CHAPTER II 



IMPORTED MILK GOATS 



Origin of the Swiss Breeds. — In Switzerland, more 

 than in any other European country, goat breeding for 

 milk production only had been carried to the highest 

 point of careful and successful selection. Out of the 

 common stock of Alpine goats, which found in the 

 Alpine meadows the natural environment best suited to 

 their development, the Swiss breeders of the different 

 cantons had chosen certain types, and in their isolated 

 valleys, generation after generation, had patiently bi-ed 

 to estabhsh an ideal which they had always before 

 their eyes. 



When the first goat pioneer from the United States 

 visited Switzerland to investigate tlie field, he found a 

 great many breeds, all in an advanced stage of develop- 

 ment as distinctive types. Examination of them all led 

 to the conclusion in the mind of the investigator that two 

 breeds offered the highest possibilities as a source for 

 building up the goat industry in America. One of these 

 was the Saanen, originating in the Saanen and Simmen 

 Valleys, in one of the northern cantons. This type had 



