402 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 
claws, a fine, thin skin and a well-developed, but not too 
pendent, udder (Fig. $2) and good teeth are also necessary 
requisites. 
493. General history. — Goats are among the oldest 
domestic animals, and have contributed their share to 
the subsistence of 
mankind as far back 
as historic evidences 
reach. Rutimeier dis- 
covered their remains 
among the ruined piles 
of the ancient lake- 
dwellers in Switzer- 
land. Goats and their 
products are men- 
Fic. $82. — Milch ae with udders tioned frequently in 
too pendent. S 
the Bible, and by 
Herodotus and Homer, and have maintained their popu- 
larity, especially among oriental nations, to this day. 
The question of their origin is still in dispute. Accord- 
ing to Julmy, a majority of zodlogists maintain that the 
European goat is descended from the Persian Pasang or 
Bezoar goat (Capra egagrus), while others seem to trace 
it to the alpine Ibex (Capra tbex). 
Whatever may have been their origin, they have exerted 
a strong influence on the economic welfare of the peoples 
among whom they have been found. Their growth in 
numbers, outside of America, has been noteworthy ; 
although even in this country their popularity is increas- 
ing. The following statistics indicate their popularity. 
G. F. Thompson states, in his “ Information concerning 
Common Goats,” published in 1903, that there were 
1,871,252 goats of all kinds kept on farms in the United 
