Chapter XII. 



Pasturing. 



THERE are two methods of treating a goat ; one is by a 

 system of pasturage combined with stall-feeding, and the 

 other by what is known as " soiling " that is, keeping the 

 animal constantly housed, and supplying it with all its 

 rations in the stable. The one to be adopted by the goat- 

 keeper must of course depend upon whether he has 

 pasturage at command or not. 



By the word " pasturage " let it not be supposed that 

 I mean a small grass-plot, even if it be the size of a tennis- 

 lawn. It is not that the dimensions in such a case would 

 be necessarily insufficient to keep a goat during the summer 

 months, but that after a short time the animal would 

 probably refuse to crop it. As a matter of fact and this 

 I have proved to my perfect satisfaction unless a person 

 has a good run of pasturage, and that of the right sort, a 

 goat will thrive better and live longer under the stall- 

 feeding system. Knowing, as everyone does, that this 

 animal is by nature active and restless, constantly roaming 

 about from place to place in search of fresh food, such an 

 assertion as the one I have just made will probably cause 

 some surprise. I have not, however, come to this opinion 

 without a thorough trial ; and I have the experience of 

 others as well as my own to justify it. It is further 

 borne out by what is done in the Mont d'Or, one of the 



