THE THIBET GOAT. 4Q5 



shawls are manufactured. These articles of dress are manu- 

 factured at Cachemerej but (according to Mr. Vigne, who 

 resided there a considerable time) the wool is not the product 

 of that country. In Europe, they are only to be purchased 

 at a price far exceeding that at which they might be sold. 

 This is owing to a system of great extortion ; for the weaver 

 has to pay three heavy taxes before he is permitted to sell the 

 work of his hands, and then there are other taxes to be paid 

 on it at each of the several stations on the journey from 

 Cachemere to Peshawer across the Indus ; and ere it reaches 

 Europe from this point, further duties must be paid at the 

 various custom-houses. To obtain the shawls at a cheaper rate 

 than that at which they are sold in consequence of these 

 impolitic exactions, several enterprising persons have engaged 

 in the naturalization of the animals in Europe. Accordingly, 

 they have been introduced into Germany, Austria, Bavaria, 

 Wurtemburgh, Saxony, France, and England ; and experience 

 has shown that the wool they produce in these countries is 

 not inferior to that of Thibet. In 1824, Mr. Tower, of Weald 

 Hall, Essex, introduced the breed upon his farm, where they 

 soon multiplied, and, in 1828, he had three very superior shawls 

 made of their wool j but, as each goat barely yields so much 



