THE GOAT 



197 



a fine goat the color of a deer, and the little 

 goat of Langcnsaha (Saxony), which is usually 

 white, although sometimes brown with a stripe 

 along the back. 



The Norivcgiaii goat resembles the black- 

 necked goat of Switzerland, the hair being 

 long and waving ; the horns of the buck are 

 well developed. 



The common English goat is often without 

 horns, ill-shaped, and rough-haired. The com- 

 mon Irish goat is the true type of a milch 

 goat. The back is often a little hollow, the 

 horns curve backward, and the hanging ears 

 are rather long. They, like their English 

 sisters, can claim no beauty. 



The Flemish goat of Belgium is of two 

 breeds, — the deer goat and the sheep goat. 

 Both are closely related and are sometimes 

 mingled. The first has a delicate head, slim 

 neck, slender legs, short, smooth hair, and a 

 gay and lively temperament. The sheep goat, 

 on the contrary, is coarser in every way, with 

 a calmer or, so to speak, more sheepish nature. 

 The color of these Belgium goats is usually a 

 magnificent reddish brown, or else a chamois 

 color, which is the most desired. 



Among the goats outside of Europe we 

 must here mention the 

 principal species. First 

 comes the Syrian goat, 

 found chiefly in Syria 



to two thousand. Their color varies, being 

 gray, yellow, brown, and black ; many have 

 beautiful sky-blue eyes. The hair is long, espe- 

 cially on the hind quarters, whereas on the 

 neck it is short and very brilliant. The Arabs 



Norwegian He-Goat 



and Palestine, but also in the warm regions of 

 Asia as far as the islands of the Indian Ocean. 

 They live in flocks numbering from five hundred 



Wonderful Tolerance ! 



use this hair for the manufacture of stuffs 

 and rugs, making the inferior qualities into 

 portieres for tents, and even ropes. Even when 

 ill-fed these goats can still give from three to 

 six quarts of milk a day. This milk has not 

 the bitter taste nor the offensive odor which 

 characterize that of the European goats. Grass 

 being rare in their pasturage, their food con- 

 sists chiefly of acorns and of a fruit called 

 " St. John's bread." The butter and cheese 

 made from the milk of these goats is cele- 

 brated for its excellence. 



The flocks of Palestine are sometimes 

 decimated by a contagious disease, a species 

 of yellow fever, which often mows down sixty 

 per cent of them. The Arabs consider this 

 a punishment for their own sins, and bless 

 Allah that he does not take the whole 

 flock. 



The Nubian goat lives in Upper Egypt, 

 ■ Nubia, and the mountains of Abyssinia. In 

 i860 the Negus of Abyssinia sent a young 

 hippopotamus as a present to Napoleon III, 

 and with it a number of these goats to serve 

 as wet nurses. It is related that they each gave 

 from fifteen to eighteen quarts of milk a day. 



