56 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



able so far as the inhabitants of Europe and America 

 are concerned. 



There are two species, then, whose lacteal secre- 

 tion more nearly resembles woman's milk than that 

 of any other species available for general milch pur- 

 poses, namely, the cow and the goat. The milk 

 of the latter is very extensively used in some parts 

 of the world, and a great deal can be said in its favor 

 as a substitute for human breast milk. It is not, 

 however, very much used in this country. As be- 

 tween the two animals we have chosen the cow. 

 The reasons for this choice are probably in large 

 part sentimental and to some extent economic. 

 It is commonly believed that the goat is not a clean 

 animal, especially in its dietetic habits.. While 

 most authorities upon the goat declare this to be 

 a gross libel upon a very clean animal,'' there can 

 be no doubt that it enters into the popular preju- 

 dice against the goat and partly accounts for the 

 discrimination against the animal. True, the male 

 goat has almost always an offensive odor, but this 

 objection does not apply to the female. Horace, 

 the Roman poet, long ago set the world an excellent 

 example by truthfully imputing the offence to the 

 male goat alone, calling the females 



"The ladies of the unfragrant lord." 



Again, many persons who have never tried goat's 

 milk, either as a beverage or as a food for them- 



