Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-09-02

to the highest point in the whole
landscape, they thrive finely on the
low, level mesas in some of our
southwestern states, where this in
dustry has been chiefly developed up
to the present time. At this juncture
commercial goat centers of the
country will be found in Texas, New
Mexico and California. No separate
record of the goat industry has been
kept by the census bureau. and
hence it is difficult to know exactly
how many goats there are in this
country or where they are located,
but it is clear from what is known
that the section mentioned consti-
tuteS the chief center of goat ranch
ing at the present time. This section
possesses no typographical or climat-
| ic advantages Which are not possessed
by the southeastern states.
Someone may say that there is
much less rainfall in the southwest
ern section than in the southeastern.
Doubtless this is true. 1t will then
be contended by many that on &C
count of our large rainfall goats will
not thrive here well. 1t appears,
| however, that our rainfall is quite
we'll distributed, so that only a part
| of the rainfall can be regarded as
| occurring in the winter time and at
seasons when goats need to be housed
so as to be protected from violent
| transforms. The best ranchers in the
| southwest ma II IGC0SSdIN 10 DuIlu
| shelters for goats to protect them
| from transforms. These are not ex-
| pensive. They can be built just as
cheaply in the southeast as else
| where. They may be made of rough
boards and covered with composition
roofing. They should be so construct
| ed that there will be plenty of light
and air. The principal thing is to
| keep the goat dry at certain seasons
of the year. These structures are
also necessary in which to handle
/ the goats during the kidding season,
while the dams should be better fed
| than usual. The best practice is to
provide a jumping-off board in con-
| nection with these goat houses or
| shelters, which enables the mother
goat to have free access to the out
side and go out on the range and
gather food during the daytime. At
night she is brought back and put in
! the Shelter with her young. If this
practice is followed a large percent
age of the kids can be saved. If
they are dropped on the open range
the chances are that not over 40 to
SO per cent will be saved. Where
this occurs the loss is so great that
the business can hardly be regarded
as profitable.
The principal difficulty in the
way of developing the goat indus
try at present lies in the high cost
dnG T6IaItNS SCtlIClty VI DISGOllS
stock. AS indicated above, we are
not in position to, import bucks
freely and hence animals of this
class are high-priced and difficult
to obtain. This is especially true
of those which are the most valua-
transmit to their progeny heavy
fleeces of mohair of fine quality
In the southwest the development
of the goat industry has centered
around the use of native Mexican
goats, which have been improved
ing them to the best .sires obtain
able and some of which in times
past, have been secured from Tur-
key and other points where the
breeding of goats has been carried
forward for an indefinite period of
time. The common goat can. of
course, be used for foundation stock.
but it, would take several years to
builds UP a desirable type. On the
other hand, this is probably the
best method of practice to follow,
as it would probably entail pro-
to establish a flock of choice quail
ity. It is doubtful in any event if
this would be as profitable or de-
sirable as to center the effort in
the purchase of the best type of
buck possible and then through sys-
tematic selection improve the grade
and character of the progeny and
the fleece they bear from year to
year La, through a rigid process of,
In many respects the handling
and management of goats is not
dissimilar to that accorded sheep.
Anyone who has ever handled sheep,
! in other words, should be able to
handle goats successfully. The goats
will live on brush where the sheep
would starve. This is very essen
tial and important difference and
hence those having land of this
type should center their efforts on
goat production rather than on
sheep production. Some extra food
may be needed during the winter
and at various seasons of the year.
In case this becomes essential it
will pay to provide it, but there is
hardly form or plantation where
there is not enough waste materials
to meet the requirements of a mod
crate sized flock of goats.
AS, to the value of the meat de-
rived from this class of animals
expert judges are unable to tell
it from lamb or mutton. At the
present time there is no market
for goat meat, though several mil
lion animals. are apparently killed
each year and the production is ap-
parently. sold as mutton. Thus it
seems that there might be de-
cided advantage in raising goats.
On the other hand. the goat indus
try of the country has asked that
a special classification of meat de-
rived from goats be made SO that
market for goat meat may be
established on it's merits. This is
the best evidence that they believe
that the quality of goat meat is
equal to that of the best mutton.
|