70 MODERN MILK GOATS 



and beauty, and finally their intelligent and affectionate 

 dispositions, offer an irresistible charm, so that it is not 

 surprising that women have adopted this work in consid- 

 erable numbers and with conspicuous success. 



Conditions Essential to Success.— Certain personal 

 qualifications, however, are essential to this success, and 

 first of all one would name j^hysical strength and endur- 

 ance. IMany women of delicate or impaired healtli have 

 turned' to goat breeding as an occupation that might 

 offer them restoration and at the same time a livelihood. 

 Of the benefits arising from this work there is not the 

 slightest doubt. The outdoor life, the keen interest 

 aroused by the lo^'able, small creatures, no less than the 

 use of their milk — these things have in many cases meant 

 all the difference between the despair of shattered health 

 and the 'delight of renewed vigor and normal physical 

 condition. But in such cases the work sliould be under- 

 taken with moderation and on a small scale, and only a 

 woman of steady, dependable health and considerable 

 actual muscular strength and endurance can hope to 

 carry on the goat business on a scale large enough to pro- 

 duce a profitable livelihood. 



Physical Kndnrance. — One must be able to work 

 hard and steadily during most of the year for ten hours 

 a day, and in the kidding season much longer hours are 

 often necessary. One must be able to put through a 



