THE GOAT. 



sheep. It almost buries itself in the skin, and 

 adheres so firmly by six legs, very muscular and 

 powerful, and so armed with serrated claws, that 

 it can scarcely be disengaged from its hold, but it 

 will yield, like most of the parasites which infest 

 the sheep, to the application of a mercurial pre- 

 paration. 



Statistics. According to the statistical returns 

 furnished to the Board of Trade, the number of 

 sheep and lambs in Great Britain and Ireland 

 amounts to nearly thirty-one and a half mil- 

 lions, which may be estimated to produce fully 

 130,000,000 pounds of wool. The imports of wool 

 must amount to as much more ; but a consider- 

 able quantity is again exported, chiefly to France 

 and Germany. Most of the fine wool for the 

 manufacture of broad-cloth was at one time 

 derived from Saxony and other German states, 

 where the Merino breed of sheep is cultivated 

 with great success ; but this trade has of late 

 almost ceased, and German dealers, in their turn, 

 now attend the London sales of Australian wool 

 in order to supply their own wants. The total 

 number of sheep in the Australian colonies was 

 stated in 1854 at 17,000,000; but in 1870, includ- 

 ing New Zealand, the number has tripled, as they 

 now amount to 51,000,000 ; while at the Cape 

 of Good Hope and Natal there are upwards of 

 10,000,000. The weight of a fleece of wool is from 

 \\ to 3^ pounds ; and the value varies, according 

 to the quality and state of cleanness, from 6d. to 

 35. ; that of clean Australian wool may be stated 

 at 2s. 6d. 



THE GOAT. 



The Goat belongs to the same family of Rumi- 

 nants as the sheep. The common domesticated 

 goat is usually about the size of the sheep, though 

 less round in form, and is marked by keen eyes, 

 long hair, and generally bent horns. The males, 

 called familiarly in England billies, have a long 

 beard ; but the females, or nannies, are seldom 

 provided with that appendage. Whether in a 

 state of nature or tamed, the goat is remarkably 

 swift and agile, and will browse fearlessly on the 

 most rugged precipices. We find, from ancient 

 writers, that goats have long formed part of the 

 stock of mountain herdsmen, and were tended 

 with even greater care in former than in present 

 days. In many respects, indeed, the animal is 

 valuable. Its skin is conveitible to several useful 

 purposes, and the flesh of the full-grown goat is 

 good, though scarcely equal in quality to that of 

 the sheep. But it is for the milk chiefly that the 

 goat is prized ; the qualities of that secretion 

 being not only very nutritious, but even medicinal 

 Where cottagers have not the means of keeping a 

 cow, a goat will be found a very useful animal, 

 being easily fed, and contented with grasses which 

 are rejected by the cow and the sheep. To those 

 peasants who live in mountainous countries, the 

 trouble and expense of keeping a couple of goats 

 is next to nothing, as they find sufficient nourish- 

 ment in the most heathy, rough, or barren grounds, 

 and require no care or attention. In some coun- 

 tries, goats are of considerable service to man- 

 kind, the flesh being salted as winter provision, 

 and the milk used for the making of cheese. 

 The flesh of the kid is highly palatable, being 



equal, if not superior in flavour, to the most 

 delicate lamb. 



In Britain, the - goat produces generally two 

 young at a time ; sometimes three, rarely four. 

 In warmer climates, it is more prolific, and pro- 

 duces four or five at once, though the breed is 

 found to degenerate. The time of gestation is 

 five months. The male is capable of propagating 

 at one year old, and the female at seven months ; 

 but the fruits of a generation so premature are 

 generally weak and defective ; their best time is 

 at the age of two years, or eighteen months at 

 earliest. A goat is accounted old at six years, 

 although its life sometimes extends to fifteen. 



If goats are properly trained, they will return to 

 their owners twice a day to be milked, and prefer 

 sleeping under a roof when accustomed to it 

 The milk of the goat is sweet, and not so apt to 

 curdle upon the stomach as that of the cow ; it is 

 therefore preferable for those whose digestion is 

 weak. The peculiarity of this animal's food gives 

 the milk a flavour different from that of either the 

 cow or the sheep. The quantity of milk produced 

 daily by a goat is from three half-pints to a quart, 

 and it yields rich and excellent cream. If properly 

 attended to, a goat will yield milk for eleven 

 months in the year. In some parts of Switzer- 

 land, Wales, and the Highlands of Scotland, 

 the goat is one of the chief possessions of 

 the inhabitants. On mountains where no other 

 useful animal could find subsistence, the goat 

 contrives to glean sufficient living, and supplies 

 the hardy natives with what they consider a varied 

 luxury. They lie upon beds made of their skins, 

 which are soft, clean, and wholesome ; they live 

 upon their milk, with oat-bread ; they convert a 

 part of it into butter, and some into cheese ; and 

 the flesh furnishes an excellent food, if killed in 

 the proper season, and salted. Goats are fattened 

 in the same manner as sheep ; but taking every 

 precaution, their flesh is never so good nor so 

 sweet as mutton. It is otherwise between the 

 tropics. The sheep there becomes flabby and 

 lean, while the flesh of the goat rather seems to 

 improve. The cream of goat's milk coagulates 

 as easily as that of cow's, and yields a larger 

 proportion of curd. The cheese is of an excellent 

 quality, and high flavoured ; and although to 

 appearance it looks poor, it has a very delicate 

 relish, and strongly resembles Parmesan cheese. 

 Some farmers are in the practice of adding a 

 little goat's milk to that of cows, which mate- 

 rially improves the flavour. In winter, when 

 native food becomes scarce, the goat will feed 

 upon turnip-peelings, potato-peelings, cabbage- 

 leaves, and other refuse of a house. In addition 

 to the other products yielded by the goat, its 

 tallow is an article of some importance. It is 

 much purer and finer than that of sheep, and 

 brings a high price, making candles of a very 

 superior quality. 



Cobbett advocates the keeping of a goat by 

 cottagers. 'There is one great inconvenience 

 belonging to goats that is, they bark all young 

 trees that they come near ; so that if they get into 

 a garden, they destroy everything. But there are 

 seldom trees on commons except such as are too 

 large to be injured by goats ; and I can see no 

 reason against keeping a goat where a cow can- 

 not be kept Nothing is so hardy ; nothing is so 

 little nice as to its food. Goats will pick peelings 



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