GOATS, 



GOLD FISH. 



tlements. Every bite made by these fierce little 

 insects draws blood, and is generally followed 

 by considerable irritation, and even inflamma- 

 tion* "These little tormentors," says Dr. Har- 

 ris, "are of a black colour; their wings are trans- 

 parent; and their legs are short, with a broad, 

 whitish ring around them. The length of their 

 body rarely exceeds one-tenth of an inch. They 

 begin to appear in May, and continue about 

 6 weeks, after which they are no more seen. 

 They are followed, however, by swarms of 

 midges, or sand-flies (Simulium norivum), called 

 no-see-'em, by the Indians of Maine, on ac- 

 count of their minuteness. So small are they, 

 that they Would hardly be perceived, were it 

 not for their wings, which are of a whitish 

 colour, mottled with black. Towards evening 

 these winged atoms come forth, and creep 

 under the clothes of the inhabitants, and by 

 their bites produce an intolerable irritation, 

 and a momentary smarting compared to that 

 caused by sparks of fire. They do not draw 

 blood, and no swelling follows their attacks. 

 They are the most troublesome during the 

 months of July and August." (See MOSQ.UITO.) 



GOATS (Capra). There are three species 

 of this genus enumerated by naturalists. 1. 

 The wild goat (C. agagrus) ; 2. The ibex (C. 

 ibex}-, 3. The Caucasian ibex (C. Caucasia) : of 

 these, the first is believed to be the original of 

 the many varieties of the domestic goat. 



The goat appears (says Prof. Low) to form 

 the connecting link between the sheep on the 

 one hand, and the antelope tribes on the other. 

 Being the natural inhabitant of mountainous 

 regions, it is, therefore, in wild, rocky countries 

 that the goat is chiefly reared. Goats are 

 stronger, more nimble, and less timid than 

 sheep, and are more easily supported than any 

 other animals, for there are few herbs which 

 they do not relish : they will browse on heaths, 

 shrubs, and plants, which are rejected by other 

 animals; *md it is well known they can eat 

 with safety herbs (such as the hemlock, hen- 

 bane, &c.) which would prove destructive to 

 sheep and other animals. Goats are more 

 hardy, and not liable to so many diseases as 

 sheep. The goat is not well adapted to a 

 country of enclosures, because it feeds upon 

 the twigs of hedges, and escapes over the bar- 

 riers intended to confine it. But where there 

 are no young trees to be injured, they may 

 browse at large on the mountain brakes with- 

 out expense ; and in winter, when housed, they 

 are easily supported on whins or furze, cab- 

 bage leaves, potato-peelings, and such worth- 

 less food. 



Goats emit at all times a strong and disa- 

 greeable odour, named hircine, which, however, 

 is not without its use, for if one of these ani- 

 mals be kept in a stable, it is affirmed that it 

 will be an effectual preventative of the staggers, 

 a nervous disorder which is often very fatal to 

 horses. In Great Britain the cultivation of 

 the goat is limited and partial. It is chiefly 

 confined to the mountainous parts of Wales, 

 the Highlands of Scotland, and to the little 

 farms of the poorer peasants of Ireland, whose 

 scanty possessions will not support a cow. 

 The great objection there to the rearing of the 

 goat, is the want of demand for its flesh, which 

 642 



is hard, and almost indigestible. Even the kid, 

 whose flesh is known to be very delicate and 

 nourishing, is held in no estimation : hence all 

 the other properties of the goat are insufficient 

 to render it an object of profitable production. 

 But the goat, although it never can be so valu- 

 able there as in the dry and rocky countries of 

 the south of Europe, does not deserve that entire 

 neglect with which it is treated. It arrives 

 early at maturity, and is very prolific, bearing 

 two and sometimes three kids at a birth. The 

 period of gestation is five months. The female 

 bears for six or seven years ; the male should 

 not be kept longer than five. In Portugal and 

 some other countries the goat is used as a 

 beast of draught for light burdens. The hair 

 of the goat may be shorn, as it is of some value, 

 making good linsey ; that of the Welch he- 

 goat is in great request for making white wigs. 

 Ropes are sometimes made from goats' hair, 

 and are said to last much longer, when used in 

 the water, than those made of hemp. Candles 

 are manufactured from their fat, which, in 

 whiteness and quality, are stated to be supe- 

 rior to those of wax ; their horns afford excel- 

 lent handles for knives and forks; and the 

 skin, especially that of the kid, is in demand 

 for gloves and other purposes. Goats' milk is 

 sweet, nutritive, and medicinal, and less apt to 

 curdle on the stomach than that of the cow : it 

 forms an excellent substitute for that of asses. 

 When yielding milk the goat will give, for 

 several months, at the average of two quarts 

 per day. Mr. Pringle of Kent, in his Essay 

 "on Cottage Management" (Gard. Mag. vol.5), 

 informs us that two milch goats are equivalent 

 to one small Shetland cow. Cheese prepared 

 from goats' milk is much esteemed in moun- 

 tainous countries after it has been kept a proper 

 age. (Low's Pract. Agr. and Breeds of Dom. 

 Animals; Willich's Dom. Encyc.) 



GOAT'S-BEARD (Tragopogon). Of this 

 common pasture-weed there are two species. 

 1. The yellow goat's-beard (T. pratensis'), a 

 biennial, growing in grassy pastures and mea- 

 dows, on a loamy or clayey damp soil. The 

 root is tapering, flowering in June ; the whole 

 herb very smooth, abounding with milky juice, 

 rather bitter, but not acrid. Stems several, 

 round, leafy, often purplish, 1 to 2 feet high. 

 Leaves long and taper pointed, often flaccid, 

 or curling at the extremity. Flowers large, 2 

 inches wide, bright yellow, opening very early 

 in the morning, and closing before noon, ex- 

 cept in very cloudy weather. The roots and 

 young shoots have been eaten as pot-herbs. 



2. The purple goat's-beard (T. porrifolius'), 

 also biennial, grows in most meadows, near 

 great rivers ; herb smooth, 3 or 4 feet high, 

 glaucous. The dull purple flowers, like the 

 preceding species, close at midday ; thence it 

 is called in the country Go-to-bed-at-noon. 

 (Smith's Eng. Flor. vol. iii. p. 337.) 



GOAT-WEED (Capraria biflora). An unin- 

 teresting species of plants, of easy culture. 

 The leaves of this genus are liked by goats ; 

 hence the common and generic names. 



GOGGLES. See SHEEP, DISEASES OF. 



GOLD and SILVER FISH. These beauti- 

 ful creatures were first introduced into Eng- 

 land from China about the close of the 17th 



