446 



GOAT. 



hardness of that of the mature animal, and being in 

 fact more juicy and delicate than lamb. In foreign 

 countries, where goats are abundant, the skins of the 

 mature ones are used for many purposes, being a sub- 

 stitute, and a very durable substitute, for various 

 kinds of cloth. There is no skin which takes so fine 

 a dye as goat-skin, and there is none of the same 

 lightness and flexibility which is so strong. In 

 Turkey, and other parts of the East, it is still used for 

 the manufacture of what is called Turkey or Morocco 

 leather ; and though European manufacturers do 

 what they can to produce imitations in sheep-skin, 

 those imitations are vastly inferior to the genuine article. 



Goat-skin is used for many purposes in the arm}'. 

 It forms the cover of the dragoons' holsters, and used 

 to form the knapsack of the foot soldier. The whitest 

 wigs, those which give a lawyer a sufficiently snowy 

 head without the unseemly addition of hair-powder, 

 are made of goats'-hair, bleached and baked ; and 

 there is no doubt but that an excellent wool might be 

 obtained by combing any variety of the domestic goat 

 at the proper season of the year. The goats of 

 Angora, arid of many parts of Syria, produce that 

 hair which is spun into camlets, of which the con- 

 sumption was at one time very great. They are now 

 imitated with sheep's wool of a peculiar staple, spun 

 in such a manner as to give the threads the hard 

 appearance of the genuine camlet wool of the Levant ; 

 but the best of these imitations are vastly inferior to 

 the real camlet, both in the fastness of their colour 

 and in the time that they last. If a man gets a real 

 camlet cloak, which has actually grown on a Turkish 

 goat, he not only has a good garment for life, but 

 may have a tolerable one to leave to his heir ; where- 

 as a single season, and often a single day, will, in 

 many instances, completely spoil the best imitation. 



In general, there is a traceable resemblance be- 

 tween the domestic goat and the wild goat of the 

 mountain rocks ; but the male is of inferior size, and 

 the hair is of coarser texture, which is perhaps one 

 of the most remarkable instances of change in the 

 clothing of an animal. It is one, however, for which 

 we ought to be prepared ; for domestic goats, though 

 they are principally attended to in upland districts, 

 never are so high -on the mountains as the wild ones. 

 They are thus subjected to a less rigorous climate ; 

 and the tendency of a warmer climate is always to 

 roughen, as well as to thin, the hairy coverings of 

 animals. The horns, even in those varieties which 

 most resemble the wild ones, do not incline so much 

 backwards, and the tips are very generally turned 

 outwards. The colours of these are various : some 

 are black, or blackish brown, while others are sand 

 colour, and others again are black and white. Those 

 which may be considered as deviating the least from 

 the natural state and habits of the genus, have the 

 hair long and shaggy, although of fine staple, and re- 

 markable for its strength bat there are others in 

 which not only the shape, but even the number of 

 the horns, differ from those of the wild goat ; the 

 coverings of their bodies are smoother, and tints of 

 brown and reddish are blended with their colours. 

 Some, also, have the ears pendulous ; some are 

 without horns ; and some have more than two horns, 

 of which ast the Plate, GOATS, contains a specimen. 

 To enumerate the various races of goats, all of which 

 are, more or less, referrible to the same type, would 

 be an endless, and not a very instructive task. The 

 Persian goats have horns resembling in form those of 



the wild goat, but smaller in size. These goats have 

 the ears small and erect, and a conspicuous tuft of 

 hair between the horns. The general colour is 

 brownish ash, with rust-coloured points to the hairs. 

 The Welsh goats, which are so well known as to be 

 identified with the principality, are of large size, and 

 the.hair fine and long, and usually of a white colour. 

 The horns of the males are of large size, often more 

 than three feet in length. They stand nearly vertical 

 in the greater part of their length, but bent outward 

 at the tips. The dwarf goat is understood to be 

 originally from western Africa, but it has thriven 

 well in South America and the West Indian islands, 

 where great numbers are to be found. They are, 

 however, very much intermixed with other breeds, 

 but always have a covering of short and close hair. 

 This hair is varied with fawn colour and white on 

 many parts of their bodies ; but the produced hair 

 on the beard and neck, and also the tail, is not un- 

 frequently black. This variety is commonly without 

 horns, and the ears are small and erect. It is very 

 liable to break into differences, so much so that 

 instances have occurred of the females having four 

 mammae. This race of goats is, generally speaking, 

 more timid than most of the others. It is not a little 

 remarkable, that the goats in Sweden, and those 

 in the mountainous parts of Spain, bear a close 

 resemblance to each other. These are generally 

 Without horns, with Ion? hair and upright ears. 



Angora Goat. 



In central Asia, where goats are much used in a 

 domesticated state, there are many varieties, one of 

 the most celebrated of which is the Cashmere goat, to 

 which we have already alluded. It is remarkable for 

 the length, whiteness, and silky texture of its hair. 

 The horns are not so rugged as those of the common 

 goats ; and the ears are generally dark-coloured, and 

 partially pendulous. The legs are very cleanly 

 made ; and altogether they are handsome animals. 

 The under fur or wool, which is the valuable part of the 

 covering, is white, readily dyed, and retains its colours 

 with great tenacity. It is understood that this breed 

 is confined to the higher parts of the Himalaya ; and 

 that when the valley of Thibet is arrived at, there is 

 an inferior breed, which is, however, still valuable as 

 a wool goat, though its wool is not of the same deli- 

 cate texture as that of which the fine shawls are 

 made. This breed has been introduced into France. 

 The horns are not so brown as those in the former ; 

 the ears are less in size, and the legs are stouter in 

 proportion to their length. The colour is more sub- 

 ject to variation from dark spots than that of the true 

 Cashmere goats. The goats of Angora (see the cut) 

 have the hair white, and generally long and very 



