202 WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



removed to lower levels where the surroundings 

 somewhat resemble those of their pre-mountain- 

 ous days, they miss the physical stimulus of a 

 life at high altitudes and tend to become both 

 smaller and weaker. We must not, however, 

 while engaged in speculations of this kind, lose 

 sight of the fact that there have been few 

 attempts on the part of the breeders to increase 

 the size of any of the above-named animals. 



The goat, beingr a mountain animal, is well 

 protected against the cold, and we find that in 

 some varieties there is a most abundant fleece 

 of soft, silk - like wool. But the wool of the 

 goat differs materially from that of the sheep, 

 and the reason is not difficult to explain. Goats, 

 from their habit of browsing among shrubs, need 

 to be able to force their way through thickets 

 without injury either to their coats or to their 

 skin ; whereas the sheep, living on the open hill- 

 side, is enveloped in a covering which is merely 

 calculated for warmth, and is not fitted to stand 

 much wear and tear. Hence we find that the 

 wool of the goat does not "felt" and become 

 tangled together in a mass like that of the sheep. 

 Microscopically the fibres are much smoother 

 and more compact, and lack the saw-like edges 



