On the Wild Goat of the Alps, 155 



and mufcles, feemed to fliow its ftrength and its means of 

 defence. 



On the firfl: view, it had fomc refeniblance to the flieep in 

 regard to the head, but in the whole of its figure it had more 

 relation to the aoat. In comparing it with the latter, it appear- 

 ed larcer and thicker; its forehead was naro-f^r and more 

 elevated. Thefe lart characters diltinguiflied it from all animals 

 of thefame kind. Its head was proportionaliy fmaller, the fore- 

 head was a little arched before, the eye was quick and of a 

 moderate fize, the pupil contracted in the fun like that of the 

 flieep, forminsx a rectangle, tiie bafc of which ftood in the 

 diredlion of the greateft length of the eye; the forehead and 

 upper part of the head were thickly covered with hair; it had 

 no veftige of beard. But on my fecond vifit fix months after, 

 that is to fay, when it was two years and a half old, it had a 

 fmall one at the diftance of an inch and a half from the ex- 

 tremity of the muzzle; it was black, and turned backwards. 



Its horns'vvcre very different from thofe of the goat ; they 

 were large, near each other at the roots, and at a conlider- 

 able diftance at the points; bent back and outwards in an 

 arch ; thev were fourteen inches in length, and eight inches 

 in circumference at the bafe ; the two longitudinal ridges, be- 

 tween which was the anterior face of each horn in the old 

 goats, were not both very fenfible; the interior one was the 

 niofl perceptible; it had two or three large and very promi- 

 nent tubercles. Thefe tubercles in the laroe horns of the 

 wild goat terminate the tranlverfal ridges of the ainerior face; 

 but here the tranfvcrfal ridges were not yet dlfi;inctly marked, 

 though they were perce]ilible. The poflerior face of the 

 liorns was round and fmooth ; but the fecond time I faw i^, 

 they had confiderably increafed. The anterior face and lon- 

 gitudinal ridges were well marked. Near the baf<* there were 

 four tranfverfal ridges very prominent, and elevated nearly 

 half an inch : on the interior longitudinal ridge there w ere 

 fix tubercles, and the others went on decreafing to more than 

 half the length of the horn. 



The animal was then three feet and a half in length : it aji- 

 pcared to me proportionalh" higher on the legs than the goat; 

 but this was on account or its beinc: not then well formed, 

 for the old wild goat has fliort legs in pioportion to its 

 length : it had a thicker and fhorler neck than the goat, the 

 rump was lighter and rounder, the body more plump, and 

 the legs thicker; it had no callofities on the knees, which 

 in the connnon goals is one of the marks of its domcfiieity : 

 its ears were large, almoll bare in the infide; but tin edges 

 were furniflied with whilifli hairs: the amnial alv. '' 

 iccted Uicin backwardo. 



