402 



THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



claws, a fine, thin skin and a well-developed, but not too 



pendent, udder (Fig. 82) and good teeth are also necessary 



requisites. . 



493. General history. Goats are among the oldest 



domestic animals, and have contributed their share to 



the subsistence of 

 mankind as far back 

 as historic evidences 

 reach. Rutimeier dis- 

 covered their remains 

 among the ruined piles 

 of the ancient lake- 

 dwellers in Switzer- 

 land. Goats and their 

 products are men- 

 tioned frequently in 

 the Bible, and by 



FIG. 82. Milch goats with udders 

 too pendent. 



Herodotus and Homer, and have maintained their popu- 

 larity, especially among oriental nations, to this day. 



The question of their origin is still in dispute. Accord- 

 ing to Julmy, a majority of zoologists maintain that the 

 European goat is descended from the Persian Pasang or 

 Bezoar goat (Capra cegagrus), while others seem to trace 

 it to the alpine Ibex (Capra ibex). 



Whatever may have been their origin, they have exerted 

 a strong influence on the economic welfare of the peoples 

 among whom they have been found. Their growth in 

 numbers, outside of America, has been noteworthy; 

 although even in this country their popularity is increas- 

 ing. The following statistics indicate their popularity. 

 G. F. Thompson states, in his " Information concerning 

 Common Goats," published in 1903, that there were 

 1,871,252 goats of all kinds kept on farms in the United 



