The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-04
MONEY IN RAISING GOATS
Uncle Sam Calls the Farmers to
Account for Neglect.
SOME SUGGESTIVE FACTS
Billy and Nanny May Be Made Source
of Large Rsvenue-They Are Easi-
ly Raised and Their Pro-
ducts Are Valuable.

| Mae eh- eh-eh-eh-eh!" calculated the
| inmate of a crate which stood on Mary
land avenue yesterday afternoon. He
! blinked disconsolately at two or three
| passersby, and 'mae-ehd'' in protest
against the rough handling he had re-
ceived on the road, for he had just been
! jostled in a freight train distance of
some 80 miles to Washington.
Many arrivals of billygoats have
been noted at the freight stations on
Maryland and Virginia avenues within
| the last week or so. They have come
by singles and couples, mostly from
Virginia soil, and are being redistricted
to farmers in the vicinity of the ma
tional capital. 1t is asserted by men,
bers of the agricultural department
that the sudden activity in the billy
goat trade may be attributed to the
work of one of their number, Captain
| Almont Barnes of the division of sta
| tistics. Some three weeks ago
| pamphlet on Bookkeeping, prepared by
| the captain, was distributed by the
| agricultural department. The pamph-
! let called the attention of farmers and
gardeners 10 the enormous demand for
| the products of the goat, the extremely
| limited supply of these animals in the
United States and the great profit to
be derived from keeping goats along
| with other live stock In response to
this circular inquiries are daily being
received by the department from men
| all over the country who want further
| informa ton. To some extent farmers
| have already needed the advice and
limiteu supplies of goats have been
purchased by way of experiment.
| In his recent pamphlet, Cap ain
| I ttDr,t fnt, l1yy hA
profit that may be derived from the
| pursuit of a neglected industry. He
| intends to encourage goatherding and
| goatbreeding as regular occupation
| of the American agriculturist, and
| another pamphlet is soon to follow, in
which the methods of keeping goats
! will be explained in detail In the
pamphlet just issued Captain Barnes
| calls attention in the first place to the
| enormous increase in importations of
| goat skins. In 1864, when goat skins
were first separately classified, the i'm
| ported hides were valued at some
| 81 500 900 but by the close of the last
fiscal year the invoice value amounted
to SIS, $50, 900, making an actual value
| of over $25 SOC, 900. This means the
slaughter of over 100000 goats and
kids per year.
practically all the goat skins enter
| ing into the commerce and manufac-
|
| ed the writer continues. Only among
| the people of Spanish and Mexican de-
scent has there been any appreciabl Bile
| interest in goat-herding. In the sub
urbs of cities the stray goats are kept
for their milk, and in Virginia there
has always been a limited supply of
| these animals. In parts of the West
some lively butting billies are also
kept with herds of sheep as a protec-
| ton against dogs, wolves and coyotes.
The writer gives three useful objects
| of goat keeping. First, for the pro-
duction of the skins, kid leather being
| extensively used all over the world.
| second. for the use of the hair or wool,
especially the mohair of the Angora
cross breeds, and, third, for the con-
| sumption of dairy products. The goat
| meat is also mentioned as a desirable
| product of this animal. Some animals
are kept for one, some for another pur-
| pose: in others the value as a milk
producing and wool-giving animal is
considered. Wherever skins are the
| principal product sought for common
goats are the most numerous, this be-
ing, in fact, the principal branch of
the entire industry. Select common
stock, similar in quality to the dairy
| stock of cattle, is chosen for the ami
| mails which give the milk, and certain
strains possessing high milking quail
ties are particularly favored. Among
these are the breeds of Switzerland.
| France and Malta
In the latter country all the milk
! used by the native population is sup
piled by goats, each animal yielding
from one to two quarts, sometimes
more, in a day. Goat milk is also
highly priced in the United States, but
| strange to say, it can hardly be said
to be on the market Wherever goats
are MIXED the product is nearly al
| Mt
Once in a while a physician will pre-
scribe goats milk for patient, and
in that case strenuous efforts are made
to find supply of the valuable article,
| though a rule it is difficult to OBJ
tain. Captain Barnes believes that if
some one in the vicinity of any fair
sized city should undertake to raise
milch goats and would bring the milk
to market he could sell it very readily,
perhaps at as high as rs cents quart.
While the trade in goat skins is al
ready established and the question is
merely whether they shall be imported
from Europe and Asia or produced for
home consumption, the business in
goat milk would need to be newly
established. In Germany and SWitzer-
land the goat milk is commonly con-
sumed and in England its use has in
creased considerably within the last
few years.
Relative to the value of the goat as
a fleece-producing animal, Captain
Barnes speaks in the highest terms of
the Angora goat, whose mohair is Win
ming greater and greater favor in the
markets of the world. About five
pounds of fine, long, silky hair are fur
nished annually by each goat, and this
is extensively used in the manufacture
| Of cloths, the goods being of fine quality
and very dura BILE as we'll. The pure
Angora goat has its home in Turkey.
From there a limited number of the
family have occasionally been export
ed, although the sick mans govern
ment is thoroughly aVerse to the loss Of
the superior breed. When a female
Angora goat is crossed with the COM
mon shOrt-haired goat a fleece of good
texture is generally obtained after the
first or second cross, so that if the pro-
cess of crossing is continued Angoras
are to all practical purposes obtained
after short time In this way the
| breed has been spread throughout the