638 UNGULATA. 



appears, and herds of goats, as well as their milk and flesh, are repeat- 

 edly mentioned, together with the fact that the most ancient documents 

 were written on goat-skin. In the Bible, the goat is frequently spo- 

 ken of as supplying both flesh and milk, and its hair as furnishing rai- 

 ment. One of the principal uses to which the skin of the animal was 

 applied was the manufacture of leather, especially of leathern bottles for 

 carrying water ; or sacks, such as Joseph's brethren had, for conveying 

 grain. In sacrifices the goat was in great requisition, and on the Great 

 Day of Atonement it was the only animal that could be offered. Two 

 were selected by lot, one for the Lord, the other for Azazel ; the former 

 was slain, and its blood sprinkled on the altar ; the latter, the scapegoat, 

 was driven into the wilderness. 



Friendly as goats and sheep are, the flocks never mingle, not even 

 when folded in the same enclosure. This instinctive separation of the 

 animals led naturally to the simile, so frequently repeated of the just and 

 the unjust, of the sheep and the goats. The goat, no doubt, gives much 

 more trouble to the goatherd, than the sheep to the shepherd. The 

 former is an erratic creature, climbing up the sides of the valleys, skip- 

 ping and jumping, and venturing into places where man cannot s*et his 

 foot. It is, too, more destructive than the sheep, and in Palestine has, 

 by browsing on the young shoots, quite extirpated many species of trees. 



In Palestine, at present, the most valuable herds are those of the 

 Mohair or Angora Goat, or of the Syrian or Mamber Goat. From the 

 coat of the former the costly coverings for the Tabernacle were made. 

 Allusion to the long ears of the other variety is found in the Prophet 

 Amos, ch. iii. ver. 12. The wild goat of Scripture was most probably 

 a variety of the Ibex. 



Goats, at present, are found everywhere. In some countries they 

 are tu~ned out to pasture in herds, and are watched by goatherds ; in 

 others, a few stray about near the houses of their owners. In all places 

 they show by their habits that they are mountain-animals. They delight 

 in clambering over rocks, stone walls, or anything that reminds them of 

 their original home. They are very intelligent, and can easily be taught 

 many tricks. In Spain they are employed as leaders to the flocks of 

 sheep. In many counti-ies of Europe a goat is kept in large stables to 

 lead the horses from the stalls in case of fire, for nothing but the exam- 

 ple of another animal will induce the horse to face the flame. In 

 America, the Goat is an introduction by Europeans, and is abundant in 



