INDIAN BREEDS 



LIVE STOCK 



(Jouth 



of Angora blood, as has been suggested, would obviously be to court failure. 

 It Mii-jht, however, be possible to cross the alpine breeds of Sind, Balu- 

 chistan and Hazara with the Angora goat, if foreign blood be considered 

 rial. 



Many years ago the proposal was made to establish sheep and goat 

 runs on the southern slopes of the Himalaya with a now to improve and 

 extend the Indian supplier of wool and hair. This has never been definitely 

 tried, though much has been written on the growing necessity for l> 

 and more certain supplies of these staples. Falconer seemed to think 

 that the jxishm goat might be acclimatised on the southern slopes of the 

 Himalaya, but it must not be forgotten that the down of the ibex and of 

 t he pashm domesticated goat seems to be directly the result of the drier 

 and ever so much colder nature of the northern as compared with the 

 southern slopes. Indeed the pashm goat may be said to actually exist at 

 Spiti, and according to Hodgson the chdpti is the acclimatised form of the 

 Tibetan chdngrd. If this be so, the goat, even if successfully reared on a 

 more extended scale than at present on the southern slopes, would pro- 

 bably yield a far inferior pashm than the northern stock, if indeed it did 

 not degenerate into a form of the paJ-yielding (not pashm) goat. It may, 

 however, be safely said that for present European commerce a pashm 

 goat is not an indispensable necessity of success. 



Speaking of the plains, sheep and goats are most successfully reared 

 in areas that receive a moderate rainfall. Upland well-drained soils with 

 sparse jungle growth and a considerable variety of herbage are necessary. 

 In peninsular India the shepherds possess large flocks, with which they 

 wander from place to place when arable land is usually clear of crops. 

 The sheep and goats graze during the day and are folded at night on land 

 where it is desired to obtain the manure of their droppings. This is paid 

 for by the cultivators whose lands are thus benefited. Goats are valued 

 for their meat and milk, and on the Himalaya for their hair. 



[Cf. Royle, Prod. Res. Ind., 1840, 161-72 ; Wallace, India in 1887, 147 ; 

 Voelcker, Improv. Ind. Agri., 212-3 ; Mollison, Textbook Ind. Agri., ii., 59-62 ; 

 Mukerji, Handbook Ind. Agri., 593-4; Watt, Provisional List Animal Prod., 1902, 

 77 ; Aitken, Sheep-Feeding, Journ. Board Agri., Sept. 1901, viii., 155-64.] 



CHIEF BREEDS. With the exception of Mr. B. H. Hodgson's valuable paper on 

 the sheep and goats of the Himalaya and Tibet, and of Capt. T. Hutton's paper 

 on the sheep and goats of Afghanistan, the subject has never been systemati- 

 cally treated, and little can be added to the particulars given already in the 

 Dictionary. I am, therefore, unable to do more than mention by name some 

 of the better known breeds of Indian goats : 



1. South Indian Goat. These are gaunt in appearance and badly proportioned, 

 but hardy and active and can exist on almost any kind of vegetation. 



2. North Indian Goat A much finer animal than that found in the south. 

 The ears are large and perfectly pendent. This is possibly the jatnnapari of 

 Hodgson. [Cf. Hoey, Monog. Trade and Manuf. N. Ind., 1880, 90, 105-6 : Pirn, 

 Monog. Woollen Fabrics U. Prov., 1898, 2-3 ; Note on Indig. Sheep and Qoato 

 of the Pb. in Land Rec. and Agri., 1903.] 



3. Surat and Gujarat Goats. These are small short-legged animals that are 

 much valued as milkers. 



4. Nepal Goat The best-known breed; has long flapping ears and rounded 

 nose. 



5. Bengal Goat This is smaller even than the Madras animal, and is usually 



Siite black and destitute of horns. Hodgson identifies it with the dugu of the 

 imalaya. [Cf. Basu, Agri. Ldhardaga, 1880, i., 92 ; ii., 44-5 ; Banerjei, Monog. 

 Woollen Fab. Beng., 1899, 1-3, 35-6.] 



6. The Hill Goats of the Deccan, Sind, Rajputana and Baluchistan. The hair 

 of these animals is more abundant and woolly than the plains goat, and the horns 



745 



r WodL 



Soothcra 



Breeds. 



South India. 

 North India. 



Gujarat. 



Nepal. 



Bengal. 



Hill. 



