Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-21
Milk Production Abroad.

1t is impossible to go into great detail, as
the department has done. on the number Of
goats and milk production abroad, but 1t
may be said that in Germany there are now
kept 100000, whose value Is about 81, OO0,-
600, and their annual production in milk.
hides and the meat of goats slaughtered
reaches the enormous total of $39,O00,OOO.
Switzerland, which is only about half the
size of Indiana. produces annually 1885,
900 gallons of goats milk, valued roughly
at $S.OOO,OOO This win show that the goat
is not to be overlooked as an economic fac
tor.
There are some other things about goat
diaries that are not known by the general
public. Goats milk is richer In sugar and
cream and has less water than ordinary
cows milk 1t is a better food for infants
and invalids for that reason, and brings
higher prices where 1t can be procured. And
it has nothing to distinguish it from cows
milk, except that it is better IL the goats
are Clearly kept and properly fed and
MIXED. All these subjects are gone into in
detail in the departments report, and such
as are interested can read them there, but
for the general reader it is enough to state
the fact.
1t has not been proved that the goat is
absolutely free from tuberculosis, but it Is So
nearly so that this is another reason it's
milk is recommended for babies and for
the sick. Compared with the COW, which
is responsible for so much of the spread of
absolutely immune from this disease.
Goat Dairy Farming.
Now as to the value of goat dairy farm
ing, for the main question in America with
any question is whether 1t will pay. 1t may
be said that the mich goat from good
stock will give as much as four quarts of
milk a day. This is the average Of the
Swiss goats and many of them go as high
five Thpra is a record Of
Langauzaer goat, which is one of the good
mich breeds, which gave 1890 quarts per
year and at the height of the milk flow
was giving ten quarts a day with three
milkings. But of all the varieties Of goats
the Nubian is the best mixer, giving from
five to twelve quarts daily. The goats that
are bred for milk remain productive for
from eight to eleven months, but that is
twice or three times as long as could be
expected of the native breeds here.
There is also the question of goat cheese
to be considered in the future, but at pres
ent there are no goat cheese factories in
this country. 1t may be said. however
that goats milk is largely and sometimes
exclusively used in very fancy brands of
cheese and there are kept near Lyons,
France, about 1000 goats, furnishing milk
for the cheese factories there, while at
Mount dor there no less than 5000
goats kept for the same purpose. These
are only two localities, so one may reason
that this is a considerable factor n the
value of the animal.
But Few in America.
1t is perhaps unfortunate that there are
hardly any mich goats in America, and
they are more or less hard and difficult
to get. An American goat that would give
two quarts of milk daily and stay fresh"
for four months would be considerable
good animal. A smaller production than
that would hardly be worth considering.
There were about twenty-five head of good
mich goats imported from Switzerland to
the United States recently, just before the
quarantine law was passed against that
country on account of foot-and-mouth dis
ease. Now there are no more to be had
from that region. The Department of Ag-
rictulture is preparing to import some
goats direct from Malta. where there is
a very good breed, but they will not be
available for some time and when they are
will be kept for study and experiment and
not for profit.
1t will be seen that the mich goat is
really worth considering seriously as fac
tor in American farm and city life and
there is small doubt that the Department
of Agriculture will be able to do as much
for the farmer in that line as it has pre-
viously done with the Angora