DOMESTIC GOATS 831 



or even of the railways; but this confidence is accompanied by exceeding watchful- 

 ness. The number in a flock in these districts is generally from four to ten, and at 

 the time of Mr. Buxton's observations bucks and does were found together. Senti- 

 nels are almost always posted to warn the flock, these being relieved at short inter- 

 vals; and it appear3 that this sentry duty is undertaken according to seniority, the 

 youngest animals commencing first, and the oldest buck taking his turn last. In 

 Asia Minor paseng are hunted both by driving and by stalking; but they are so 

 cunning that the former method is not generally very successful. The Cabulis 

 hunt them on the lower grounds of Afghanistan with greyhounds. 



In the Caucasus the kids are born in May, but Mr. Blanford believes that in 

 Sind they are produced somewhat earlier. There may be either one or two, and, 

 it is said, occasionally three at a birth. 



The bezoar stone, so highly esteemed in Persia as an antidote to poison and a 

 remedy for several diseases, is a concretion found in the stomach of the paseng, from 

 whence it derives its old European name of pazen, or pasen. 



Giura Goat * n t ^ ie ^ s ^ atl( ^ ^ Giura, near Eubcea, there occurs a wild goat which 



has been regarded as a distinct species, under the name of C. dorcas. 

 There is, however, little doubt but that it is the descendant of tamed goats which 

 have run wild, or of such animals crossed with the paseng. 



DOMESTIC GOATS (Capra hircus) 



It has been already mentioned that the various breeds of domesticated goats have 

 been mainly if not exclusively derived from the Persian wild goat, and they may 

 accordingly be most conveniently considered in this place. In saying that domestic 

 goats are mainly derived from that species, it should, however, be mentioned that it 

 is probable that many races may have been crossed with other wild kinds. Domes- 

 tic goats exhibit great variety in the form of their horns; some retaining the back- 

 ward scimitar-like sweep of the ancestral paseng, while others assume a spiral form 

 recalling those of the markhoor. When, however, such spiral-horned specimens are 

 carefully examined, it will be found that the direction of the twist is precisely the 

 opposite of that which occurs in the markhoor. 



The varieties of domestic goats are almost innumerable, and there is such an 

 amount of difference between the more extreme types that it is at first sight difficult 

 to believe that they all belong to a single species. In certain instances the horns 

 may disappear from one or from both sexes, while in other cases those of the female 

 are quite different from those of the male, and occasionally a second pair may be 

 developed. Equal diversity obtains in regard to the length of the hair, which in 

 the long-legged and pendulous-eared Indian breed is no longer than in a deer; 

 while in the Kashmir and Angora goats it reaches nearly to the ground. The 

 color, again, ma}' vary from pure white to brownish black; and there are great 

 differences as regards the size and shape of the body. The ears may be either 

 upright or pendent, and when in the latter state sometimes attain an enormous 

 length. 



