148 The 'Book of the Goat. 



should be split ; they are most nutritious when about a 

 year old. In Algeria goats are fed largely on beans, and 

 the enormous yield of the Maltese in that country is at- 

 tributed greatly to this. 



Wheat and Barley. Goats eat wheat and barley 

 eagerly, but these grains are not good for them, as much 

 passes through the alimentary system undigested. Barley, 

 both in the grain and as meal, is too heating, and is apt to 

 cause an outbreak on the skin. 



Miscellaneous Food. 



Under this title may be mentioned brewers' and dis- 

 tillers' grains, and all sloppy food, also oil-cake, bran, 

 middlings, &c. These have a very decided effect upon 

 the supply of milk, the grains and sloppy food influencing 

 the quantity, and the cake, &c., in a slight degree the 

 quality. Many goats will not touch grains ; most 

 of them prefer the brewers' to the distillers', though 

 they may be brought to. like both by being tempted 

 with small quantities at a time, and especially when 

 they see other goats eat them. Some goats have 

 a great partiality for sloppy stuff, like bran mashes, coarse 

 oatmeal upon which boiling water has been poured, or 

 middlings mixed with water or skim-milk. In the Mont 

 d'Or, where, as I have already stated, goats are largely 

 kept on the soiling system, this taste is encouraged, greatly 

 to the advantage of the goat-owner. Here the owners 

 even go so far as to mix the meal with pot- liquor. There 

 is no doubt, as I have frequently proved, that where a 

 goat has a liking for a sloppy diet it increases her milk 

 supply materially. 



Oil -cake, linseed and locust bean meal, and such like 

 luxuries make a nice change of diet, but they should 

 be given sparingly. Cotton-cake is cheaper than 

 linseed-cake, but less digestible. It has a constipating 



