Page 128 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

care is taken to see that the milk is pure. It takes about thirty minutes to
prepare them for milking and to milk them. By that time they have eaten their
feed. By milking three times a day, he finds that he gets more milk. “Soy
bean hay,” states Mr. Fearn, “produces the best milk. Lespedeza is, without
doubt, the coming roughage. The goats are very keen about it when they can
get it.”

Feeding rations vary considerably and each breeder or dairyman must
experiment until he finds the proper combination of feeds for his stock.
Information on this subject can be secured from the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C.; from The Goat World, Vincennes, Indiana;
the Dairy Goat Journal, Fairbury, Nebraska, and the American Goat Society,
Inc., Herkimer, New York.

The goat selected by most breeders for stock today is a pure-bred, imported
type. The American or “scrub” goat does not give good milk production and
its kids command very low prices. It is, undoubtedly, to the best interest of
the goat owner to purchase pure-bred animals only and to see that all the kids
are registered. The types usually purchased by breeders and dairymen are the
Toggenburg, Saanen, Nubian, French Alpine, Rock Alpine, and the
Murciana. The Toggenburg is the biggest milk producer and the Nubian is
noted for the richness of its milk, the butter fat content being much higher
than in any of the other breeds. The price of pure-breds will run not less than
$35 for mature stock or $15 for kids. Certain stock for breeding may run
somewhat higher than these prices and, naturally, outstanding breeding stock
will bring very fancy prices just as any other kind of fancy live stock does.

Goat milk sells for 25 cents to 50 cents a quart. As it is the nearest animal
milk to human milk, it is an excellent food for babies. However, being much
richer than cow’s milk, it must be diluted by more than 50 per cent before a
baby can assimilate it. Goat milk is alkaline instead of acid (cow’s milk is
acid), so it is an excellent food for invalids, old people, and those suffering
from stomach disturbances. Goat milk also contains one important mineral
which cow’s milk lacks—iron. The taste of goat’s milk is very palatable if
the animal has been fed correctly. There will be absolutely no disagreeable
odor or taste if the doe’s stall is kept clean, the milk is handled in a sanitary