10 



FARMERS BULLETIN 920. 



is largely due to the fact that there has been a quarantine against 

 most of the countries where the milk-goat industry is one of the 

 important phases of live-stock production. It is not known just how 

 many goats of each breed or type have been imported. Many immi- 

 grants have brought young goats in baskets with them when entering 

 the country. Then again many goats have been imported and the 

 breed or type was not stated upon the records. 



The breeds that will be discussed in this publication are the Saanen, 

 Toggenburg, Nubian, Maltese, Schwartzenberg-Guggisberger, and the 

 so-called common or American. 



FIG. 3. Goat dairy of the Bureau of Animal Industry at Beltsville, Md. 



SAANEN. 



The Saanen is one of the leading breeds and takes its name from 

 the Saanen Valley of Switzerland. It is said to be the largest of all 

 the Swiss breeds. Although considered a hornless breed, occasion- 

 ally an animal is found with horns. The color ranges from a pure to 

 a creamy white. The dairy conformation is especially well developed 

 in the Saanen breed. The hair is usually short, with the exception 

 of a strip along the spinal column extending to the flanks and the 

 hind quarters. A Saanen buck is shown in figure 4, and does of 

 this breed are seen on the front page. 



The first record of the importation of Saanen was in 1904, when 10 

 head came in through the Canadian quarantine. These goats were 



