THE GOAT 101 



however, has so many and so valuable uses, that it is in 

 permanent demand as the raw material for a great variety 

 of fabrics, such as shawls, camlets, mohairs, poplins, and 

 other valued dress goods, the direct product of the fleece; 

 while the staple is mixed with wool, cotton, silk, and other 

 materials, imparting a luster and strength to these "which 

 greatly adds to the value of the goat's fleece. 



This animal is more like the sheep than any other of its 

 tribe, being mostly distinguished from it by its beard, its 

 lopped ears, and the distinctly different form of the horns. 

 Its tail is generally carried erect and on the whole the car- 

 riage of the animal is more upright and vivacious than that 

 cf the sheep. 



Large flocks of this goat are kept in the Southern Eng- 

 lish settlements in Africa, mostly in the Cape Colony and 

 in Natal, from whence <many million pounds of wool are 

 annually exported. It breeds at an early age, often within 

 the first year, and the males have been known to serve ewes 

 at the age of seven months, the ewes being similarly pre- 

 cocious. The ewe frequently bears twins, and quite often 

 triplets, while the more aged ewes have produced four lambs 

 at a birth with two births in a year. The common belief 

 that all these goats have a strong unpleasant scent, is a pop- 

 ular error the male only being so distinguished and this 

 only at certain times of the year. The kids make excellent 

 "lamb," and indeed those of all the goat tribe are frequently 

 sold as lambs in the ordinary markets. 



Turkey formerly enjoyed the monopoly of the manufac- 

 ture of these fleeces, but the inevitably successful competi- 

 tion of civilized nations has almost exterminated these old 

 manufactures, and the fleeces are now exported, instead of 

 the finished product of them. 



