340 



UNGULATA. 



woolly under-coat of grayish hair, and a covering of long, silken hairs, 

 that seem to defend the interior coat from the effects of winter. The 

 woolly under-coat is the substance from which the Cashmere shawls are 

 woven, and in order to make a single siiawl, a yard-and-a-half square, at 

 least ten goats are robbed of their natural covering. Beautiful as are 

 these fabrics, they would be sold at a very much lower price but for the 

 heavy and numerous taxes which are laid upon the material in all the 

 stages of its manufacture, and after its completion upon the finished 

 article. Indeed, the buyer of a Cashmere shawl is forced to pay at least 

 a thousand per cent on the cost of his purchase. 



Attempts have been made to domesticate this valuable animal in 

 Europe, but without real success. It will unite with the Angora Goat 

 and produce a mixed breed, from which may be procured very soft and 

 fine wool, that is even longer and more plentiful than that of the pure 

 Cashmere Goat. As a commercial speculation, however, the plan does 

 not seem to have met with much success. 



THE ANGORA GOAT. 



The Angora Goat, Capra angonnsis (Plate XLIX), is the noblest of 

 ail the group. It is a large animal, with long peculiar horns, and mag- 

 nificent hair. Tiie horns in the male are compressed, not rounded, but 

 with a sharp ridge ; they slope almost horizontally backward, and make a 

 wide double turn with the tips outward ; in the female they are shorter, 

 weaker, and round, and form only one curve. The face, ears, and lower 

 joints of the legs are covered with short, smooth hair, the rest ot the 

 body is hidden with a thick long fleece, fine, soft, brilliant and silky, which 

 curls in locks, and is chiefly composed of wool, with a few sparse hairs 

 only appearing. The predominant color is a uniform dazzling v.'hitc, 

 although specimens with dark marks have been seen. This fleece falls 

 off in handfuls in summer, but grows again very rapidly. 



This goat derives its name from the town of Angora or Angola, in 

 Asia Minor, where it was first seen by Europeans. The region they 

 inhabit is dry and hot in summer, and very cold in winter, and a pure 

 dry atmosphere is nccessarv for them. The animal is carefully washed 

 and combed every month during the summer. The fleece is clipped in 

 April, and packed for the market. Angora alone sends out 2,200,000 

 pounds, mostly shipped to England. The fineness of the wool decreases 



