MILK GOATS. O 



CHARACTERISTICS. 



Goats' milk is nearly always pure white in color. The small size 

 of the fat globules is one of its chief characteristics. The cream 

 rises very slowly and never as thoroughly as in the case of cows' 

 milk. This condition makes the ordinary method of obtaining the 

 cream impracticable. It has been stated that goats' milk will not 

 keep sweet as long as cows' milk, but tests have been made that 

 show that this is not the case. The keeping quality of any milk 

 depends upon the conditions under which it has been produced and 

 handled. 



In tests made by the Department of Agriculture, it was found that 

 goats' milk could be thoroughly separated in a separator, for when 

 milk testing 4.4 per cent fat was run through the separator the skim 

 milk showed only 0.03 per cent of fat. 



If goats' milk is properly produced and handled, there should not 

 be any goaty odor. The principal source of the bad flavor and odor 

 in the milk is the dirt and hair which fall into it from the body of the 

 animal. Then again, the goaty odor is often absorbed by the milk 

 when the milking is done near where the bucks are kept. 



COMPOSITION. 



At the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, at Geneva, 

 X. Y., with a mixed herd of goats, it was found that the percentage 

 of fat hi the milk varied from 3.2 to 4.4 per cent; the solids (not fat) 

 ranged from 7.72 to 8.61 per cent; and the total solids ranged be- 

 tween 11.4 and 11.9 per cent. 1 The composition of milk from the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry's herd of the common American type of 

 goats, as determined by tests made by the Dairy Division, averaged 

 as follows: Specific gravity, 1.0338; fat, 5.99 per cent; total solids, 

 16.96 per cent; solids not fat, 10.97 per cent; sugar, 4.93 per cent; 

 total protein, 4.63 per cent; and water, 83.04 per cent. For compari- 

 son the following averages of over 5,000 analyses of cow's milk at the 

 New York station are given: Fat, 3.9 per cent; total solids, 12.9 per 

 cent; solids not fat, 9.0 per cent; sugar, 5.1 per cent; and water, 87.1 

 per cent. 



At the New York station a chemical study of goats' milk indicated 

 no essential difference between the constitution of its casein and 

 that of cows' milk. Marked differences were observed in the salts 

 of the ash as compared with the ash of both cows' milk and human 

 milk, but the effect of these differences has not been fully studied. 



GOATS' MILK PRODUCTS. 



Goats' milk can be utilized for the same purposes as cows' milk, 

 although for some it is not nearly so well suited. For general use, 

 such as for drinking, cooking, and in tea and coffee, the milk has 



i Bulletin 429, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. 



