228 EUMINANTIA. 



frame, are hardly sufficient to support the petulance and rapidity 

 of his natural movements." (BufFon.) 



The milk of the Goat "is sweet, nutritious, and medicinal, ow. 

 ing to the character of its food, which consists chiefly of what is 

 obtained from high hills, or from pastures where aromatic shrubs 

 r , abound. Anciently the skin was deemed valuable for clothing ; 

 the best Turkey or Morocco leather is made from it, and from 

 the skin of the kid is prepared the softest and handsomest leather 

 for gloves. The strong odor of the Goat is well known, and it is 

 said to be "refreshing" to horses. The female bears, generally 

 in the last of February, usually two, sometimes three and even 

 four young. Among the Greeks and Romans the Goat, because 

 an enemy to the vine, was sacrificed to Bacchus. This animal 

 is remarkably sure footed. Pennant says, "two yoked together, 

 as they often are, as if by consent, take large and hazardous 

 leaps, and yet so time their mutual efforts as rarely to miscarry 

 in the attempt." The Goat butts, raising himself on the hind 

 legs, and then coming down sidewise against his enemies. The 

 varieties are numerous, and some of them have been exalted to 

 the rank of species. 



Hircus (or Copra) Aegagrus. The WILD GOAT. This is re- 

 garded by Cuvier and others, as the parent stock of the Domes- 

 tic Goat in all its varieties. 



It is found in herds, freely ranging in the great mountain 

 chains of Asia. In Persia it is called the Paseng. The size is 

 rather larger than that of the domestic breed ; the horns also 

 usually exceed those of the common Goat ; the color is a brown- 

 ish gray above and white beneath. The male has a large brown- 

 ish beard ; the female neither beard nor horns. 



Capra hircus. The DOMESTIC GOAT. (Lat. hircus, a he-goat.) 



This animal, like others reclaimed and subject to man, exhib- 

 its great varieties in respect to size, color, the quality of the hair, 

 and even the largeness and number of the horns. 



C. Angorensis. The ANGORA GOAT. (See Chart.) 



This is a native of Angora, in Asia Minor ; generally is of a 

 milk-white color, short legged, with black, spreading, and spi- 

 rally twisted horns and pendulous ears; its silk-like wool, which 

 is its chief excellence, covers the entire body in long, hanging 

 and spiral ringlets, and from it the finest camlets are made. 



The CASHMERE GOAT, which is found in Thibet and roams the 

 pastures of the Himalaya mountains, has an undercoat of wool, 

 exquisitely delicate and fine. From this are manufactured the 

 Cashmere shawls so highly valued by the fashionables of both 

 hemispheres. It is remarked that the lower the temperature 



