WHY cow's MILK? 57 



selves or their infants, have an idea that the milk 

 has a peculiar and unpalatable taste. This likewise 

 is unjust to the gentle animal which has been most 

 aptly called "the poor man's cow." There is a very 

 serious objection to the goat in the fact of its un- 

 deniable record as a destroyer of young trees and 

 shrubs, but this can be overcome by tethering, and 

 presents no very great difficulty. 



On the economic side, the objection that there is 

 no demand for goat's milk to justify goat-keeping 

 upon a large scale, in a commercial way, is trite. 

 That is an economic consequence of the prejudice 

 against the animal. Doubtless there are many 

 persons in all our villages and small towns, where 

 goat-keeping is practicable, who are reasonably 

 free from prejudice and open to conviction upon the 

 subject of the animal's worth, especially as the 

 provider of an excellent milk for infant feeding, who 

 are simply ignorant of its economic merits. The 

 yield of milk is not large enough compared with that 

 of the cow to be attractive, though in proportion 

 to its size and weight the goat yields not less than 

 the average cow. A fairly good goat will yield two 

 quarts of milk or more daily, two or three milkings 

 a day being necessary." It is not an expensive 

 animal to buy and is probably the cheapest animal 

 of its size in the world to maintain. The average 

 American laughs at the idea of valuing the goat for 



