CHAPTER LXIV 



THE MILCH GOAT 



The goat as a source of milk supply has long held an important 

 place as a producer, especially among the poorer people of the vari- 

 ous countries of Europe. Travelers in Switzerland, Italy, France, 

 and Spain are impressed with the large numbers of goats kept for 

 milk production. Among common goats a yield of a quart a day 

 is not uncommon. Some breeds are quite heavy producers. 



The characteristics of the milk of the goat are somewhat vari- 

 able. Nubian goats and their half-breds tend to produce a milk 

 richer in fat and with more total solids than have the Swiss breeds. 

 It seems to be the case, also, that goat milk varies considerably in 

 its composition among individuals of the same breed. Pegler gives 

 the analysis of a crossbred prize-winning goat as follows ^ : casein, 

 4.06 per cent; fat, 5.14; sugar, 5.28; salts, .58; total solids, 

 15.06; water, 84.94 per cent. A Toggenburg goat one hundred 

 and eighty-three days in milk showed 3.21 per cent fat, while 

 an Anglo-Nubian six hundred and thirty-five days in milk tested 

 7.48 per cent. In this connection it is to be noted that the 

 Toggenburg was producing 9 pounds a day and the Nubian 

 about 31 The smaller the yield and the longer the goat has 

 been in milk, the greater the per cent of fat. There are two 

 special qualities in goat's milk that should make it popular, — 

 one, the ease with which it is digested, and the other its 

 immunity from tuberculosis germs. Its superior digestibility is 

 attributed to the fact that the fat globules are much smaller 

 than in cow's milk and are in a more perfect state of emulsion. 

 Dr. Barbellion, a French medical authority, gives a somewhat 

 different explanation. He states that the curd of cow's milk 

 forms a dense, adhering mass, which by agitation separates into 

 clots that are but slightly soluble, while the curd of goat's milk 

 is soft, pliable, and very soluble, like the milk of the ass and 



H. S. H. Pegler, The Book of the Goat. London, igio. 

 Digitized by Microsoft® 



