis, while among the cows there might be anything between 
 50 per cent and 75 per cent of animals suffering or showing signs of this 
 disease. Goats' milk being wholesome and beyond suspicion, there is no 
 need to sterilize it. It may be taken raw, still palpitating with those mys- 
 terious forces which constitute life, whilst cows' milk, which needs to be 
 boiled, sterilized killed, in fact is a -.congealed, defunct liquid. D'Esch- 
 ensch, who has studied comparatively fresh milk and sterilized milk, has 
 shown that rnilk is not merely a nutritive liquid, but that it is clear that 
 children that are delicate have need of the ferments contained in raw milk, 
 and are quite incapable of digesting milk rendered inert by sterilization." 
 
 The Dr. Demande mentioned has reported a number of cases that have 
 come under his personal observation, in which children who seemed doomed 
 to an early death while being fed on cows' milk grew up strong and healthy 
 by the use of goats' milk. 
 
 It is not necessary to go outside of one's neighborhood to learn of 
 many cases of mal-nutrition. A recent case coming under the writer's 
 observation is typical. A four months old baby could not keep cow's milk, 
 modified cows' milk or any of the commercial baby foods on its stomach. 
 It became very weak and its life was dispaired of. As a last resort it 
 was sent to a baby hospital where a wet nurse was available but the baby 
 continued to fail and after the baby had lost six ounces in weight it was 
 sent home as hopeless. 
 
 The original doctor gave the case up. Another doctor recommended 
 trying goats' milk. A very limited amount of goats' milk was obtained, 
 and, strange as it may seem, the baby retained it, although it was fed 
 without diluting or modifying. In two days it had gained two ounces and 
 in five days, five ounces. The baby has now gained a pound. An attempt 
 
 11 
 
was made to change to cows' milk, because the available supply of goats' 
 milk was insufficient, but the baby could not retain it. 
 
 The color of goats' milk is nearly always pure white when a doe is 
 "fresh" or has recently kidded. There are rare instances when the milk 
 is tinged slightly with a yellow color. 
 
 ECONOMY OF KEEPING MILCH GOATS 
 
 THAT goats' milk can be produced at much less cost than that of cows' 
 milk is a great factor in favor of the milch goat. It has been thor- 
 oughly demonstrated that for the same amount of feed that one 
 cow would require, eight milking goats can be kept. These eight goats 
 will give more good rich milk than any two average cows, that is, the 
 average dairy goat will give about two quarts a day, so the eight goats 
 will give sixteen quarts of milk equal in richness to that of thirty-two 
 quarts of cows' milk. The reader may easily draw a comparison between 
 the profits of the milch goat and that of the cow as butter fat producers 
 by multiplying the yields of one goat by eight. As a rule six to eight 
 goats may be kept in very good milk producing condition on the same 
 amount and the same kind of feed required to keep one cow. 
 
 Milch goats do not require an expensive stable or large pastures as is 
 required by the cow. They may be sheltered in most any kind of a build- 
 ing or shed that might be available. It is not necessary to live on a farm 
 in order to engage in breeding, raising or conducting a milch goat dairy, 
 as these animals are contented with a small yard when given plenty of 
 dry shelter, feed and kind treatment and adapt themselves as well to city 
 life as when roaming over large pastures. This enables the goat dairy- 
 man to produce the milk near to the market. If a person has only a back 
 yard on a city lot, enough food can usually be procured on this amount of 
 ground to keep two or three goats almost the year round. Their food con- 
 sists of almost everything in the vegetable kingdom. They prefer a large 
 variety of vegetation, consisting of browse, weeds, and all grasses. 
 
 This preference to a varied diet gives the milch goat a great advan- 
 tage over most any other domestic animal as regards economy, as weeds, 
 grass and shrubbery can most always be found about the average city 
 residence and upon the farm and can not be used in any other way, but 
 would be otherwise destroyed; even leaves that fall from the trees are 
 eagerly sought after. They prefer most kinds of weeds to grass when 
 they can have their choice, and when snipping off the grass they will 
 always take the tallest and coarsest . first. Thus it can be seen that milch 
 goats are a good destroyer of weeds, and objectionable grasses. Of course 
 an entire diet of rank herbage would be likely to give the milk and unpleasant 
 taste just as it would cows' milk if the cows were to eat such vegetation, 
 but for stock not milking, let them eat what they will. 
 
 Hoffman, in his book on the goat, says that 75 per cent of the house- 
 holds in Germany are now keeping milch goats and is not confined alto- 
 gether to the poorer classes, but the prosperous middle classes consider the 
 milch goat of great value to them in furnishing good nutritious milk. 
 
 12 
 
The possibility of procuring a milch goat at reasonable prices in our 
 country will, in years to come, be an easy matter and their low cost com- 
 pared to that of a cow will be within the reach of the poorest families. 
 The milch goat gives considerable more milk in proportion to its body 
 weight than the cow, and also utilizes its feed to much better advantage. 
 It is satisfied with little feed and with feed that could not be utilized by 
 other animals (provided it is not musty or soiled), which is to be had at 
 much less cost than feed required by the cow. By keeping two goats 
 instead of one cow, the family may be provided during the entire year 
 with milk, with the proper regulation of the birth of the kids. 
 
 "As to the question of human nourishment, the goat occupies an im- 
 portant position. It yields a wholesome nourishment for the family, serves 
 as a useful and agreeable occupation for wife and children, and awakens 
 in its owner a desire for industry and a spirit of frugality. So long as the 
 workingman is happy in the possession of a business, has a small bit of 
 ground to call his own, and a profitable domestic animal, just so long will 
 he be an opponent of social strife; a careful provider for his family, and 
 an adherent of some recognized creed." Hilpert. 
 
 "In Saxony the goat plays an important role as the source of the milk 
 of the household; likewise that the homes that are here under consideration 
 belong to that class of people who are without much means. Especially in 
 the industrial districts of the mountains, with a preponderance of the smaller 
 manufactories, the goat is the supporter of the family in a broad sense, 
 of the people among which it finds its manifold uses. In this way it comes 
 about that goats' milk is such a universally established food material, and 
 one of which the people have become so fond, that they will pay the same 
 price, (or in many places even a pfenning higher price), for it than for 
 cows' milk, which latter serves to help out when there is a scarcity of 
 goats' milk. The reason for this may be found in the higher nutritive 
 value of goats' milk, and the assertion is often made here that anyone 
 who has become accustomed to the use of goats' milk for coffee feels it a 
 degradation if he is compelled to be content with cows' milk in its stead, 
 which is not so pleasant to the taste and is poorer in fat than goats' milk. 
 But the goat is beginning to rise in prominence and gain in numbers in 
 highly developed thickly settled districts where the people are more pros- 
 perous." Dettweiler. 
 
 COMPOSITION AND FLAVOR OF GOATS' MILK 
 
 THE ingredients and analysis of goats' milk vary with the different 
 time of day when milk is drawn, by the particular part of the milk 
 whether the first or the last part drawn and other minor causes. 
 In order to determine the percentages of fat in goats' milk as they 
 appear in the various milkings in the morning, at noon and night, District 
 Veterinary Dr. Loer in Weimar, made far reaching experiments and found, 
 that the fat contents are the largest if the goat is often milked. A goat 
 that is milked three times per day produces a richer milk than the one 
 milked but twice and if milked four times per day, her milk-fat increases 
 
 13 
 
from six to eight per cent over the percentage if milked three times. In 
 Denmark, where three milkings are the rule, from 10 to 15 per cent more 
 fat is obtained than can be had in two milkings. 
 
 Another fact was established in discovering that the last milk from 
 one milking is from ten to twelve times as rich in fat as the milk obtained 
 during the beginning of the act. This should be borne in mind by all doing 
 this work, as a clean milking out is absolutely essential to get all the fat. 
 Dr. Loer also discovered, that slow milking was preferable to fast milking, 
 as it will, if persisted in for months, increase the quantity of the milk. 
 
 If the milk of a goat received from one milking, was divided into three 
 equal parts while the act was going on, it was found that the fat varied 
 greatly at various stages of milking, but that the last one-third of the milk 
 was always the richest in fat. Here is one of his results in tabular form: 
 
 Beginning of Milking 
 
 P.C. . P.C. 
 
 Fat 0.5 Fat 1.4 
 
 Fat 1.1 Fat 1.3 
 
 Fat . .. 2.8 Fat 0.7 
 
 Middle Third of Milking 
 
 P.C. P.C. 
 
 Fat 3.1 Fat 2.6 
 
 Fat 5.2 Fat 3.0 
 
 Fat 3.0 Fat 2.6 
 
 End of Milking 
 
 P.C. P.C. 
 
 Fat 9.6 Fat 3.5 
 
 Fat 7.2 Fat 4.7 
 
 Fat 5.2 Fat 9.0 
 
 An analysis of goats' milk from the British Goat Society with an 
 analysis of cows' milk for comparison is shown in the table below. It 
 should be stated that the cows' milk was from an animal which was a 
 winner at a dairy show. 
 
 Elements Goats' Milk Cows' Milk 
 
 Water 83.21% 87.56% 
 
 Butter Fat 7.30% 3.63% 
 
 Casein 4.18% 
 
 Milk Sugar 4.10% 8.81% 
 
 Ash 1.21% 
 
 Total 100. % 100. % 
 
 Another comparison in which women's, goats' and cows' milk are com- 
 pared: 
 
 Elements , Women's Goats' Cows' 
 
 Fat 4. % 4.6% 3.5 % 
 
 Sugar 7. % 4.3% 4.3 % 
 
 Proteids 1.25% 7. % 3.75% 
 
 Salts .- 0.20% 1.3% 0.7 % 
 
 Water 87.55% 85.6% 87.75% 
 
 Goats' milk not only contains a large amount of butter fat, . but the 
 composition of the butter fat is such as to furnish a highly nutritious food 
 for all ages and classes of mankind. It is said to contain in one quart of 
 
 14 
 
goats' milk equivalent nutriments to one dozen eggs, or one and one-fourth 
 pound of the best beefsteak. 
 
 The flavor of goats' milk can be compared to that of the very best cows' 
 milk when properly handled. An illustration of this is given in an article 
 taken from "The Goat Keeper," in which a fussy old maid who could smell 
 or taste things no ordinary human could, becomes prejudiced against goats' 
 milk. 
 
 "A GERMAN LANGENSALZAER MILCH GOAT," by Dettweiler, 
 Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 "Sister came to visit me again but I decided not to mention the fact 
 that I didn't have to buy any more milk. I wanted to see what she would 
 do when I offered her goats' milk without telling her what it was. I set goats' 
 milk custard before her, goats' milk bread, goats' milk cake, and plain goats' 
 milk, for her tea. Well, the first thing she did was to pour the milk into 
 her cup for tea. She got too much milk in, so drank out some, and smacked 
 her lips on it, then poured in her tea. I waited, almost breathless, for her 
 to make a face and declare it was goats' milk, although it was perfectly 
 odorless, just creamy milk. She never said a word, but I had hard work 
 to keep from screaming with laughter. I had fooled her. If I could her, 
 I could anyone. Well, after the dinner was over, I told her I was getting 
 almost three quarts of milk from one goat. 'What,' she said, 'was that 
 goats' milk I had?' loud enough to have been heard one-eighth of a mile 
 away. 'Yes,' said I, quietly, although I was what they call 'bursting in- 
 side,' 'everything was made of it.' 'Well, I would never have known the 
 difference.' And she heaved a sigh as though exhausted." 
 
 15 
 
DEMAND FOR GOATS' MILK 
 
 THE American people are beginning to comprehend the usefulness, 
 economy and necessity of keeping milch goats for supplying their 
 households with rich, delicious, healthful milk. It is not only the 
 medicinal qualities of goats' milk that is creating such a demand for it, 
 it possesses all the qualities that could be desired of a milk for culinary 
 uses. The number of uses are so many that there can not help being a 
 good demand for it in nearly every part of the United States. Of course 
 in localities where the country is thickly settled, and especially near large 
 cities, the demand for milk of any kind is very good, and here is where 
 goats' milk is particularly in demand at good prices. Generally speaking 
 goats' milk in such localities brings 20 to 25 cents a quart, while in more 
 sparsely settled districts of our country it sells for less. Where milk is 
 sold a better price can always be gotten for goats' milk if the purchasers 
 understand that they are getting more "quality" for their money. Near 
 some of the sanitariums where good sized flocks are kept it is often sold for 
 from 60 to 75 cents a gallon, and where milk from certified herds is sold, in 
 large cities it brings as high as 15 cents for a half pint bottle, and 25 cents 
 for a pint bottle. These prices are obtained usually where the milk is pre- 
 scribed by physicians. 
 
 The demand for this milk will increase as the people become better 
 acquainted with its superior quality over that of cows' milk. 
 
 PERIOD OF LACTATION AND YIELD 
 
 A VERY important requisite in selecting a good milch goat, is to choose 
 one having a long period of lactation. This necessary quality in a 
 milch goat is very often overlooked by buyers who are not fa- 
 miliar with the important merits of the milch goat, take it for granted that 
 one yielding a large quantity of milk daily is the best milker, without con- 
 sidering the length of time this generous yield will continue. Well-bred 
 goats yield a larger quantity and also continue the flow of milk for a much 
 longer time than the more common, ill-kept goats. This is owing to the 
 fact that they have been bred with a large yield and a long period of lacta- 
 tion as one of the leading objects in view. Among all breeds there are 
 individuals that will excel in this particular, a fact that is not uncommon 
 among dairy cows. The proper kinds of feeds supplied with regularity 
 will do much toward lengthening the period of lactation, and those accus- 
 tomed to handling the dairy cow know how necessary it is that the milking 
 be done with regularity if a full and constant flow is to be maintained. As 
 a rule the Swiss and Nubian breeds of goats have the longest period of 
 lactation of any breeds of goats now in our country, which will vary from 
 seven to eight months, and if not bred the period will often extend to ten 
 months and sometimes longer. Usually the second month after a doe has 
 become pregnant her flow of milk begins to diminish and will gradually 
 grow less until the fourth month, or with some does to within one month 
 from kidding time, when she should be completely dryed off, but it is far 
 
 16 
 
better for the doe if she is dryed off two months before she is expected to 
 drop kids. 
 
 It is often necessary to milk does three times a day when they are fresh, 
 and with some it may be better to milk them that often for several months. 
 
 Where goats have been handled most intelligently in Europe for family 
 use, the plan is to have not fewer than two does for each family. One of 
 these should kid in the springtime and maintain a milk flow for not less 
 than six months, while the other should be so managed as to kid six months 
 later than the first one and also to maintain a milk flow for six months. 
 This plan provides for a constant supply of milk, and is especially desirable 
 if there are small children in the household Bureau of Animal Industry 
 Bulletin No. 68. 
 
 About the first question a person will ask in regard to a milch goat is, 
 "How much milk will she give ?" They might just as well ask, "How tall will a 
 tree grow?" for it makes lots of difference what kind of a tree it is and 
 how well it has been cared for, and it is just the same with the milch goat. 
 This is, if course, a very important feature of the industry and one that 
 varies considerably in individuals as well as with breeds. It is surprising 
 sometimes the amount of milk a good milch goat will give in comparison 
 to the size of the animal. From the writer's experience along this line it 
 may be safe to say that the average dairy goat of the Swiss and Nubian 
 breeds will give from two to four quarts a day. With the Spanish and 
 native milch goats from one to two and one-half quarts a day, yet with 
 some individuals much more is given. Some of the three-quarter and seven- 
 eighth Swiss and Nubian does are the best to be found in America. Of 
 course such individuals have had the guidance of an experienced breeder 
 and are the result of scientific breeding. Some of these does give as much 
 as five quarts a day, but such a large yield is unusual and such an animal 
 is very valuable and it is a hard matter to induce a breeder to sell such a 
 doe. She would be a good investment on $100.00. Selling her milk at 20 
 cents a quart would be an income of $1.00 per day, with feed cost of only a 
 few cents. Then her kids, if sired by a buck of equal value, would be 
 excellent stock. If a doe yields two quarts per day and has a period of 
 lactation of from six to seven months she is to be regarded as a very profit- 
 able animal. 
 
 Owing to the fact that good stock has been very hard to secure from 
 the leading milch goat countries, there are very few animals in our country 
 that will produce the quantity that is claimed for them by the German 
 writers, as their literature is full of instances of goats that yield five and 
 six quarts per day, but as an average the best Swiss goats in Switzerland 
 and Germany produce not far from three quarts per day. It is stated by 
 German writers that the milch goats of these countries yield in milk from 
 10 to 16 times their body weight annually. With the cow the average 
 weight of milk produced is 5 times its body weight. The average Swiss 
 goats will weigh in the neighborhood of 66 pounds, which the reader can 
 see is very light compared to the cow. Yet in its form the milch goat ex- 
 hibits the complete type of a milk-producing animal. 
 
 "We in England have been breeding goats now for nearly fifty years 
 with a view to improve the strain for milk, and we certainly have attained 
 
 17 
 
a wonderful result in this way at last, with 17 Ibs. 8 ozs. in three milkings, 
 and such like figures, and thus at a show where we all know goats drop 
 one-fourth of their yield compared with what it was at home. We have 
 goats that have nearly touched 5 quarts in the day, recorded by weight 
 and under observation so that there was no froth or imagination or fairy 
 tales about it. But such goats have been produced by repeatedly crossing 
 and re-crossing with the best imported stock. We have our 'Anglo- 
 Nubians' (a term, I may remark, I originated some 36 years ago and now 
 universally used), our Toggenburgs and our 'Swiss/ but none of these come 
 up to the combination in all three in what we term Anglo-Nubian-Swiss and 
 which embody the good points of these principal (with us) breeds. 
 
 "I have no doubt but that your American goat, when it is produced, in 
 years to come, will equal, if it does not surpass, our own improved speci- 
 mens, but it will take many, many years to become so established as to breed 
 at all true to type color. 
 
 "We in England shall watch your movements in this direction with the 
 greatest interest, for you can do more than we can, inasmuch as your gov- 
 ernment is more reasonable on the score of admitting foreign goats into the 
 country than ours. Our Board of Agriculture persistently refuses to permit 
 us to land more goats from abroad, so we have to do the best we can with 
 such stock as we already possess. I quite believe, therefore, that ere long, 
 with your goat societies to give impetus to the movement, you will obtain 
 some rare milking stocks, but I do hope that you will follow us in this: 
 that you will give no credence to any statements as to extraordinary yields 
 that have not been proved under the observation of judges at shows where 
 the figures obtained may be regarded as authentic. 
 
 "H. S. HOLMES PEGLER, 
 "Hon. Sec. British Goat Society, Kingston on Thames." 
 
 THE MILKING OPERATION 
 
 SOME people might imagine that the operation of milking a goat would 
 be a "back-breaking" task, but it should not be as hard as milking a 
 cow, since it is possible to take the goat anywhere desired. Before 
 milking, the goat about to be milked should be placed upon what the milk 
 goat dairymen call the "milking bench," which consists of nothing more 
 than a platform or strong box about 18 or 20 inches above the ground. 
 It is a very easy matter to entice the doe to mount the bench, as it is 
 customary to feed a little grain while the does is being milked, a handful 
 of oats or corn, in a pan or tin cup placed on the milking bench will be all 
 that is necessary to get the does accustomed to come to the bench to be 
 milked. The operation of drawing the milk is a very easy one, since the 
 milker can either stand up or sit on a stool or chair, in a clean place, away 
 from flies and other objectionable features that confronts the person that 
 milk cows, yet the operating of the udder and teats is in no essential way 
 different to that of milking cows. Sometimes a young doe will object to 
 being milked, and in this case it may be found necessary to secure the doe 
 by the head. A good contrivance often used is called a guillotine board, 
 
 18 
 
which consists of two boards with half-round notches, which when placed 
 together fit around the doe's neck, the lower board is fastened securely, 
 while the upper one may be fixed to lift up or down, so as to admit or 
 release the doe. Other similar methods can be used and will suggest them- 
 selves to those accustomed to milking cows. 
 
 Before milking the two teats (the milch goat has but two teats) and 
 the udder should be washed off with clean water and dried with a clean 
 cloth, also strip the udder a few times from above downward. The person 
 milking should see that the hands are perfectly clean and that the milk 
 pail has been properly scalded and aired. The milking should under no cir- 
 cumstances be done in a dirty place and should never be done in the stalls 
 or in the barn unless a separate part is partitioned off for the milking 
 bench. The buck should not be allowed near where the milking is done, as 
 his odor, which is peculiar to only the bucks of the milch goats, is apt 
 to be absorbed by the milk, giving it an unpleasant, strong taste. 
 
 Regularity in milking is very important, and when does are "fresh" it 
 it sometimes necessary to milk them three times a day, for if allowed to go 
 too long at a time, the udder might become caked and the flow of milk 
 would then decrease rapidly. A disregard for this feature will sometimes 
 prove disastrous to a good milk-producing doe. 
 
 As a rule, milch goats are very gentle and of a kind disposition when 
 handled and cared for so far as possible by the same person, and conduct 
 themselves with extaordinary willingness toward the one who takes their 
 milk in the matter of gratifying the whims of the suckling kids or of the 
 person who milks them. The milking should be done with regard to gentle- 
 ness; if abused, they don't forget it, neither do they forget a kindness 
 shown them. The strokes and tugs should be performed gently, and the 
 milk is drawn best by the ordinary stroke directed from above downward. 
 
 LOCATION OF GOAT DAIRIES 
 
 GOAT dairies, without a doubt, will in a few years be distributed over 
 nearly all parts of the United States. Good milk is an article of diet 
 wanted in nearly every home in our country, and no other animal 
 will produce so good a quality and so large a quantity at so small a cost 
 as the milch goat. 
 
 That goats' milk is a very valuable medicinal food for infants, invalids, 
 and convalescents, is a well known fact published by our best medical 
 practitioners. The cost of starting a small milch goat dairy need not be 
 very great and it would be worth the while of our physicians to lend such 
 an enterprise their support. Milch goat dairies are meeting with great 
 success wherever established in the towns and villages of all Europe. Why 
 should they not do so in this country? Our people are educated and know 
 a good thing when they see it, and the only way to^convince people of the 
 superior merits of goats' milk is for them to try it. The people of our 
 country want the best of everything, and the richest, purest, and healthiest 
 milk is produced only by milch goats. 
 
 A few milch goats can be kept most anywhere, as there is nothing ob- 
 
 19 
 
jectionable to their presence in the cities as would be in the keeping of 
 cows. They are a very clean animal and their quarters should be absolutely 
 clean. The milch goat dairyman can carry on the business to good advant- 
 age when there is plenty of good range available, especially for the kids 
 and bucks, but exceptionally profitable dairies may be conducted on small 
 tracts of land consisting of a few acres of tillable land and some rough land, 
 located near the larger cities or near sanitariums and hospitals, for 
 wherever there are sick people that require the most nutritious of all food, 
 groats' milk will sell at a fancy price, but milch goat dairies will be found 
 profitable anywhere that there are people that wish good milk for culinary 
 and domestic purposes as well as for medical uses. 
 
 PRODUCTS OF THE GOAT DAIRY 
 
 THAT the products of goats' milk will be a valuable asset to our 
 country in the course of time, there seems to be no doubt of, but for a 
 few years at least they cannot be expected to attract much attention 
 here owing to the fact that the milk in itself is so highly prized and sought 
 after. In the old countries goats' milk is used very extensively in the pro- 
 duction of the very finest cheese. The famous Roquefort, Ricotto, Alten- 
 burger, Schweitzer and many other choice brands are all imported from 
 France and Switzerland, and goats' milk enters almost exclusively into the 
 composition of these choice brands. 
 
 On an estate near Lyons, France, 12,000 milch goats are kept in flocks 
 of from 40 to 60 for the purpose of fine cheese manufacture. In the valleys 
 of Switzerland and Norway, large goat dairies are in operation for the sole 
 purpose of manufacturing cheese. To some extent the different flavors of 
 the various brands of cheese are due to the different kinds of food con- 
 sumed by the goats, which create a marked difference in the taste of the 
 milk. In some localities the milk of ewes and cows enter into the composi- 
 tion of the various brands of cheese to create the different flavors, but it 
 is conceded by the best authority that pure goats' milk produces a superior 
 quality of cheese. 
 
 The manufacture of cheese from goats' milk in our country would be 
 quite a profitable industry in itself seems an assured fact, in view of the 
 great enterprise and ingenuity of the American citizen in all lines of busi- 
 ness. It may easily become so to an enlarged extent when goats' cheese 
 made in America shall be offered in our markets. 
 
 It is claimed that the secret that the French have in the making of their 
 famous French confectionery that seems impossible to duplicate in this 
 country, is the fact that goats' milk enters into the manufacture of the candy. 
 The making of butter from goats' milk has as yet not proven a 
 thorough success, owing to the fact that the cream rises upon the milk very 
 slowly because of the minuteness of the fat globules, and therefore in 
 order to secure practically all the cream the milk is permitted to 'stand until 
 it becomes thoroughly soured, consequently the long period of setting in- 
 juries the quality and flavor of the butter. It is possible that American 
 ingenuity will overcome this difficulty through the agency of a modern 
 cream separator. 
 
 20 
 
W 
 
 3 
 
 
 American Milch Gorts Showing Various Markirgs and Types 
 
A Herr Beil in Coelbe, Germany, who experimented for many years in 
 goat butter production for his own household, relates in "Der Ziegenzuchter" 
 as follows: 
 
 "We keep three goats which give us annually 2,400 quarts of milk. We 
 milk them three times daily and use a small cream separator twice a day. 
 The noon milk is kept till after the night milking in a cold cellar and re- 
 heated a bloodheat, when it is together with the evening milk run through 
 the separator. The cream thus gained we keep for one week in the cellar 
 where it sours nicely. As soon as we have sufficient cream on hand and of 
 the right quality we begin butter making. Of course pure goat butter is 
 white, and in order to give it color, we use for two quarts of cream our 
 coloring matter made as follows: One tablespoonful of a yellow carrot, 
 finely shaved, placed in a small pot, over which we pour boiling milk, left 
 to stand fifteen minutes, then poured through a cheesecloth. This will give 
 an excellent and rich color to the milk and it has the advantage of being 
 wholesome and very tasty in the butter. The butter is made just as with 
 cows' milk. 
 
 "The remaining buttermilk, unless used up as a drink, can be made into 
 a very appetizing cottage cheese or it may be thickened and formed into 
 the so-called handcheese. Caraway seeds added to the handcheese give it 
 an excellent flavor. The skimmed milk, especially if not too strongly 
 skimmed, can still be used as an addition to coffee or be used in the 
 kitchen generally." 
 
 There are now several condensed milk factories using goats' milk, which 
 is condensed and sold for infant feeding. Many thousands of infants are 
 compelled to live during their first few months on condensed cows' milk, and 
 it is not the best food for their stomachs. 
 
 The whey of goats' milk is highly recommended by foreign authorities 
 for its nourishing and medicinal properties. Zurn says it is recommended 
 especially for diseases of the lungs and for anemic persons suffering from 
 innutrition. Thus it is seen that not only goats' milk but its products are 
 very valuable as food and medicine to mankind. 
 
 HARDINESS OF THE MILK GOAT 
 
 THE hardiness and healthfulness of the goat might be ascribed largely 
 to the great amount of exercise and fresh air that it gets in gathering 
 its food, and the large variety of food it secures in this wandering 
 about. The goat chooses the high land when it has its preference, where the 
 air is generally pure and good, and the freedom of the goat from disease 
 is consequent from the above conditions. But it cannot maintain this de- 
 gree of hardiness without a sufficient amount of exercise, fresh air and its 
 choice of a varied diet. While the milch goat is a hardy animal, it must be 
 understood that the best results cannot be obtained without a certain degree 
 of care and protection. It should be provided with good shelter, easy of ac- 
 cess at all times from storms and extreme heat or cold. These requirements 
 are necessary in the rearing of the young kids and in obtaining from the 
 does a large and constant flow of milk. In fact, the same amount of protec- 
 
 22 
 
tion should be given the milch goat as is customary in well kept cow dairies. 
 
 The goat has been given too much credit as to being able to thrive upon 
 "any old thing." Its playfulness in removing labels from tin cans, pulling 
 clothes from a line and many such pranks has led some people to believe 
 that it really eats such things, but any person accustomed to its habits will 
 readily see that it eats nothing but the cleanest of food, refusing anything 
 that is soiled in the least. The hardiness of this animal must not be over- 
 drawn, but there is no doubt but that the milch goat will thrive and be very 
 profitable to its owner on far less expensive feed and be contented with less 
 care than any other farm animal. 
 
 There are very few diseases that . effect goats of any kind. Possibly 
 the disease that gives the most trouble is called Malta fever, which occurs 
 in the tropical and sub-tropical climates. The following extract on Malta 
 fever is from a lecture by Dr. J. W. H. Eyre, bacteriologist to Guy's hos- 
 pital, England, delivered in March, 1909, before the Royal College of Physi- 
 cians of London. This lecture is copied from "The Book of the Goat," by 
 H. S. Holmes Pegler, honorable secretary of British Goat Society. 
 
 Dr. Eyre is of the opinion that "Melitensis septicoemia (Malta fever) 
 is primarily a disease of the goat which had its origin in the Persian hills 
 (the Persian wild goat, Capra oegagnus) and which accompanied that goat 
 on its world-wide wanderings, remaining potentially active for man so long 
 as its host preserved its original habits in barren rocky countries in the 
 tropics and subtropics, where pasturage is of the scantiest, and consists 
 chiefly of shrubs and weeds. When, however, the goat reaches those tem- 
 perate climes and abundant pasturage which are so pre-eminently suitable 
 for the propagation of the cow and promiscuous inbreeding is entirely 
 avoided, the micrococcus no longer finds -a suitable habitat in the caprine 
 mammary glands, and rapidly disappears." 
 
 Dr. Eyre further states that no case is on record of any person having 
 been attacked by this disease from drinking the milk of goats in England. 
 
 From the foregoing it must be argued that there can be no danger what- 
 soever from drinking milk from Swiss breeds of goats if the goats are 
 given proper care the same as would be given to milch cows, for the dis- 
 ease of Malta fever is essentially a disorder found only among goats im- 
 ported from a tropic or subtropic country where conditions are such that 
 feed is exceedingly scarce, and where no attention is given to the proper 
 care or breeding of the goats. 
 
 Malta fever is not found among the Swiss breeds of goats, nor in those 
 latitudes of Europe where the temperature drops below the degree of frost. 
 California Cultivator. 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF THE GOAT DAIRY 
 
 IN speaking of a goat dairy, the goats themselves are of course the most 
 important feature, but next to them, a modern goat barn is a necessity 
 in the operation of a good milch goat dairy, but is not necessarily an 
 expensive structure. It should be convenient, well lighted and ventilated 
 and its dimensions can be regulated by the size of the flock. The milch 
 
 23 
 
goat dislikes rain or mud and will avoid contact with either when it can. 
 Everyone knows that cows do not give the best results in milk when exposed 
 to all sorts of weather, and the same principle applies to the milch goat, 
 which is a far more sensible and intelligent animal, and absolutely refuses 
 to content itself with unclean conditions when it is avoidable. It is then 
 best in arranging the goat barn to provide one that can be easily kept in a 
 clean and sanitary condition. The matter of ventilation is of prime im- 
 portance since the goat suffers when it is deprived of an abundance of fresh 
 air; there should be windows, allowing plenty of light and sunshine to 
 enter the building, as goats dislike a dark building. 
 
 PL/IN 
 
 "PLAN OF GOAT HOUSE" 
 From Hook, Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 An ideal goat barn is shown in the accompanying cut taken from 
 Bryan-Hook, which the writer considers very satisfactory for a small goat 
 dairy accommodating from 8 to 10 does. Of course it can be made larger 
 to accommodate as many goats as desired. The dimensions can be 10x12 
 
 24 
 
or 12x12, and the building can be made of any material that ordinary farm 
 buildings are made of. If possible the floor should be of cement, sloping 
 from the head of the stable to a gutter in the center of the building. The 
 gutter can be sloped to one end of the building and empty into a tank on 
 the outside if the owner wishes to save the manure, which is a very valuable 
 fertilizer. With an old broom the barn may be easily kept in a clean 
 condition. 
 
 "STALLS FOR GOAT HOUSES" 
 From Hook, Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. Agri. 
 
 The stalls are usually made from 18 to 24 inches wide and each one 
 should be provided with a low portable floor made of narrow pieces of lum- 
 ber with a small space between the pieces to allow the liquid manure to 
 pass through. This floor should project beyond the sides of the stall far 
 enough to allow the does room enough to stand upon it. The stalls should 
 be provided with a foot-board with a rack above for feed. This rack is 
 almost indispensible in feeding milch goats. The hay in it is easy of 
 access and not so much of it will be spoiled by the goat getting it under 
 her feet, for a goat will not eat feed that has been trampled upon. The 
 rack can be made of % or % inch iron bars or a piece of heavy wire 
 fencing. The foot boards should be 12 or 14 inches wide. A hole should 
 be cut in this board to place a bucket or similar vessel from which to feed 
 grain or vegetables from. The foot-board should be strong, as the doe 
 will use it to place her feet upon in reaching for feed in the rack above. 
 This is a natural position the goat prefers in securing its feed. It is an 
 
 25 
 
easy matter to feed into the racks from above, if there is a loft to the 
 barn. The does are fastened with a short chain through a hole in the foot- 
 board, the chain connecting with a snap to a ring placed in the collar, which 
 the doe always wears. Each animal should always be fed in its own in- 
 dividual stall, because if they are fed together they are apt to injure each 
 other and some will predominate over others, causing the weaker to lose 
 their share of the feed. 
 
 The loose boxes are arranged for the young kids and does that are 
 soon to kid, as at that time each doe should be by herself. 
 
 Attention is called to the milking bench on the outside of the barn. 
 This bench can be placed under cover by making a sort of lean-to off from 
 the barn, or .the milking can be done in a nearby building. It is always 
 best to do the milking away from the stalls and other goats. 
 
 In connection with the barn a good yard should be provided, or if the 
 dairy is in the country, a good pasture, where the goats may get air and 
 exercise. If there is a platform or some boxes in the yard the goats will 
 find them a source of pleasure, as they prefer to lie upon something high 
 and dry. A doe will go directly to her own stall at feeding time where it 
 can eat in peace, and at the same time get all the feed that is due and no 
 more. The comfort of a goat cannot be added to by giving her bedding in 
 the stall f<^ she will paw it away. For the purpose of absorbing the liquid 
 manure that does not pass below the slatted platform, chaff or saw dust 
 might be used, but they are probably more bother than a benefit. 
 
 i 
 
 FENCES FOR MILCH GOATS 
 
 N building a fence to retain goats it should be so constructed that it will 
 
 not only keep the goats in, but also keep their enemies out, such as 
 
 dogs and wolves. 
 
 Woven wire is one of the very best fences, especially if the meshes are 
 not too far apart near the bottom, as goats with horns will become fast if 
 they can get their heads through. A woven wire fence that is three feet 
 high with one strand of barbed wire on top makes a very good fence for 
 goats, or if made of barbed wire entirely ten strands with posts set 18 to 20 
 feet apart and having three stays between is a good one. The lowest wire 
 should be one inch from the ground, the next four or five wires S 1 /^ inches 
 apart, and each strand higher up can be spaced Vz inch, more gradually 
 making the strands farther apart. 
 
 Sloping rails and boards should not be placed about the fence, as a 
 goat can climb such objects, and if one leads the rest are sure to follow, 
 and it can be depended upon that they won't forget where it is. The fence 
 should be tight close to the ground, as they are crawlers as well as climbers, 
 and it often astonishes people by its success in crawling through small 
 openings. Such places would allow entrance for dogs which sometimes 
 worry the kids and should never be allowed in the goat yards. 
 
 26 
 
BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 
 
 IN the breeding of milch goats, as with any other breed of domestic ani- 
 mals, it is very essential that the best buck possible should be employed. 
 
 There is nothing so important in breeding up good stock as positive 
 evidence that the buck is from a strain of stock having well known milking 
 records of amount of milk given by the dam, granddams, and other female 
 relatives of the buck should be known and are valuable facts. Never breed 
 your does to a poor buck. He is absolutely the foundation of the flock and 
 the best is never "too good." 
 
 The bucks of all breeds of milch goats are in heat at all times and the 
 does come in heat about every three weeks, excepting possibly the extreme 
 hot weather of July and August. To prevent the kids coming at undesirable 
 times the bucks should never be allowed to run with the does. It is neces- 
 sary that breeding be done according to a schedule, so that a supply of 
 milk might be had when wanted, either for family or dairy uses. One good 
 buck, if properly managed, will look after as many as 50 or 75 does in a 
 year, but it must be remembered that the does should not be bred oftener 
 than every 7 or 8 months. If bred oftener too much strain is placed upon 
 the does and the best results cannot be expected by the practice. 
 
 The presence of the buck about the barn where does are kept is very 
 objectionable. The odor which he emits is readily absorbed by the milk and 
 is the principle source of bad flavored milk. His place is in a separate 
 barn and separate yard altogether. The odor emitted by the bucks is due 
 to certain glands in the skin of the animal which secrete capric acid or 
 hircine. 
 
 At the time of the terrible epizootic epidemic among horses in the 
 eighties, when large numbers of horses died, it was claimed that the stables 
 in Boston which had male goats were free, or nearly so, from the plague's 
 ravages, and the presence of the goats is given credit for it. Some of these 
 stables keep goats today. It is an old English idea. 
 
 The Does To a certain degree the same characteristics required in the 
 buck should be present in the doe. She should be from as good milking stock 
 as can be secured, but if she should be only a fair milker, the offsprings 
 might become better if the buck is a superior animal. Thus it is possible to 
 "breed up" if only the best bucks are used. 
 
 In order that a constant supply of milk may be maintained the does 
 should be bred so as to drop kids at regular intervals, both summer and 
 winter. This is quite an advantage in milch goat dairying as with the house- 
 hold. Two or three goats properly managed, will furnish a bountiful supply 
 of excellent milk the year round for an average family. 
 
 The Kids Owing to the high price of goats' milk, it is often custo- 
 mary to raise the kids on cows' milk, which is a very easy matter to do. An 
 ordinary nursing bottle is very good to use until the kids learn to drink. 
 Care should be exercised to see that the bottle and the milk is always sweet 
 and clean. 
 
 An excellent substitute for milk is to be had in "Blatchford's Lamb 
 Meal." (See the advertisement in the back of this book). This meal is very 
 easy to prepare, can be fixed with either water or skim-milk. Kids and 
 
 27 
 
lambs do well on it. This Company also makes an especially prepared meal 
 that is a perfect milk substitute for other young livestock, such as calves, 
 pigs, etc. 
 
 As soon as the kids are old enough to eat they should have some green 
 feed if it is available. Leaves, weeds or grass will furnish a mixture of 
 diet which is very essential for goats to have at all ages of life. Grain may 
 be fed to the kids if a scarcity of pasture prevails. Oats, corn, kafir corn, 
 and in fact any kind of grain will be readily consumed but exercise judg- 
 ment in feeding and don't feed too much grain. Weaning is done when the 
 kids are from two and one-half to three months old, depending upon the 
 season of the year in which they are born. After the kids are two to three 
 weeks old they begin rapidly to develop a hardy nature, but prior to this 
 time they are a very delicate animal. Cold rains upon them is almost cer- 
 tain death. They must be kept dry and warm and well nourished, but after 
 they are three weeks old they are as hardy as any domestic animal. 
 
 TIME TO BREED AND AGE 
 
 LITTLE further need be said regarding the times of breeding since the 
 goat dairyman can arrange that matter to suit his individual purposes. 
 
 Of course some does have longer periods of lactation than others, which 
 will necessitate the dairyman breeding some does oftener than others. Suf- 
 ficient to say, the milch goat can be bread any time in the year, excepting 
 some times they do not breed in the very warmest weather, but this is only 
 from six to eight weeks as a rule. 
 
 If a doe is bred at the age of one year, she will drop her kids five 
 months later, which is considered young enough, if the purpose of milk 
 production is the prime factor. A buck may be put to service at ten 
 months old, but it is better to wait until he is 14 to 18 months old. Care 
 must be exercised not to allow breeding at too young an age, which is apt 
 to occur if young bucks and does are allowed together after five months 
 old. The young bucks will sometimes serve when much younger than this. 
 
 No other animal, perhaps, develops younger than a goat and they will 
 often breed at three months. Of course this should not be allowed. Breed- 
 ers differ as to the age they should be bred first, some contending they 
 should be two years old, others from ten to twelve months. A doe will not 
 do her best until the third kidding. If she gives one and one-half quarts 
 with the first kid she will usually give two and one-half or three by the 
 time of the third kidding. When bred at an age before the bones are suf- 
 ficiently hardened, the extra weight of carrying the foetus bends down the 
 back bone, and not only deforms the doe permanently, but stops her growth. 
 A great many breeders make this mistake. In the judgment of the writer 
 a doe should be about 18 months old before being bred. 
 
 The period of gestation in milch goats is five months, or the same as 
 with sheep. The does are in heat about every three weeks and the period 
 lasts from two to four days, depending upon the season of the year. A doe 
 will remain in heat longer in the fall or winter than any other time of the 
 year. 
 
 28 
 
NUMBER OF KIDS BORN 
 
 MILCH goats as a rule drop two kids at a birth, but occasionally three 
 are dropped. In fact, cases where three are dropped are more 
 numerous than where only one is dropped. 
 
 Instances are on record where very fine milch goats have dropped as 
 many as four kids at one time, but such instances are rare. 
 
 With two kids at a birth it is readily seen how fast a flock of milch 
 goats will increase when allowed to drop kids every nine months, or three 
 times in two years. For best results in milking qualities it is not considered 
 best to allow them to breed oftener than this. Usually the twins consist of 
 one male and one female, but it often happens that there are two males or 
 two female kids. 
 
 Some breeders are apt to believe that the kids will take care of a doe's 
 udder and' no oversight is necessary, especially if there is more than one 
 kid. This might be all right with a doe yielding a small flow, but to permit 
 a heavy milking doe to go unmilked, trusting to her kids to properly relieve 
 her udder, is gross carelessness, and will cause irretrievable injury. Often 
 young kids will nurse the same teat and not touch the other teat, in which 
 case that side of the udder must be milked clean at least twice a day. 
 
 FEED FOR MILCH GOATS 
 
 BY actual test it has been proven that eight goats will subsist upon the 
 same amount of feed required for one cow, and at the same time yield 
 
 a good flow of excellent milk. 
 
 The same kinds of feed required by^a cow are usually used, but it is 
 very essential that the milch goat be given a larger variety of feed than 
 that which the cow usually gets. 
 
 Milch goats have the same ability and appetite for destroying worthless 
 brushwood and weeds as that of the Angora goats, and such feed may be 
 very desirable for growing animals, but for milking does, a sole diet of 
 such feed would be very likely to impart an unpleasant taste to the milk. 
 The milch-goat is a single-purpose animal and cannot produce good milk 
 and at the same time destroy brushwood and weeds to any great extent. 
 In the summer season a pasture of clover, alfalfa, meadow grass or even 
 crab grass are excellent milk producing feed, and if such pastures are com- 
 paratively free from weeds there will be no unpleasant flavor to the milk. 
 It is where does make weeds and brushwood their sole diet that the milk 
 will have the unpleasant taste that is often spoken of. When pasture sea- 
 son is over, the best results from milking does are obtained when feeding 
 is done in the barn. Prairie hay, when sweet and properly cured, is an 
 excellent feed and more so if it is made up of considerable slough grass, 
 which the goats will pick out first. Many Swiss dairymen mix straw with 
 the hay which is a good plan, as the more variety given the better pleased 
 are the goats. Alfalfa and clover hay are excellent; indeed very little grain 
 will be required when either of these are provided. Kane, kafir corn and 
 Indian corn fodder are very good feeds, and are considered very economical 
 feed for goats. The only trouble is in feeding such coarse feeds from the 
 
 29 
 
racks, however, the writer has found that with such feeds the stalks may 
 be broken a few times and very little trouble will result. When fodder is 
 fed that contains a few nubbins, scarcely any additional grain is required. 
 In feeding grain the same discretion is required in feeding milch goats as 
 in feeding cows. It should be the right kind and not given in such large 
 quantities as to produce too much fat rather than milk. Bran when 
 moistened with a little salt water is a most excellent feed, but its use will 
 depend upon its cost. The amount of this feed per day should not be more 
 than one-half pound for each animal. Oats and kafir corn are especially 
 good feed for does, both milking and those that are dry. From one-half to 
 three-fourths of a pint per day will be a good feed. Corn is also excellent 
 for all goats and not over three-fourths of a pint per day should be given. 
 
 "MALTESE MILCH GOATS," by Reeves, 
 Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 In feeding grain it might be well to vary the feeds by giving as many 
 kinds of grain as the dairyman can secure at a reasonable cost. The 
 writer considers the feeding of grain very necessary, but should not be 
 given in large quantities. When plenty of roughage, such as hay, cane, or 
 fodder is at hand, the milking does need not be fed grain oftener than 
 twice a day, and when such nutritious feed as clover or alfalfa is fed, not 
 more than once a day and very little then. 
 
 Meal, oil cake and linseed cake, are highly favored when fed to does 
 before delivery, on account of its digestibility and ready assimilation. It 
 also stimulates an abundant flow of milk. 
 
 30 
 
"Blatchford's Lamb Meal," when fed to does just before the delivery of 
 kids and also after kids are born, is excellent for conditioning does and for 
 increasing their milk flow. 
 
 Such roots as parsnips, potatoes, carrots, swedes, mangolds, and espe- 
 cially turnips, are an excellent feed. They must be clean and free from dirt 
 or decay. Mangolds should not be fed earlier than the first of January, as 
 they will sometimes produce scours if fed too soon after pulling. Clean 
 and fresh refuse from the kitchen, such as potato, apple and turnip peel- 
 ings, pumpkin and squash rines, cabbage leaves and crusts of bread are 
 eagerly eaten. For one or two milch goats the waste from a moderate 
 sized garden will supply the greater part of the food. In thinning out 
 carrots, beets, turnips or suckers from sweet corn and cabbage that did not 
 head, the lettuce and spinach that have bolted, lawn and hedge clippings. 
 In fact nearly everything that is clean can be fed, but of course judgment 
 should be exercised in feeding to does that are giving milk, anything that 
 might impart an unpleasant taste in the milk, just as would be the case 
 with a dairy cow. It must be understood that a goat will eat many rank 
 plants that a cow will not. 
 
 Little is necessary to say in regard to the feeding of the buck, other 
 than that he should have plenty of rough feed, and occasionally a small 
 amount of grain, especially when serving a large number of does. If the 
 dairyman has a brush or weed patch, let the buck reign there. 
 
 The kids should have some grain until they are four or five months 
 old, but will need very little after that if given plenty of roughage, until 
 they are old enough to deliver kids. 
 
 The fact must be borne in mind that if satisfactory results are to be 
 obtained in milch goat raising, the animals must receive the same rational 
 treatment that is received by other livestock when best results are sought. 
 The milch goat is a hardy animal to be sure, but this characteristic only 
 enables it to respond the more quickly and satisfactorily to careful and 
 judicious treatment. 
 
 Some of the favorite grasses for goats are sheeps' fescue, a short, fine 
 grass which grows in a tuft at its roots and pushes up delicate stems rarely 
 exceeding a foot in height. Also the hard fescue and the red fescue, the 
 meadow foxtail, the wild oat, rye grass, and especially the sweet scented 
 vernal grass. All these grasses impart a fine flavor to the milk. In fact 
 there is scarcely any grass that milch goats will eat that will in any way 
 injure the flavor of the milk. 
 
 Raise alfalfa and oats, 
 Children and goats, 
 
 "Assimilate the good." 
 
 WATERING AND SALTING 
 
 THE milch goat might be termed a "crank" in the matter of choosing 
 its drinking water. It has been noted where animals have been 
 nearly famished for want of water, when a supply was within easy 
 reach but had become slightly polluted. They want it fresh and absolutely 
 free from any kind of filth. Does giving milk should be induced to drink 
 
 31 
 
as much as possible, and pure water should be easy of access to them at 
 all times. The same will apply to the bucks and kids. 
 
 Besides fresh, clean water, a perfectly clean pail should be used. A 
 vessel in which water stands almost continuously becomes very foul. Sim- 
 ply rinsing with water is not sufficient. Scalding occasionally with borax, 
 saleratus, washing soda, or in a bad case chloride of lime is necessary. The 
 latter is the most effective agent for killing the yeast plant and other 
 slimes which cause the putrid smell of stagnant water. Emptying the pail 
 and keeping it dried out most of the time will keep it sweet. 
 
 'SWISS TOGGENBURG MILCH GOATS," by Peer, 
 Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 People who have never had the care of a milk animal often do not 
 realize the importance of regular watering. When a goat is giving a goodly 
 amount of milk the demand for water is very great and the failure to supply 
 good water a few times will have a serious effect upon her flow of milk. 
 
 Goats require more salt than most any other animal owing possibly to 
 the more astringent character of the food. While loose salt can be given 
 either with their feed or by itself, rock salt is preferable, as it can be placed 
 in boxes or troughs raised from the ground, and then be kept out of the 
 dirt, and of course be easy of access to the goats at all times. Then too, 
 there is no waste and not so much danger that the animals will eat too 
 
 32 
 
much of it. However, if they have been deprived of salt for any great 
 length of time, they are likely to over-do the matter if allowed free access 
 to an abundance. The dairyman should exercise good judgment in this 
 matter, but by all means give them plenty of salt. 
 
 It is a good idea to add a small amount of lime to the salt every month 
 or so, and it is recommended that one part of sulphate of iron to 100 parts 
 of salt is a good tonic for the goats and will assist in keepnig them free 
 from worms. 
 
 LOOKING AFTER THE HOOFS AND DIPPING 
 
 THE hoofs of milch goats will occasionally need paring down, as the 
 hoofs will usually grow to great length, turning back under the foot 
 and creating a place where dirt will accumulate and will sometimes 
 cause foot-root, and will interfere with the movements of the animal. It 
 is a very easy matter to look after them every month or two, since it is 
 necessary it should never be neglected. Where goats have abundance of 
 gravel and rocks in their pasture, the hoofs will not need much attention as 
 the constant grating on the rocks will keep the hoofs worn down. 
 
 Pare the bottom of the hoof down until the foot looks to be of normal 
 and symmetrical shape. The front line of the hoof stands, normally, at an 
 angle of something more than forty-five degrees to the level of the ground, 
 so if the foot is pointed to about forty-five degrees it will be about right. 
 
 The most effective way of killing lice on goats is dipping. The only 
 drawback to this method is that it can only be used in warm weather, when 
 there will be no liability of the goats taking cold from the bath. 
 
 If you have only a few goats they can be stood in a tub and sponged 
 with the dip. For a large number galvanized iron tanks are made for sheep 
 and hog dipping. Concrete makes a good tank and so does a piece of heavy 
 canvas thrown over a wooden frame in such a way that the center can sag. 
 A kitchen table turned upside down and the canvas thrown over the legs 
 and tied securely at the corners after forming a pocket in the center, makes 
 a fairly good small tank. 
 
 The chill should be taken from the water if necessary and this will 
 probably be the case if the water is drawn from a well, or a city service. 
 
 The dips used are the sheep and cattle dips advertised in the agricul- 
 tural papers, and which are usually coal tar disinfectants. The directions 
 supplied by the manufacturers should be followed, as the different makes 
 vary a little in strength. Carbonol, I have used in the proportion of one 
 gallon of the disinfectant to one hundred gallons (two oil barrels) of water, 
 and found the mixture very effective. The coal tar dips are very healing 
 and can be used for cleansing wounds as well as general disinfecting pur- 
 poses. These dips when mixed with water give the latter a milky appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Care should be taken that all parts of the animal are reached, espe- 
 cially the head, with the mixture. If a tank is used the head can be im- 
 mersed. 
 
 If the disinfectant is too strong, it will make the eyes smart a little, 
 but seems to do no real harm. 
 
 33 
 
The government specifies dips as follows: the tobacco dip, containing 
 seven one-hundredths of one per cent nicotine; the lime-sulphur dip, made 
 by mixing eight pounds of unslaked lime with twenty-four pounds of 
 sulphur and boiling with thirty gallons of water for not less than two 
 hours and then diluting to one hundred gallons; the coal-tar creosote dip, 
 made by mixing coal tai 1 creosote and cresol with rosin soap. 
 
 This latter is the same as most of the market disinfectant dips. 
 
 The Government suggests testing the coal tar dips with the water avail- 
 able by mixing a small quantity and letting stand for an hour. If there is 
 an oily layer on the surface, the water should not be used, as the oil might 
 cause injury to the stock. This precaution is especially necessary where 
 the water is hard. 
 
 VALUE OF THE MANURE 
 
 THE manure produced by the goat has a slightly higher value than that 
 of sheep, and as sheep manure in regions where manures are pur- 
 chased at commercial prices, is valued at about $3.30 per ton, it can 
 be readily seen that where milch goats are confined to stables, the manure 
 is an item worthy of notice. If the animals are allowed to occupy land 
 that is to be used for the production of vegetables, grain, or grass, the in- 
 fluence of a very few animals is readily felt even over a considerable area 
 of land. There is a permanency in the effect of such manure upon the land 
 that cannot be attained from commercial fertilizers. 
 
 Angora goats have been given much well-deserved credit for destroying 
 weeds and brush upon very valuable land and at the same time depositing 
 upon the land a good coating of fertilizer. This clearing and fertilizing 
 has caused fields of valuable grass to spring up where only weeds and brush 
 grew before. 
 
 The milk goat breeds will do as much if the opportunity is given them. 
 
 There is no better fertilizer for fruit trees and lawns than goat manure 
 and none equal to it for this purpose except sheep manure. 
 
 DESTROYING BRUSH WOOD 
 
 WHILE the writer does not consider milch goats as well adapted to 
 the destroying of worthless brushwood as the Angoras, it is not 
 because the milch goat has not the ability or the willingness to 
 do so, but is only because of the bad effect on the flavor of the milk such 
 food might have, but all goats not milking, especially the kids and bucks, 
 should have some browse, if it is available. 
 
 The act x>f browsing furnishes exercise for the animals which is a ne- 
 cessity, and a little browse will serve as a tonic and thus help to keep them 
 in good condition. The milch goat dairyman will find that a small piece of 
 brush land would be a valuable place to turn his bucks, kids, and does not 
 giving milk. 
 
 In clearing land of brush too much should not be expected of the goats. 
 Don't try to make the goats clear the land in too short a time. Some times 
 
 34 
 
a number of goats are starved into eating everything on the land, even to 
 barking the trees and saplings in order to get food. This may be all right 
 for the land, but it is hard on the goats. 
 
 MILCH GOAT MEAT AS FOOD 
 
 THERE is a prejudice existing against the use of goats of any kind 
 for meat. This is undoubtedly founded upon ignorance rather than 
 experience. The most ill-smelling "billy" of the common or worst 
 type is usually held as the standard of goats flesh for the whole goat 
 family. Surely there could have been no prejudice existing in Abraham's 
 
 "YOUNG IMPORTED TOGGENBURG GOATS," by Bagby, 
 Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 d"ay when we read of goats being used for meat and milk purposes, and 
 this, too, when there were an abundance of cattle and sheep to be had. 
 
 The flesh of the milch goat kids can be classed with the most delicate 
 of meats, being exceedingly nutritious, and palatable and absolutely free 
 from all infectious diseases. The flesh of the famous Shropshire lambs 
 which is considered as among the best of meats is said not to be superior to 
 a well fed and well cooked milch goat kid. It is stated by good authority 
 that milch goat kids, when dressed at eight weeks old, sell readily in our 
 eastern markets for from $3.00 to $5.00 each. The flesh of the older ani- 
 
 35 
 
mals compare very well with that of our best meat breeds of sheep and 
 is superior to that of the common goat. The delicacy of their flesh ought 
 to insure a ready market anywhere and the milch goat dairyman can un- 
 doubtedly realize a good profit on all male kids not to be used for breed- 
 ing purposes. 
 
 As a usual thing the meat of goats is termed as "mutton" "goat mut- 
 ton" and "goat venison." When the goats are fattened on grain and fodders 
 the meat resembles sheep mutton, and when they are fattened on twigs 
 and leaves it resembles the meat of the deer and for this reason it is some- 
 times called venison. 
 
 VALUE OF THE SKINS 
 
 THE value of the skins from milch goats will undoubtedly be an item 
 of important consideration to the American goat dairyman in years 
 to come, but at the present time there are too small a number of 
 milch goats killed for the purpose of meat or skins, but of course some of 
 the male kids will have to be slaughtered, especially those from "grades" 
 and poorer milking does as such animals would not do for breeding pur- 
 poses. 
 
 The following is quoted from a government publication: "The skins 
 of milch goats are of better quality than those of the Angora breed, and 
 are the kind used in the manufacture of shoes and gloves, and those from 
 the colder parts of the country are better than those from the warmer 
 parts. Inasmuch as the United States imports millions of dollars worth of 
 goatskins annually, it would seem that there should be a ready market for 
 all that might be produced here." 
 
 Milch goat skins are used by furriers very extensively in the produc- 
 tion of imitation bear skin. Their market value will vary considerable 
 depending upon the seize, age, color, length of hair, and season of the 
 year when taken. 
 
 LENGTH OF MILCH COATS LIFE. 
 
 WHEN a doe has been kept under ordinary good conditions she will 
 be at her prime when from 5 to 7 years old, although good milk- 
 ers are reported at from 12 to 14 years of age; however, the 
 average length of usefulness will be not to exceed 12 years, and if good 
 care has been given them they may be expected to produce kids until that 
 age. 
 
 A doe that gives 2 quarts of milk at her first kidding will often give 
 3 quarts at her third kidding and this amount during her entire life. 
 
 The buck should retain his vitality up to 10 or 12 years of age, if good 
 judgment has been exercised in his management. 
 
 In determining the age of a milch goat, the accompanying illustration 
 and description of same from B. A. I. bulletin No. 68, U. S. Department of 
 Agriculture, will be very helpful to an understanding of this matter. 
 
 "During the first year of a kid's life its teeth are small and even and 
 sometimes separated, as shown in the illustration: the second year shows 
 
 36 
 
two front teeth as being much larger and higher; the third year adds two 
 more large teeth; the fourth year, two others; and the fifth year, two 
 others yet, which completes the set. After this time the only way to 
 know a goats age is from records that may have been kept; but one may 
 form some judgment of its age by its general appearance. 
 
 There are some breeds of goats that will develop a full mouth in the 
 fourth year instead of the fifth. 
 
 F/FTH YX& 
 
 REGARDING THE HORNS. 
 
 THAT the presence or absence of horns has no influence upon the 
 .value of the milch goat as a milk producer is vouched for by all goat 
 men. But opinions differ in regarcl to their usefulness, generally 
 speaking, the horns are a nusiance and of no value to the animal, except as 
 a weapon to be used against dogs, which might be considered an advant- 
 age when the goats are allowed a large range in which they would be 
 likely to be bothered by dogs or other animals. As a rule goats can look 
 out for themselves, horns or no horns, except when very young then care 
 should be exercised by the breeder that vicious dogs be excluded from the 
 goat pasture. Some times horns add to the general apparance of the ani- 
 mal, but that will depend upon the likes and dislikes of different people, 
 it being generally conceded that the hornless is most in favor among milch 
 goat breeders, when all things being equal, and no valuable milking char- 
 acteristics are sacrificed. 
 
 It is a very easy matter to dehorn goats, but if horns are not want- 
 ed the easiest and simplest way to abolish them is to stop their growth on 
 the kids when only a few days old. This can be accomplished by the use 
 of costic potash. This can be procured at any drug store in stick form 
 which resembles a piece of crayon. By dipping one end of the stick in 
 water and rubbing the moistened end on the horn knobs that are form- 
 ing the root of the horn can be destroyed. As the costic potash will take 
 the skin off the hands unless protected it is necessary that the part being 
 handled be wrapped with paper. Care should be exercised not to get any 
 
 37 
 
of the costic potash on any part of the goat but the horn knobs for if any 
 of it should get into the eyes it would destroy the sight. 
 
 BREEDS OF MILCH GOATS IN UNITED STATES. 
 
 THE milch goat industry in the United States is barely in its infancy 
 as it can hardly be said that it has more than just started, only a 
 few breeds of Swiss, German, Nubian and Spanish goats have ever 
 been tried to any great extent in our country and as years roll by many 
 new breeds may be tried with good success, the Swiss Toggenburg milch 
 goats have proven exceptionally valuable animals for our country, adapting 
 themselves readily to our climate, and will probably be one of the leading 
 breed of milch goats, just as the Jersey cow leads in milch cows. The Tog- 
 genburg might be called the aristocrat of the milch goat family and is 
 from the Togenburg valley in the northeast portion of Switzerland, about 
 70 or 100 miles from Berne. In this great valley they have been bred for 
 centuries by the Swiss who are a queer peop.e in that they will not allow 
 their best animals to be taken out of this country. This is piobably the 
 principal reason why this fine breed of milch goats has never been known 
 better to the English and American people. 
 
 The color of the Toggenburg is a light brown with a white bar down 
 each side of the face, this is a mark characteristic with the breed. They 
 are usually hornless, but occasionally one will develop horns. They are 
 some what slender and one of its principle characteristics is its great lean- 
 ness. Notwithstanding this fact they are quite attractive in appearance. 
 The does of this breed are about the best milkers we have, being large in 
 size, and having a form well developed for milking purposes. The udder 
 when distended is carried high up and the teats are usually very large and 
 long, making the task of milinking them a very easy one. 
 
 The Swiss Saanen milch goat is another valuable milk producer. It 
 takes its name from the Saanen Valley of Switzerland, where they are 
 quite numerous. They are also popular in the upper Simmen Valley. The 
 Saanen is probably the largest breed of Swiss milch goats. It is quite tall 
 and resembles very much in anatomy the Toggenburgs. Its color is pure 
 white or creamy white. The hair is rather short except a strip along the 
 spinal column and on the flanks. They are a very graceful appearing 
 animal having long, slim necks and small heads. They are usually horn- 
 less as with the Toggenburg which they very closely resemble in many 
 ways. They seem to be well adapted to the more mountainions sections of 
 our country, and when they are more thoroughly tried in our country the 
 writer is firm in the belief that they will be a close rival of the Toggen- 
 burg breed. 
 
 The Nubian milch goat is the largest breed of milch goats known, it 
 is also the heaviest milker of all breeds of milch goats. They are ex- 
 ceedingly prolific and often give birth to three kids at one time and oc- 
 casionally four kids at one birth. When pure bred.it does not stand our 
 northern winters very well, but when crossed with either the Toggenburgs 
 or Saanen it is one of the very best milch goats for our climates, particular- 
 
 38 
 
ly so when crossed with the Toggenburgs. No member of the goat family 
 is more peaceful or gentle than the Nubian, and while the bucks of this 
 bred have the same odor that all milch goats bucks have the odor is far less 
 in this breed. A peculiarity in this breed is its long pendant ears, they 
 usually have no beard or horns but when there are animals having horns 
 they lay upon the back of the head and curve outward. The color is 
 usually a deep brown and the hair is medium long and quite fine. 
 
 "AFTON PEDRO" when 4 months old, a % Swiss Saanen and & Swiss 
 Toggenburg buck, used some in breeding the writer's does in 1911. The 
 grand sires and grand dams of this buck were imported from Switzer- 
 land. 
 
 The Spanish Maltese milch goats are well adapted to the climate of our 
 country, especially the central and southern part. They are very hardy 
 and prolific, adapting themselves very readily to either extreme of heat or 
 cold and also to most any method of handling. The Spanish Maltese goat 
 is a native of the Island of Malta in the Mediteranean Sea some 54 miles 
 from the Sicilian coast, and comprises but 95 square miles in area. On 
 this Island something like 30,000 milch goats are raised and from this 
 stock some very fine milkers have been imported to our country, prin- 
 cipally through Cuba. Spanish Maltese goats have no distinct color or 
 marking that is characteristic with this breed as is the case with the Swiss 
 goats. They are white, black, brown, red, grey and in fact you may find 
 
 39 
 
them of any color. They are some smaller than the Swiss breeds and 
 carry the udder close to the ground, in fact some times the udder of a 
 "fresh" doe will nearly touch the ground, both the udder and teats are 
 very large considering the size of the animals. They usually have horns 
 but a strain that is hornless are bred the same in every respect except 
 the matter of horns. 
 
 The American Milch Goat A few fairly good milk producing goats 
 have been bred in remote localities in this country for a great many years 
 originating as it seems from various unknown breeds of goats possessing 
 no marked milk producing qualities. It is supposed that some of these 
 goats were brought to the United States by tourists and sailors that brought 
 them more as pets, as a goat is a very intelligent animal and can be taught 
 many interesting tricks. Some of these American milch goats may have 
 been imported with the early importations of Angoras. 
 
 In comparison to the superior qualities of the previous mentioned breeds 
 the American milch goat is far inferior in the matter of milk production, 
 yet by crossing the does with the more superior milch goat bucks we have 
 some of the very best milkers to be found in America in the one-quarter 
 and one-eighth native croses. 
 
 It is known that among these goats there are often found some ex- 
 cellent milkers, although their origin is obscure. These are the kind of 
 goats that shauld be selected as a foundation for the American breed, and 
 if their milk characteristics were further increased by crossing with either 
 the pure-bred Toggenbury, Saanen or Nubian bucks, which are now in this 
 country, we should soon see a breed that would produce a satisfactory 
 amount of milk and at the same time have all the hardiness possessed by 
 our common goats. 
 
 There are but few full-blood goats in this country, the greater share 
 are crosses, but some of the grades are fully as good as the pure breed 
 in their milking capacity. 
 
 REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD MILCH GOAT 
 
 SO far as the anatomy of a good milk producing goat is concerned, the 
 reader could do well to sum up these points in a dairy cow and when 
 
 compared to the milch goat will be found very close in comparison. 
 The buck should have a small head, a short thick neck, with abundance of 
 hair. The chest should be broad and massive, the back long and straight 
 and the ribs well-rounded, his family record should be the principle feature 
 as the importance of using only the best buck obtainable is well known. 
 
 It is a hard matter to set down a given rule that would apply to all 
 milch goats as to the general anatomy of the animals. As a rule the does 
 of the Swiss and Nubian breeds have a long, lank appearance, slender necks, 
 with small pointed nose, the udder should be capacious and not fleshy with 
 plenty of milk veins leading to it. The udder of a doe not in milk is drawn 
 up so there is very little visible, a large fatty udder is not an indication 
 that the doe is a good milker. The size of the doe has very little to do 
 
 40 
 
with her ability to give milk, the writer has seen does weighing 50 to 60 
 Ibs. that would give more milk than some does weighing twice that amount. 
 However, it is a good plan to regard large size as preferable to small ones 
 when their breeding qualities are equal, for we must look to the develop- 
 ment of the animal at the same time we look to developing the milking 
 qualities. 
 
 The following article written by Dr. S. L. Roberts is of interest along 
 this line: 
 
 "One of these is a three-quarter Toggenburg, and weighs perhaps 
 eighty-five pounds. She has the Toggenburg shape, marks and expression, 
 also color (mouse) except on abdomen, which is grayish-white. Her record 
 for one month, from February 12 to March 12th, is 295 Ibs. and 12 ozs.; 
 for first seven days, from Feb. 12th to Feb. 19th, inclusive, is 67 Ibs. and 
 6 ozs. She increased her milk output from the 20th of February to the 
 17th of March. There may be many other goats in the country of her 
 weight and age (3 years) that do better than this, but it should be con- 
 sidered a very satisfactory yield, I think. This goat comes from a strain 
 that had its origin away back yonder in the stone age, among the Lake 
 Dwellers in Switzerland, or some such date. 
 
 "Another one is a little brown creature two years old, weighing 62 
 pounds, which is ten-sixteenths Toggenburg and six-sixteens Mexican An- 
 gora. Until about three weeks previous to dropping her kid she gave but 
 poor evidence of becoming much of a producer of milk, as the udder was 
 very small and carried high, and her pelvic region showed but meagre 
 depth. Altogether the little thing promised to do but little in the milk- 
 stand. Four or five days prior to kidding the udder began to show some 
 but wasn't large. For so small a doe her doe kid came very large, and I 
 thought I should have to supply its milk in part from another dam. Suf- 
 fice to say her udder developed nicely, and when the milk was drawn it 
 shrank to almost no udder at all. She has now (March 20th) been milking 
 twenty days and has yielded 120 pounds and 12 ounces. Back of these does 
 on their sire's side is the best milch ancestry of which I have any record. 
 
 "Alongside of them is a doe that weighs 128 pounds, which has but 
 one-sixteenth Toggenburg blood, a trace of Alpine, some Mexican, and 
 what not for the rest. She yields 36 ounces a day. Do how I will, I can't 
 get her other than in a condition of grease she is as fat as a Berkshire 
 porker. Size here doesn't 'milk' out." 
 
 Dr. Roberts' 62 Ib. doe with the right kind of breeding gave over 3 
 quarts of milk a day while the 128 Ib. doe with poor breeding gave only 
 about one quart a day. 
 
 As there is only a very few pure-bred Swiss goats in this country and 
 as the Nubian do not thrive here unless cross-bred it is easy to see why it 
 is next to impossible to buy pure-bred stock of these breeds, and where 
 they are offered for sale the price is away beyond their real value as milk 
 producers to the person that wants a goat for milk alone. Breeders will 
 pay fancy prices for them to get new blood but owing to the fact that 
 there has been no Swiss goats imported to this country for many years, 
 (and probably won't be for many years to come) the few pure-bred Swiss 
 
 41 
 
goats that are here have become in-bred to such an extent that a good 
 many of them have lost their best qualities, yet where they have been 
 judiciously bred either pure or cross-bred with the best type of milch goats 
 (regardless of the breed) the best milking stock is usually to be found. 
 
 In 1903 there was a record Association formed for the purpose of 
 encouraging the establishment of the milch goat industry in this country. 
 Considering the number of years this association has been established here 
 have been very few goats registered considering the fact that for a long time 
 any kind of a doe could be registered if she gave one quart of milk a day 
 regardless of her breeding, a buck from such a does could also be registered 
 if the sire and dam were registered. These rules allowed a lot of low 
 grade goats to be registered and did very little toward building up the 
 milch goat industry. Later the rules were changed to admit only does 
 giving two yuarts per day regardless of their breeding, and instead of 
 registering bucks from registered sires and dams of any breeding only 
 bucks from pure-bred, registered sires and dams were eligible to registry. 
 There were some good features in this but there were also some extremely 
 unjust features and a sad mistake in eliminating all bucks that were cross- 
 bred with the very best recognized breeds of milch goats. To bar the grade 
 bucks from registry would seem reasonable, that is a buck being part 
 native stock, but it is all wrong to bar the bucks from Swiss and Nubian 
 breeds that are cross-bred for, with some of them it is only possible to 
 produce the best types for our country by the judicious cross-breeding of 
 these recognized breeds of milch goats, and as the pure-bred stock is so few 
 in this country and so much in-bred that it is folly to stick to that old 
 "Royal Blood" idea, for it is a proven fact that some of America's best 
 milch goat stock is the result of cross-breeding in the hands of experienced 
 animal breeders, just as it has been in the breeding of other kinds of live 
 stock, such as horses, cattle, etc- Improvement and not deterioration is 
 what we want and must have. 
 
 PURCHASING MILCH GOATS 
 
 HERE can I buy a milch goat?" is often asked by many people, 
 yet if more people knew the true merits of the milch goat, there 
 would be many more such questions asked. 
 
 In the breeding of all classes of livestock there are certain prime 
 characteristics in view in the breeding of each animal, certain predominat- 
 ing qualities are in certain individuals, and to bring out these qualities in 
 the offsprings requires the sacrifice sometimes of the pure-breeding. The 
 rnilch goat is bred for milk alone and the prime characteristic in the ani- 
 mal is the production of milk. The value of the animal will depend almost 
 altogether on these qualities and the price will naturally be in comparison 
 to the milking qualities, rather than in the breed alone. It has -developed 
 that some of the best milk stock we have are the result of judicious cross- 
 ing of breeds. 
 
 It would be impossible to quote a fixed valuation on a milch goat in this 
 country at the present time, as that will depend to a large degree on how 
 bad the owner wants to sell or how much the purchaser wishes to pay, and 
 last but not least, how good a milker the goat is. 
 
 42 
 
If the purchaser is buying a goat for milk alone, it is then better to 
 buy a cross-bred doe from some reliable breeder. If you want to go into the 
 business of raising milch goats and have plenty of money to spend, then 
 try and buy a pure-bred goat, but the man that buys a good cross-bred goat 
 may get the best milker, and he can buy three of them for the same money 
 thot you spend for one pure-bred goat. 
 
 "A SWISS GUGGISBERGER DOE," by Hilpert, 
 Bulletin No. 68, B. A. I., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 
 
 This breed is very similar to the Swiss Saanen, except that they are 
 of various colors and markings while the Saanen is pure white. 
 
 By far the most satisfactory young stock to buy is that raised on new 
 pasture by a professional breeder. It is healthy, vigorous, hardy and will 
 keep in good condition and continue to grow on hay and farm foods. One 
 important reason is that usually breeder's kids have run with their dams 
 and have had plenty of milk. The process of weaning was gradual and at 
 no time did they receive a set-back or lose their kid-fat. Their sire is 
 usually a selected individual of good milking strain. What is called "back 
 yard" goats, or goats having been raised in back yards are as a rule not 
 the best kind to buy, and I attribute the reasons to be as follows : Breeding 
 too young, and interbreeding so that the kids lack constitution. Breeding 
 to any buck available, regardless of whether of milking strain or not. 
 
 43 
 
Weaning too young. Unclean surroundings and unclean food which favor 
 the development of internal parasites. 
 
 A doe giving milk should never be shipped. She may become nervous 
 and probably frightened while on the voyage which will have a bad effect 
 on her milk flow. Then if a stranger undertakes to milk her she will 
 object to this, and it is almost impossible to have a doe milked while in 
 the care of the Express Companies, and would probably reach her destina- 
 tion with a caked udder which would almost ruin her as a good milker. 
 Then if she did reach her destination in good order, the people, the sur- 
 roundings, everything is new to her, and a nervous doe will begin to fret, 
 she gets lonesome, she is homesick, &nd she could not be expected to give a 
 good flow of milk under such conditions. It is far better to purchase a 
 doe that has >*s"ently been bred and that has been "dryed off." The doe, or 
 does, will then become acquainted with their new surroundings, the people, 
 etc., and then when the kids come the does are perfectly contented and are 
 capable of then doing their best at producing milk. Then the owner also 
 has the kids. A doe being pregnant over four months should never be 
 shipped. A short journey after that time is apt to cause abortion. 
 
 Milch goat stock in Switzerland of the average type sells for from 
 $20 to $30 each, and if we could import them it would cost about $25 each 
 to land them on our shore, with a big risk of loss on such a long voyage, but 
 such a thing is impossible, and has been for many years. The following is 
 from United States B. A. I. Order No. 180: 
 
 "Owing to the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease in Switzerland, the 
 Department is not permitting the importation of goats or other ruminants 
 or swine from that country. In fact permits have not been issued for the 
 importation of such animals from Switzerland for several years. This is 
 due to the constant presence of foot-and-mouth disease." 
 
 "At intervals the Bureau receives official reports from various foreign 
 countries concerning freedom or presence of diseases of livestock. Reports 
 of this character are received regularly from Switzerland and the latest on 
 file, covering the period from November 23 to December 21, indicates that 
 the infection was present during that time in sixteen of the twenty-two 
 Swiss cantons." 
 
 The prices of pure-bred Swiss and Nubian goats in this country will 
 range all the way from $40 to $100 each, while cross-bred goats and "grades" 
 will bring from $15 to $50, depending on their milking ability, which in 
 some cases equal that of the pure-bred stock and usually have a far more 
 vigorous constitution, providing they come from a breeder that understands 
 his business. When it comes to the estimating of the value of goats for 
 milk alone the following is, in the judgment of the writer, a good scale 
 of prices: 
 
 10.00 
 15.00 
 20.00 
 25.00 
 ;35.00 
 140.00 
 >50.00 
 
 A doe that will give 4^4 quarts a day is worth $65.00 
 
 A doe that will give 5 quarts a day is worth $80.00 to $100.00 
 
 A doe that will give over 5 quarts a day is worth A Fortune 
 
 44 
 
 A doe that will give 1 quart a day is worth. 
 A doe that will give 1^ quarts a day is worth. 
 A doe that will give 2 quarts a day is worth. 
 A doe that will give 2% quarts a day is worth. 
 A doe that will give 3 quarts a day is worth. 
 A doe that will give 3% quarts a day is worth. 
 A doe that will give 4 quarts a day is worth. 
 
The writer has known a great many instances where parties having 
 goats to sell will misrepresent the milking qualities of their goats. Pur- 
 chasers should be very cautious about buying milch goat stock. Buy from 
 reliable parties if possible, and don't believe too much about what is said 
 by some people regarding their "5 and 6" quart does. Such stock in this 
 country is very scarce and such does sell readily when their milking ability 
 is proven. 
 
 I know one grade goat that is giving five quarts of milk a day and the 
 owner has refused $100 for her. A four-quart milker will bring $50, one 
 that gives three quarts, $30 to $35, and so on down. 
 
 Sometimes a goat giving a quart may be picked up cheap, and if it is 
 a first kid she may make a good milker later, as a two-quart milker will 
 supply an average family with milk. 
 
 The kids range in price the same all the way from $10 up. The best 
 way for one to get a start unless they have plenty of money is to buy the 
 kids and raise them. Of course, however, where one only wishes the mrk 
 and does not care for fancy marks or color, a cheaper goat is just as good. 
 
 SHIPPING GOATS 
 
 IN shipping goats it is nearly always customary to crate them and ship 
 by express, it is customary for the purchaser to pay the express charges 
 unless the owner quotes a price to the customer in which the owner agrees 
 to prepay the express charges which is very seldom done. Shipping goats 
 C. 0. D. is a very bad practice, for if the purchaser changes his mind and 
 decides not to take the goats upon their" arrival at their destination the 
 owner then has to pay the express charges both ways with an accumulated 
 feed bill while the express company is awaiting instructions for their return. 
 In constructing a crate for shipping it is very important that the crate 
 be made as light as possible and at the same time strong, a solid bottom of 
 % inch light boards is necessary, and a frame of 1x2 inch material next, 
 wire netting can then be drawn around the sides, ends, and top, then put 
 3 or 4 strands of smooth wire around the entire crate and twist tight. This 
 makes the crate "goat tight" or, if there is no woven wire at hand, make 
 a frame as above, and nail thin box boards perpendicular, leaving 3 or 4 
 inches between boards, then draw 2 or 3 double strands of wire around the 
 crate and twist the wires between each board. This makes the crate rigid, 
 yet it is light. The size of the crate should be in accordance with the 
 number of goats to be shipped, the size of the goats, and the distance they 
 are to travel. Enough space should be allowed so that the goats can lie 
 down or stand up straight. As a rule the crate would weigh about one half 
 of the body weight of the goat to be shipped; if a goat weighed 60 Ibs. the 
 crate would weight 30 Ibs., and the shipment including goat and crate would 
 weigh 90 Ibs. Where a number of goats are shipped in one crate the 
 weight of the crate should be still less in proportion to the body weight of 
 the goats which makes the cost of shipping far less for the purchaser, and 
 it is a good plan for those wishing to buy one or two goats to get their 
 neighbors and friends interested and have a number come in the same crate, 
 
 45 
 
then the express charges can be divided among the different parties. Then, 
 as a rule, a breeder will make a better price on a number than on one as it 
 costs him nearly as much to build a crate for one and deliver to the express 
 office as it does for 3 or 4. Then, when there are several parties in a 
 community that have milch goats for their own family use, they can chip in 
 together and each buy an interest in a breeding buck, and can take turn 
 about in keeping the buck, in this way each one has the use of a breeding 
 buck and it don't cost anyone very much money. 
 
 Express companies look after the feeding while in their charge. In- 
 structions should be placed on the crate as to what and when to feed. For 
 short rides this is not necessary. The shipper should notify the purchaser 
 a few days prior to the day shipment is to be made so that the purchaser 
 will know about when to expect the shipment. 
 
 The public regards the goat as a joke. While he is at the depot await- 
 ing shipment a crowd of people are offering him every conceivable thing to 
 eat. A doe will not bite, perhaps, but a sociable buck will even take some 
 of their tobacco or chewing gum, though he feels he does not need it. He 
 probably has bad habits enough of his own without taking on any of man's. 
 
 TERMINOLOGY OF THE GOAT INDUSTRY FROM THE AMERICAN 
 STANDARD MILCH GOAT KEEPER 
 
 Buck, the perfect male. 
 
 Doe, the perfect female. 
 
 Kid, the young, either male or female. 
 
 Weather, a male which was castrated when a kid, or a spayed female. 
 
 Stag, a male which was castrated after attaining full growth. 
 
 Weanling, a kid just weaned. 
 
 Yearling, either a doe or buck between a year and two years old. 
 
 Farrow Doe, not with kid. 
 
 Springer, a doe soon to kid. 
 
 Barren, infertile, incapable of reproduction. 
 
 Sire, a male parent. 
 
 Grandsire, the grandfather. 
 
 Dam, a female parent. 
 
 Granddam, the grandmother. 
 
 Heredity, characteristics acquired from ancestors. 
 
 Ancestry, all goats from which an individual has descended. 
 
 Pure Bred, when both parents are either registered as pure bred or are 
 descended from registered pure bred stock or from imported goats which 
 the A. M. G. record would register as pure bred, 
 
 Thoroughbred, the same as pure bred, but not as good a term. 
 
 Grade, a goat with a pure bred parent. 
 
 Grading, breeding to pure bred bucks. 
 
 46 
 
Breed, a strain or variety of recognized kind and type, a sub-division of 
 species. 
 
 Breeder, the owner of the dam at time of service. 
 
 Breeding, the mating of goats intelligently to preserve or augment val- 
 uable characteristics. 
 
 Species, a sub-division of genus, and includes animals differing to a 
 great extent than breeds. Species will interbreed indefinitely. The scien- 
 tific name of milch goat is Capra hircus. Capra indicates the genus and 
 hircus the species. 
 
 Selection, the use of breeding animals which possess the characteristics 
 it is desired to perpetuate. 
 
 Natural Selection, the mating of such goats as have had sufficient 
 strength to survive the conditions which have killed the weaker animals. 
 
 Half-Blood, a goat with one pure bred parent. 50 per cent improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Three-quarter Blood, a goat with a pure bred grand parent and also a 
 pure bred sire. 75 per cent improvement. 
 
 Seven-eights Blood, a goat with a pure bred great grand parent and a 
 pure bred grand sire and a pure bred sire. 87.50 per cent improvement. 
 
 Fifteen-sixteenth Blood, 93.75 per cent improvement. 
 
 Thirty-one Thirty-seconds Blood, 96.875 per cent improvement. 
 
 Cross Bred, having pure bred parents of two different breeds. 
 
 Hybrid, having parents of different species. 
 
 Sport, a goat with a striking peculiarity not possessed by its ancestors. 
 
 In Bred, having parents that are related. 
 
 Line Bred, the repeated use of sires from one family to fix and preserve 
 a family characteristic. 
 
 Scrub, no particular breed. 
 
 Degenerate, an inferior animal which has not inherited or (developed 
 desirable characteristics. 
 
 Character, any prominent peculiarity of a family or individual. 
 
 Dominant Character, a characteristic of a family or individual so 
 strongly fixed that it appears in three-quarters of the offspring. 
 
 Latent Character, not noticeable in one generation, but which may ap- 
 pear in the next. 
 
 Recessive Character, the weakest of two parental characteristics which 
 is sufficiently strong to mark or appear in one-fourth of the offspring. 
 
 Acquired Character, peculiarities due to environment or care. 
 
 Reversion, the reappearance of a characteristic of a remote ancestor. 
 
 Throwing Back, the same as reversion. 
 
 Prepotent, the ability to transmit the individuals or family qualities to 
 the offspring. 
 
 Mendal's Law, the law indicating the extent to which kids will resemble 
 their parents. 
 
 47 
 
Variation, the differences shown by two animals of the same breeding. 
 
 Progression, a higher average quality as compared to the ancestors. 
 
 Regression, a tendency to approach the average either by losing char- 
 acter or by progression. 
 
 Pedigree, the record of a goat's ancestors. 
 
 Registered, having been placed on record by the American Milch Goat 
 Record Association and provided with a registration certificate and ear tag. 
 
 Unregistered, pure bred but not registered, as in case of loss of records 
 or uncertainty of identity of parents. 
 
 Registered Toggenburg, indicates that the goat is pure Toggenburg. 
 The same with the other breeds where the word registered is used in con- 
 nection with the breed name. 
 
 Registered American, indicates that a goat has given two quarts or 
 over of milk a day but does not guarantee in any way the breeding of the 
 animal. 
 
 Certificate of Registry, the document issued by the American Milch 
 Goat Record Association indicating that the goat has been registered in 
 their books. 
 
 Transfer, in case a registered goat is sold, the transfer of ownership is 
 recorded and a transfer paper issued by the A. M. G. R. A. 
 
 Ear Tag, a metal band, issued by the A. M. G. R. A. and bearing the 
 registration number, for affixing to a goat's ear. 
 
 Stud, a breeder's collection of breeding animals. 
 
 State Stud Books, the records of the state branches of the Standard 
 Milch Goat Breeders Club, giving the genealogies and scores of the best 
 milch goats owned by their members. 
 
 Imported, animals bred outside of the United States, Canada or Mexico. 
 
 Horned, having horns. 
 
 Dehorned, born with horns but having had them removed. 
 
 Hornless, born without horns, 
 
 Belled, having throat appendage or wattles. 
 
 Thremmatology, the name of the scientific dealing with the improvement 
 of domestic animals. 
 
 Unsound, a goat having any disease, injury, defect or member missing 
 which incapacitates the animal in any way. 
 
 48 
 
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