THE CASHMERE GOAT. :;il 



of the shawls superior to others made of the French shawl-goat down, taken from the progeny of the 

 goats brought over from Persia. This shawl, together with a pair of goats, were subsequently presented 

 to his late Majesty, William IV., as a memorial of the success which had attended this attempt. 



Another family of the tribe JSovina* belonging to the hollow-horned group, is distinguished by 

 the following characters : The horns conical, bent back, cylindrical, or compressed, and ringed at 

 the base. The knee or wrist, in the middle of the fore-leg, The occipital plane of the skull forms 

 an obtuse'angle with the frontal piano ; core of the horns thin, often with a clear sinus at the base 

 within ; teats two or four; feet-pits in hind feet, and generally also in the foro oh 



Probably the most general character of the antelopes consists in the form of the horns being round 

 and annulated, or, at least, never exhibiting the prominent angles and ridges which distinguish those 

 of the sheep and goats. In their particular forms and curvatures, however, they vary in almost every 

 different species, as among domestic sheep they do even in different varieties of the same' species. 

 Sometimes they form a single bend forwards or backwards, .sometimes they are what is commonly 

 called lyrated, or bent first backwards and then they point forwards, in such a manner as when opposed 

 to one another to assume the figure of an ancient lyre. In many of the smaller species the bony core 

 or process of the os frontis "which is inserted Jnto the hollow sheath of the horn itself, is almost solid, 

 or only penetrated by very minute pores. 



" Tear pits," as they are called, though found in the stag and fallow-deer, are far from being 

 general. It is supposed that they communicate with the nostrils, so as to enable the animals to brent lie 

 freely during their locg and rapid flights, and that they are made subservient to the sense of smell. 

 As to the form of the lip, an important character among animals that seek their food on the gi 

 and in which the lips and tongue constitute the only organs of touch and prehension, the antelopes arc 

 as variable and inconstant as in the other characters already described. In some species it forms a 

 broad, naked muzzle, as in the ox ; in others it is hairy and attenuated, like that of the goat ; and 

 sometimes it assumes an intermediate form, and presents a modification of both these characters. 



The hair of the antelopes is generally short and smooth, and of an equal length over every part 

 of the body ; some, however, have manes along the neck and on the shoulders, composed of long, bristly 

 hair, either growing upright or reversed towards the head, as in the oryx; and a very few species, like 

 the gnu, are furnished with a beard on the chin and throat. Tho cars are commonly long, narrow, 

 and pointed, smooth on the outside, and filled with long, white hair, growing in longitudinal lines. 

 The tails are generally short, round, and tufted at the extremity, and many species are furnished with 

 little tufts of long, black hair, called scopes, or knee brushes. 



The antelopes are generally gregarious, and unite in large herds, either permanently or at particular 

 seasons of the year, but only for the purpose of migrating in search of more abundant and grateful 

 pasturage ; some species, however, reside in pairs, or small families, consisting of an old main and one 

 or more females, with the young of the two foregoing seasons. Always extremely cautious in guarding 

 against surprise, they place sentinels in various directions about their feeding grounds, to warn them 

 of the approach of danger while grazing or reposing ; and their vision and sense of smell are so acute, 

 that it is only by using the greatest caution and circumspection that the hunter can bring them within 

 range of the gun. Africa may bo regarded as the head quarters of the antelopes. 



The family now under consideration is divided into the Antelopes of the Fields, and the A, it. !,,[>,: < 

 of the Desert. These two divisions are recognised by a peculiarity of the nostrils, easily peiveive.l. 

 In the antelopes of the fields, the nostrils are bald, or free from hairs, whilst, in the antelopes of the 

 desert, they are bearded within, or covered with bristles. 



THE ANTELOPES OF THE FIELDS. 



These are divided into three groups : 



I. THE TUUE ANTELOPES. 

 These animals have a light, elegant body; slender limbs; small hoofs;, a short, or moderate tail, 



