246 OBSERVATIONS ON THE 



be scarce distinguishable from the surface of the excoriated rocks — for 

 when removed from under their native skies to however elevated a region, 

 they cease to live. Solitary individuals out of large flocks have, indeed, 

 by great care survived a certain period upon the hither side of the 

 Himalaya, and have even reached the plains of India; — but in no country 

 apart from their own bleak elevated pastures, can the species be preserved. 

 It is the same wdth iheydks and the sheep which have black heads and feet : 

 they may be acclimated upon the very border of their native soil, as in SpUi 

 or Kimdwer, but the wool degenerates, and the animals themselves out- 

 grow their status and proportions. On transplanting them to the southern 

 hills where vegetation is rank and verdant, they find no nourishment, droop 

 and die ; those which survive exchanging their soft fur for one of coarse hair. 

 Even in neighbouring districts, beyond the influence of the periodical 

 rains, and in a very cold climate, though the animals seem to thrive, the 

 fleece of the goat deteriorates, and upon the hither side of the Himdlaya 

 becomes extinct. The deserts of Thibet are their natural soil, where 

 they feed upon a prickly stubble or heathy like grass, scarce visible to 

 the eye, yet myriads of these beautiful animals checquer the almost bar- 

 ren slopes of the mountains to which they seem destined, and it is futile 

 to pursue the experiment of acclimating them to European countries, 

 which will be found a mere illusory advantage, for even if they survive, it 

 is certain that the third or fourth generation will lose their identity, and 

 the fine wool entirely disappear.* The sheep of the table land have 

 an equal peculiarity of habit, and are even more difficult to naturalize. 



* Captain Turner, who visited Thibet in Warren Hastings' Government, brought down 

 several Yaks and Shawl Goats, which were transported to Europe in safety, and a Yak actually lived 

 in Mr. Hastings' park for several years. Mr. Moorcroft was equally fortunate in the Goats he car- 

 ried away from the Table land near Mansarovara, which also reached England. Those subsequently 

 imported into France have indeed survived under the advantages of a route by the Caspian sea, 

 through an arid country, and the care of a Physician who expressly attended them, but though the 

 animals are considered to be thriving, it remains to be seen whether the fleece will preserve its 

 natural softness. 



