2J6 MAISIMALIA. 



balanced, or, poising themselves, spring to other peaks in their 

 vicinity. Their sense of smell is so acute that they often wmd 

 the hunter long before he can perceive them. If the sportsman 

 pursues them to the edge of a precipice, where there is neither a 

 crag or a ridge of rock within their reach, they have been known 

 to spring into the abj^ss, and even to escape uninjured, when such 

 a descent would have caused certain destruction to any other 

 animal. The Ibex, when very hard pressed, wiU sometimes turn 

 round and charge the hunter. 



The Paseng, Caucasian Ibex (Hircus wgagrus, Gray), is dis- 

 tinguished from the Common Ibex by its horns, which are sharp 

 in front. It inhabits the mountains of Asia, from the Caucasus 

 to the Himalaya. We more particularly pay attention to this 

 species, as the race from which our Domestic Goats are descended. 



The Domestic Goat has been frequentlj' called the poor man's 

 Cow, and not inappropriately, for those who cannot purchase a 

 Cow may be able to buj'' a Goat ; and, although abstemious in the 

 extreme, they yield an abundance of excellent milk. If from any 

 cause a mother cannot suckle her child, no milk is so good to 

 reiilace its natural sustenance as that of the Goat, which will 

 even readily allow itself to be sucked, and generally becomes 

 tenderly attached to its nursling. 



"With these good qualities are, however, to be found several 

 defects ; for the Goat is untractable, vagrant, and capricious. 



Two i^rincipal species of this Ruminant are kept in France — the 

 Common Goat and the Syrian Goat. 



The Common Goat (Capra hircus) (Fig. 89) is the most widely 

 spread and the most hardy of all the species. Its colour varies, 

 and is either all white, black and white, or grey and brown of 

 different shades, with white spots. There is a sub-variety of this 

 species without horns. When properly attended to, the Goat 

 gives, in exchange for the little food it eats, two kids a year, 

 an abundant supply of milk, and a plentiful and valuable growth 

 of hair, which can be shorn once a year. 



The Syrian Goat, or Goat with pendulous ears, is more fre- 

 quently without horns than the former species. It thrives best 

 in climates of a moderate temperature, as it is less hardy and more 

 sensitive to cold than the Common Goat. 



There are two varieties of Goat in the East — that of Thibet or 

 Cashmere, and that of Angora. * 



