142 TRICHOLOGIA MAMMALIUM; 



rival those of Cashmere. Each Goat is represented to yield from 200 to 300 drachms of 

 wool at each shearing, which takes place twice a year. 



OF THE GOAT OF KIRGUIS. The immense plains of Kirguis, in Independent Tartary, 

 are inhabited by a people who raise a third kind of valuable Goat, which produces wool of 

 great fineness. 



The Introduction of these Goats into the United States. Exertions have been made to 

 introduce some of these valuable Goats into France, which, we regret to say, have not been 

 attended with success; but this ought not to discourage the enterprising American 

 Agriculturist, who is aware of the fact, that the raising and breeding of the fine woolled 

 Saxon Merino Sheep has here succeeded to admiration, while in France it has proved to 

 be a comparative failure. 



We will first enumerate some of the inducements to introduce fine breeds of Goats into 

 our country, and will then show what has already been done. The Goat is a cosmopolitan, 

 he is found rambling amidst the snows of Norway, and basking in the burning sun of 

 Africa. Even the fine varieties, to which we have above alluded, brave the mountainous, 

 cold climate of Thibet; feeding upon the scanty vegetation of that sterile soil, or luxu- 

 riating in the fertile district of Natolia. He is easily sustained. as the Sheep follows the 

 Ox, fattening upon the gleanings, so the Goat prospers upon the scanty remains of vege- 

 tation left by the Sheep, or in worn out and neglected fields; in seme places, as for 

 instance, in Norway, feeding, like the Reindeer, upon simple moss. 



He is a most valuable companion of the pioneer to the "far west," thriving upon 

 boughs, and even upon the bark of trees cut down in clearing, or for fuel, where all other 

 domestic animals would starve. The Goat is less liable to diseases than the Sheep. He 

 naturally attaches himself to man, and appears to be grateful for the very few favors he 

 receives at his hand. 



The female Goat commences breeding when only one year or eighteen months old, and 

 continues until she is seven ; she produces, in temperate climates, one, two and three at a 

 birth ; and in warmer ones, three, four and five. She may be milked in fifteen days after 

 parturition; the milk is sweet, nourishing, and medicinal; not apt to curdle on the 

 stomach, as much as that of the Cow, for which reason it is recommended to those whose 

 digestion is imperfect. It has an agreeable flavor, imparted, no doubt, by the wild food 

 upon which the animal delights to feed. This quality renders it peculiarly appropriate 

 to the manufacture of butter and chesse. The suet of the Goat makes candles superior in 

 whiteness and goodness to that of the Ox or Sheep. 



The skins of the Goat are useful in the manufacture of morocco leather, parchment 

 and vellum; we are told that from Norway 80,000 raw Goat hides are annually exported. 

 In Turkey and the Crimea, morocco leather is made from the hide of the male Goat, which 

 is highly prized all over the world. The skin of the Kid is made into gloves of the best 

 quality, and always commands the highest prices. The horns are extensively used for 

 handles to tools of many kinds. Of the pile are made various articles of clothing, from 

 the luxurious shawl, to the humbler but more useful camblet. 



