20 The 'Book of the Goat. 



constantly hear people talk with an air of assurance of 

 4 white breeds,' ' black breeds,' ' long-haired breeds/ 

 ' horned ' and ' hornless ' breeds as if the fact of being 

 white or black, of having hair more or less long, or a head 

 garnished or deprived of horns, had ever characterised the 

 origin of a European race." All this is perfectly true as 

 regards the goats of Europe, but, as the author here 

 quoted further observes, " this confusion of races is not so 

 noticeable amongst Asiatic or African varieties, the charac- 

 teristics of these being much more pronounced." Whilst 

 stating, however, as here shown, that the goats of Europe 

 generally are difficult to divide into breeds, M. Crepin 

 adds that " the disposition of the ears, the shape of the 

 horns when there are any and the colour of the eyes [ !] 

 are the only means of recognition for an experienced con- 

 noisseur." The points of distinction here given are of a 

 singularly meagre character, and if we leave out " the 

 colour of the eyes " a feature I certainly never before 

 heard mentioned or personally noticed as one which 

 assists in defining a breed or variety we have nothing left 

 but ears and horns to guide us, and the latter vary, we 

 know, a great deal even in specimens of the same kind. 

 Now, the goats distinguished as breeds by M. Crepin are 

 chiefly the following : The Alpine, the Schwarzhals, the 

 Pyrenean, the Massif Central, the Corsican, the Murcien, 

 the Grenada and La Mancha of Spain, the Maltese, the 

 Arabian, the Crimean or Caucasus goat, the Bosnian of the 

 Balkans, the Syrian, the Cashmere or Thibet goat, and, 

 finally, the Angora. Illustrations furnished of these dif- 

 ferent kinds do not in some instances show very marked 

 features of distinction, and these latter are not apparently 

 governed by ears and horns. German writers extend this list 

 considerably, giving names of varieties that have probably- 

 only local notoriety. Such are the Saxony goat, the West- 

 phalian, the Hinterwald, the Wiesenthal. the Starken- 



