Oriental and African Goats. 63 



The Syrian or M amber Coat. 



Goats abound largely in Palestine and Syria, and are 

 often met with in herds of 500 to 1000. There are 

 several varieties, but that which is most in repute as a 

 milker is the Mamber goat. This animal is remarkable 

 for its long pendulous ears, which are sometimes twice 

 the length of its head and wide in proportion, with a slight 

 curl outwards at the extremities. The hair is also long, 

 especially at the hindquarters, but short on the head, 

 though a tuft of long hair generally projects from the 

 forehead. The facial line is straight, though often some- 

 what arched in the male. The horns incline to the rear, 

 with a curl downwards like those in mountain sheep, but 

 in the male are longer and take a decidedly spiral form. 

 The colour varies, but a large proportion of these goats 

 are either black-and-white or quite black. 



A choice collection of these goats, described as the 

 Gar-a, a sub-variety of the Samar, was exhibited by 

 M. Crepin at the Paris Goat Show in 1903. 



The Mamber goat is said to be a good milker, giving 

 in full profit from 3^ to 7 pints a day. This can be 

 readily believed, but it is less easy to credit the statement 

 of Dr. Ira Harris, the American Consul at Tripoli, 

 who is reported by Thompson in his book to have given 

 the yield of some specimens as 16 pints a day! The 

 milk of the Syrian goat is further said to be exceed- 

 ingly rich in butter-fat and of delicious flavour. It is 

 the breed which supplies the famous butter of Aleppo, 

 which is largely consumed in various cities of Asia Minor. 

 Hoffmann regards the Mamber goat as a separate breed 

 from the Syrian, which he states is similar in many 

 respects to the Cashmere, but this latter statement is 

 altogether extraordinary and one which I personally 

 cannot endorse. The goat has, in fact, more resemblance 

 to the Nubian than the Cashmere. A hornless she-goat of 



