Excepting a few in Ireland, raw goat skins are not produced in Great Britain. The chief drawback to goat breeding there is a somewhat inexplicable aversion on the part of the public to the flesh of goats; although another reason may be the destructive nature of the animals themselves, for they devour and uproot anything edible that comes in their way. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that some of the large areas of uncultivated land in Great Britain are not given up to the breeding of goats on a large scale, since these hardy animals will thrive on rough, hilly lands. Apart from the value of the meat, it might be a paying proposition to rear large herds of goats for the supply of milk (which is more nourishing than cows') and skins. Leather-dressers are, therefore, dependent on imported supplies, of which the principal sources are India (North-Western District), Mexico, Arabia, Africa, South America, and several European countries. Goat skins from the main sources of supply vary very much in quality--even those produced in the same country. In India, for example, skins may be obtained in some districts which can be made into leather to sell at about 5d. per square foot; from another district, when finished into the same kind of leather, say glazed kid, they may be worth 1s. 4d.[1] per foot. Fineness and clearness of grain and good substance are the main essentials of a first-class goat-skin leather; unfortunately these qualities are rarely combined in one class of skin, and there is a decided surplus of light thin skins which are hardly saleable, even for ladies' shoes. Some American shoemakers overcome this difficulty by pasting a piece of cloth on the back of the skin. In fairness to the buyer, the boots made of such leather should be specially marked, as the wearing quality of a backed thin leather is not to be compared with one naturally stout. [1] It must be understood that, owing to the war, these prices have been greatly increased. The skins of goats are used for many purposes besides the manufacture of the famous glacé kid leather; gloves, moroccos for bookbinding, upholstery for furniture, fancy articles such as purses, pocket-books, bags, and ladies' belts all require large quantities of goat and kid skins. It may be pointed out here, however, that quite nine-tenths of the so-called kid gloves are made of lamb and sheep skins. In appearance, there is very little difference between the real kid and the lamb skin gloves, but the former are more durable and warmer in wear than the latter.