Statl-Feeding.- 149 



effect, and may, therefore, be given when slackness of 

 the bowels is observed. The kind of cake I find goats 

 eat with the greatest avidity is that made by the Waterloo 

 Mills Co., Hull. It is composed of a variety of articles, 

 and is sweet to the taste. 



Wafer and 3?att. 



Besides dry food and forage, there are two other 

 articles of equal importance which must never be omitted ; 

 these are water and salt. The quantity of water a goat 

 drinks depends upon the amount of milk she is supplying, 

 and the nature of the food she consumes. One that gives 

 2qts. of milk a day and exists chiefly upon hay and corn 

 may take in summer 2qts. to 3qts. of water in twenty - 

 four hours ; whereas the same animal in a dry state, and 

 living on green and succulent vegetables or grass, will not 

 drink as much in a week. Goats should never be allowed 

 to suffer from thirst, but should have a pail of clean water 

 offered them morning and night, and if rejected, it should 

 be left by their side for a quarter of an hour or so (but 

 not permanently), as although they may refuse to drink 

 before having had their feed of corn, they will often do 

 so when the latter has been consumed. 



It is a bad plan to leave water standing in the goat- 

 house all day, as it is liable to become tainted by absorb- 

 ing the ammonia and other gases from the litter, in which 

 state it will probably be refused. Water, too, that is 

 soiled or greasy, or in which chaff or hay has fallen, will 

 be just sniffed at and turned from in apparent disgust ; 

 indeed, I have even known goats go so far as to overturn 

 the receptacle that contains it. The drinking propensity 

 of a goat should always be encouraged, as a great drinker 

 is generally a good milker. Where clean soft water is 

 procurable, it should certainly be given in preference to 

 hard. 



