ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
51 
Capra cegagrus , or the Ibex of Asia Minor, Persia and 
Sindh. It is supposed by most naturalists to be the original 
stock from which all the domesticated breeds of goats 
have descended. In the stomach of this animal are occa¬ 
sionally found the famous calcareous concretions, like 
round pebbles, known under the Persian name of Bezoar , 
and which have been highly esteemed from time immemori¬ 
al, as an antidote to poison and as a remedy of great value 
in many diseases. They are also often enclosed in golden 
filigree and worn as charms by the Persian women. 
Bezoards, although chiefly found in the stomachs of rumi¬ 
nants, occur also in horses, dogs, and other animals. Their 
constitution varies much, as some of them consist es¬ 
sentially of phosphate of lime, others of phosphate 
of ammonia and magnesia, while a few are derived 
from the principal constituent of the bile which has been 
called lithofellinic acid, while others are composed of a sub¬ 
stance known as ellagic acid, which appears to be the 
product of the transformation of the gallic acid contained 
in the vegetable matters taken as food. The concretions 
which are so often found in the stomach of the horse con¬ 
sist chiefly of phosphate of ammonia and magnesia, de¬ 
posited in concentric layers around some foreign body, such 
as a small pebble introduced into the stomach with the food. 
Bezoards of this nature are also found in the stomach of the 
Indian Gazelle, G. bennetti , and of the Gazelle of Persia, 
G. subgutterosa. Other bezoards are largely composed of 
hairs, rolled so as to form balls by the movements of the 
stomach, while another kind, such as those of the sheep, 
is formed of fragments of plants belonging to the Family of 
which the thistle is a member. 
After the goats come the Gazelles and Antelopes, con- 
