THE MILCH GOAT 



469 



inate severely against this defect. "If there is a point on 

 which judges are apt to give exercise to their fancy/' says 

 Pegler, "it is in regard to horns. There is no doubt that 

 most breeders, whether acting as judges or buyers, give 

 preference (other points being about equal) to a goat with- 

 out horns ; but if these ornaments, as some consider them, 

 are present, they should undoubtedly be small and slender 

 rather than coarse and heavy. Sharp-pointed horns rising 



Fig. 257. A Saanen goat on pasture in Switzerland. 



perpendicularly from the head, are decidedly objectionable 

 from a practical point of view, as they are unquestionably 

 in some degree dangerous. The best shaped, in the writer's 

 opinion, are those which lie close to the head, curving back 

 like the horns in some sheep." 



Quality and condition with the Milch goat are important 

 factors, especially quality. This is shown in neatness of 

 form, fineness of bone, in a close, glossy coat of soft, fine 



