534 Wild Goat of Afghanistan. 



advanced, the brown kid became much darker, and the 

 whole of its previous markings were obscured, or rather 

 concealed, beneath the long hair that sprung up all over it. 



The horns retain much of the character of those of the 

 wild goat, but they gradually turn spirally outwards at the 

 end, like the tame breed. At present they are rather more 

 than a year old, and in perfect health, with a short black 

 beard added to their other characters. Their horns are 

 now as large as those of an old Cashmere goat of six or 

 seven years old. 



The half-bred female has since given kids twice ; the first 

 time they were still-born, and were said to be the offspring 

 of her own produce above described ; this I doubt, as her 

 first kids were scarcely old enough, and besides, there were 

 two large tame goats in the flock, who would undoubtedly 

 have kept off the young ones. The other pair were pro- 

 duced when the tame bucks were no longer in the flock, and 

 my own opinion is, that the kids which are alive and healthy, 

 are the offspring of her previous produce, but of this I have 

 no proof, and the goatherd says, they are not. This au- 

 tumn, however, I shall probably be able to obtain a breed 

 inter se, or to add farther evidence of the impossibility of 

 their perpetuating their race ;* but whatever may be the re- 

 sult, I cannot agree in thinking, that the tame breeds of Per- 

 sia and Afghanistan have descended from the iEgagrus, and 

 as certainly not from the species which forms the subject of 



* Since writing the above, a domestic goat has produced a fine healthy fe- 

 male kid, the offspring of the young hybrid bucks above mentioned. The kid 

 has pendent ears and a few grey spots above, which are derived from the 

 domestic female ; in other respects it resembles the wild stock, having a black 

 dorsal stripe, black marking on the fore part of the fore legs, and being of yel- 

 lowish brown colour. 



It is at present strong and healthy, and I shall, I trust, be enabled ere long to 

 settle the question as to whether the hybrids can breed inter se. The result 1 

 shall be happy to communicate. 



