THE GOAT FAMILY. 349 



to roam at large in immense herds, each buck being 

 accompanied by about one hundred ewes. They are shorn 

 in April. This species is believed by some to be a direct 

 descendant of the Wild Himalayan Markhor (Capra- 

 falconis), which is distinguished from all other goats by 

 its upwardly directed, spiral twisted, horns, and the great 

 extension of the beard on its throat and shoulders. The 

 Markhor stands about three feet and a half high, and is 

 reddish brow r n in summer and grey in the winter. Its 

 beard always being black in front and grey behind. 



The Cashmere or Tibet Goat, is distinguished by its 

 delicate head, long, wide half pendulous ears, and slightly 

 spiral erect horns which in some cases incline inward to 

 such an extent as to cross. In this animal it is the under 

 wool that is of commercial value, being used in the manu- 

 facture of shawls and certain kinds of cloth. This wool 

 falls off at certain seasons of the year, when it is removed 

 from the body of the animal with combs, the long hairs 

 being undisturbed. 



Goat raising is an important industry in different parts 

 of the Chinese Empire, and hundreds of thousands of 

 Chinese Goat skins are worked up by furriers annually 

 into rugs, robes, coats and other articles of fur wear. 

 The main objection to goat skins is their odor, which how- 

 ever is not so noticeable in the skins of the females and 

 of younger animals. Only the skins of the very young 

 are shipped in their natural shape, the others being sewed 

 into crosses and rugs before they are baled for 

 export. The Chinese Goats show considerable variation 

 in color, but grey predominates. A large percentage of 

 the skins are dyed black before being used, and some of 

 the still-born kids are hard to distinguish from Moire 

 Astrachans when they come from the dyers, but where 

 there has been any growth it is generally easy to detect 

 the goat, no matter what name may be used to hide its 

 identity. 



The skins of many varieties of goats that cannot be used 

 by the furriers make fine leather, especially those from 

 Morocco ; and there is a demand everywhere for kid skins 

 for the manufacture of gloves. 



