THE WILDGOAT.&c, 367 



conjecture feems to be founded on ftrong ana- 

 logies, which are feldom contradicted by expe- 

 rience. 



Let us, however, confider the oppofite argu- 

 ments. The wild and chamois goats both fub- 

 fiit in the ftate of nature, and yet they always 

 remain diftincl. The chamois fometimes mingles 

 fpontaneoufly with the flocks of the domeftic 

 kind * ; but the wild goat never affociates with 

 them, unlefs when tamed. The male wild goat 

 and the common he-goat have very long beards, 

 and the chamois has none. The horns of the 

 male and female chamois are fmall : Thofe of 

 the wild he-goat are fo large and fo longf, that 



we 



that the chamois goats are in feafon during almoft the whole 

 month of September ; that the female goes with young nine 

 months; and that they general!}- bring forth in June. If 

 thefe facts were true, they would demonftrate that the cha- 

 mois is not the fame fpecies with the goat, which goes with 

 young about fix months only: But I think they are fufpi- 

 cious, if not falfe. The hunters, as appears from the palfages 

 already quoted, affure us, on the contrary, that the chamois 

 and wild goats do not come in feafon till the month of No- 

 vember ; and that the females bring forth in May. Thus the 

 time of geftation, inftead of being extended to nine months, 

 fliould be reduced to near five, as in the domeilic goat. But 

 this matter muft be decided by experience alone. 



# Rupicaprae aliquando accedunt ufque ad greges capra- 

 rum cicurum quos non refugiunt, quod non faciunt ibices ; 

 Gefne'r. Hi/}, quad. p. 292. 



f Ibex egregium at et corpulentum animal, fpecies fere 

 cervina minus tamen, cruribus quidem gracilibus et capite 

 parvo cervum exprimit. Pulchros et fplendidos oculds habet. 

 Color pellis fufcus eft. Ungulae bifulcae et acutae ut in ru- 

 picapris; cornua magni ponderis ei reclinantur ad dorfum, 

 afpera et nodofa, eoque magis quo grandior aetas procefferit ; 



augsntur 



