148 



Gleanings in bee culture 



I'ebeuaey, 19 1"? 



just think of the " milk and honey." The milk is 

 twice as good as cows' milk, at one-eighth of the 

 cost, and is absolutely free from tuberculosis. 



Those interested might send 15 cents to the B. A. 

 I., of the Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, 

 asking for Milch-Goat Bulletin No. 68. It is not 

 up to date, but is a valuable treatise. 



I have nothing for sale. 



Rev. Alson W. Steers. 



Nooksack, Wash., Nov. 19. 



SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT GOATS AND 

 GOATS' MILK. 



I note in High-Pressure Gardening for Nov. 15 

 a reference to goats' milk and goat periodicals. As 

 an interested goat-owner I would refer you to the 

 Goat World, published at Baldwin Park, California. 



There is, undoubtedly, a growing interest in milch 

 goats, and fairly steady demand. A good medium- 

 grade goat may be bought in this market from 

 $13.00 to $25.00. Pure-bred Toggenburg does bring 

 as high as $300. 



Personally I cannot favor the tieing up of so 

 much money in any one animal unless it is for 

 the purpose of breeding pure-bred stock. 



Merely for the pleasure of having a pet around I 

 have bought several grade goats when they were dry 

 and sold them after they had their kids. 



The last one I bought was a three-quarter Saanen 

 (the Saanen breed, by the way, is the equal of the 

 Toggenburg as a milk-producer, and in my opinion 

 are much more hardy). She had three kids; and 

 when I sold her after selling the kids she was giving 

 over two quarts of milk a day. I have recently 

 bought a goat which the owner says gave four 

 quarts. She appears to show Nubian blood. Cer- 

 tainly if one can obtain a goat which will give 

 four quarts of milk a day a price of $25.00 is not 

 excessive. 



The milk generally sells for 25 cts. a quart, and 

 always has a ready sale. At the Panama Pacific 

 International Exposition Toggenburg goats were ex- 

 hibited which gave as high as six quarts of milk a 

 day. 



Altho it is hard to buy pure-bred stock at reason- 

 able prices, nevertheless it is important that no 

 Angora blood be present, as this seems to militate 

 against a good milk production. 



The Department of Agriculture, Washington, 

 publishes several good pamphlets on milk goats, 

 ranging from 5 to 15 cts. apiece. 



I keep my goats staked out during the day time, 

 and then bring them into the chicken-yard at night. 



Neither the goats nor chickens have been injured 

 by their proximity. 



I can imagine no pleasanter or more delightful 

 combination than goats, chickens, bees, and fruit 

 with a few vegetables on the side. There will nearly 

 always be something to do, and plenty of life around 

 the house, especially if you have a few children of 

 your own. 



I should like to emphasize the fact that there is 

 positively no odor nor taste to goats' milk, provid- 

 ing the buck is not allowed to be around the barn. 

 The milk is white, rich, and the fat is evenly 

 divided, no cream arising on standing. 



Sherman Kimball. 



San Francisco, Cal., Nov. 27. 



goats' MILK AND GOAT PERIODICALS. 



You ask about papers on milk goats. The best is 

 the Ooat World, Baldwin Park, Cal.; monthly, $1.00. 

 Los Angeles, Cal., is the great milk-goat center. 

 The milk retails in the city at 25 cents a quart, 

 and it is the life of a baby, sure. A. I. Root will 

 do more good with milk goats than he has with bees, 

 poultry, or " sermons," I predict. 



You want to know if goats' will hurt chickens. 



I should say not, Mr. Root. In far-ofif Switzerland 

 doe goats are trained to come when the baby cries, 

 and let the baby nurse direct from the goat. Now, 

 an animal that is so gentle and careful as to walk 

 over a baby, and not injure it, surely would not 

 hurt chickens. 



If you pasture a nanny, see that there is a 

 good wire fence around the pasture. The bucks 

 smell bad ; but it is claimed that the Anglo-Nubian 

 bucks do not smell at all. If you buy a buck, 

 always keep at least one eye on him, for Mr. Buck 

 is a sort of living battering-ram — something like 

 those they used to employ to batter down the 

 walls of a city. C. A. Neal. 



Jonesboro, Ind., Nov. 23. 



Several copies have been sent me of 

 The American Standard Milk-Goat Keeper 

 (Lynn, Mass.), and from them I learn that 

 milk goats cost all the way from $12 or $15 

 up to $25, or even $50 for fancy stock. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — A subscriber of ours has mailed 

 us a clipping from Gleanings in Bee Culture for 

 Nov. 15, containing a letter- from Chas. Blake, and 

 your answer under the heading " Goats, Goats' Milk, 

 and Goat Periodicals." 



Your question as to whether the goats and 

 chickens would agree was answered by one of 

 our writers in our July number, which we are mail- 

 ing you. We agree with the article, providing the 

 chickens are absolutely free from lice. Chicken lice 

 will stay on goats and soon kill them if not looked 

 after. E. F. Dwter, 



Editor of Am. S. M. G. Keeper. 



Lynn, Mass., Dec. 2. 



ALFALFA HONEY INSTEAD OF ALFALFA HAY 

 AS A CURE FOR THE BLUES. 



I presume our readers have seen state- 

 ments in regard to good wholesome nourish- 

 ing bread made from alfalfa. So far as I 

 can learn, this bread was made from alfalfa 

 leaves. If I mistake not, the Rural Neiv- 

 Yorker said recently the whole thing was 

 simply a yarn about making bread from al- 

 falfa Jiay. As njost beekeepers are interest- 

 ed more or less in alfalfa for both hay and 

 honey we give the following: 



Mr. A. I. Root: — Knowing that you are inter- 

 ested in new discoveries I enclose a clipping from 

 the Mobile Register of July 3, which is self-explana- 

 tory. 



il'oferring again to the enclosed clipping, it 

 might be well for you to write Dr. Alexander L. 

 Blackwood, of Chicago, that he should be advocat- 

 ing alfalfa honeu instead of alfalfa hay. 



L. H. Shrangkr. 



Here is the dipping referred to : 



SAYS alfalfa is CURE FOR BLUES ; INDIGESTION AND 

 MENTAL DEPRESSION VANISH BEFORE HAY. 



Chicago, July 2. — Members of the American Insti- 

 tute of Homeopathy concluded their annual conven 

 lion here today and adjourned. 



Alfalfa as a remedy for indigestion and mental 

 depression was recommended by Dr. Alexander L. 

 Blackwood, of Chicago. He told of experiments 

 made with the new remedy at a Chicago hospital. 



"During the past year observations were made 

 of the action of alfalfa on seventeen persons," he 

 said. "All of them noted that they grew so hun- 

 gry that they could scarcely wait for their meals. 

 Their minds were clear and bright, all bodily func 

 lions were stimulated, and it was impossible to 

 have the blues." 



