Lloyd Maddox, age 10, of Brunswick, Ga., for his question:

IS THE GOAT RELATED TO THE COW?

Like the cow, the goat belongs to the bovine family. Both are grass eaters with special stomaches that make it possible for hastily swallowed food to be brought back into the mouth later as a "cud" for additional chewing.

Often called the "poor man's cow," the goat is actually more closely related to the sheep. But, like its more distant relative, the cow, the goat is especially useful for its ability to give milk.

Most domestic goats weigh from 100 to 120 pounds when they grow to be adults. You'll sometimes hear the male called a billy goat and the female called a nanny goat, but the proper name for the grown male is buck while the female is a doe. A goat less than a year old is a kid.

Wild goats live in Asia, Europe and North Africa.

An animal called the Rocky Mountain goat of the United States and Canada is not a true goat. It is more properly classified as a goat antelope, along with the chamois of Europe and the Near East and the gorals and serows of Asia.

Domestic goats live in all parts of the world. They are proboably all descended from the wild Persian goats of southwestern Asia, however.

In many parts of Europe, people raise large herds of goats. This is also done in parts of Asia and Africa.

In the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe and Asia, goats are raised mostly to produce milk. Goat's milk is white, sweet, nourishing and easier to digest than cow's milk. It contains slightly more fat and protein.

Probably more people through out the world use goat's milk than cow's milk. Butter made from goat's milk is poor, but it makes excellent cheeses.

Goatskins also make high grade leather. The famous morocco leather is made from goatskin. Some goats are also used for their flesh and hair.

There are three chief classes of goats. First there are the Swiss goats which have pointed ears. these are the most important ancestors of most American and European breds that are used to provide milk.

Second type is the Nubian, with drooping ears, and the third type is the group used to grow wool. This last group of goats include the popular Angora and the Cashmere.

A grown doe usually gives between three and six quarts of milk a day, for between two and 10 months a year.

Many different types of goats are used to provide milk. Among the popular classes are the Toggenyurg, Saanen, Nubian, and French Alpine. The Toggenburg and Saanen came to North American from Switzerland and France.

The Nubian goat, which comes from northeastern Africa, ranks as the most popular milk goat in the United States.