Though the species of animals are all separated by an interval which
Nature cannot overleap, yet some resemble others in so many respects
that there seems only a necessary space to draw a line of separation.
When we compare these neighbouring species, and consider them
relatively to ourselves, some appear to be of the greatest utility,
and others seem to be only auxiliary species, which might in many
respects serve in the place of the former. Thus the ass might nearly
supply the place of the horse, and the goat that of the sheep. The
goat, like the sheep, furnishes both milk and suet in great abundance.
Their hair, though coarser than wool, can serve the purpose of making
very good cloth; their skins are more valuable than those of the sheep;
and the flesh of a young kid nearly resembles that of lamb. These
auxiliary species are wilder and more robust than the principals. The
ass and the goat do not require near so much care as the horse and the
sheep, for they every where find means of support, and browze equally
on the most coarse as on the most delicate plants; they are less
affected by the influence of the climate, and can do better without
the aid of man; the less dependence they have on us, the more they
seem to belong to Nature; and instead of considering these subordinate
species as degenerations of the principal species; instead of looking
on the ass as a degenerated horse; it might with more reason be said,
the horse is an ass brought to perfection, and that the sheep is a
more delicate kind of goat, which we have taken care of, brought to
perfection, and propagated for our own use; and, in general, that the
most perfect species, especially among domestic animals, take their
origin from those wild and less perfect kinds which resemble them the
most, as the powers of Nature are greatly augmented when united to
those of man.
Although the goat is a distinct species, and possibly further removed
from the sheep than the ass is from the horse, yet the buck will as
willingly couple with the ewe as the he-ass with the mare; the ram
with the she-goat in the same manner as the horse with the she-ass.
But though these couplings happen very frequently, and are sometimes
prolific, yet no intermediate species has been formed between the
goat and the sheep. The two species are distinct, remaining at the
same distance from each other; no change has been effected by the
intermixture, no new or middle race has arisen therefrom; at most they
have only produced individual differences, which have no influence on
the unity of each primitive species, but, on the contrary, confirm the
reality of their different characteristics.
There are, however, many cases in which we cannot distinguish these
characters, nor pronounce on their differences with certainty: there
are others in which we are obliged to suspend our opinions, and in a
great number of others we have not the smallest ray of light for our
guide; for, independent of the uncertainty arising from the contrariety
of assertions respecting recorded facts, independent of the doubts
resulting from the inaccuracy of those who have endeavoured to observe
Nature, the greatest obstacle to the advancement of knowledge, is our
ignorance of a great number of effects which time has not disclosed
to us, and which can only be revealed to posterity by experience, and
the most accurate observations; in the mean time we stray in darkness,
perplexed between prejudices and probabilities, ignorant even of
possibilities, and every moment confounding the opinions of men with
the acts of Nature. Examples are in abundance; but, without quitting
our subject, we know that the goat and the sheep couple together;
though we are still to learn whether the mule from this commixture is
sterile or fruitful. We are apt to conclude that mules in general, are
barren, because those produced from the he-ass and mare, or the horse
and she-ass, are sterile. But this opinion may have no foundation,
since the ancients positively assert, that the mule produces at seven
years old and that it can produce with the mare; they say also that
the she-mule is capable of conception, but that she cannot bring her
fruit to perfection. It is necessary therefore, to destroy or confirm
the truth of these facts, since they obscure the real distinction
of animals and the theory of their generation; and though we know
distinctly the species of all the animals which surround us, yet we are
ignorant what might be produced by an intermixture among themselves, or
with foreign animals. We are but ill informed of the jumar, an animal
said to be the produce of a cow and an ass, or a mare and a bull. We
are also ignorant whether the zebra would not produce with the horse
or the ass, or the broad-tailed Barbary ram with a common ewe; whether
the chamois goat be any thing more than a common goat in a wild state,
or whether an intermixture would not form an intermediate race; whether
the monkeys are of different species, or, like that of the dog, it is
one and the same, but varied by a great number of different breeds;
whether the dog can produce with the fox and the wolf, the stag with
the cow, &c. Our ignorance in most of these cases is almost invincible,
and the experiments which would decide them require more time, care,
and expence, than the life and fortune of most men can permit.
On the determination of these facts, however, depends our knowledge
of animals, the exact distinction of their species, the intelligence
of their genuine history and manner of treating them. But since we
are deprived of knowledge so necessary, since it is not possible to
proceed upon positive facts, we cannot do better than go step by step,
to consider each animal individually, to look on those as different
species who do not procreate together, and to write their history
in separate articles, reserving for ourselves a power to unite or
separate, as we shall acquire a more perfect knowledge from our own
experience, or from that of others.
It is for this reason that though there are many animals which resemble
the sheep and goat, we have taken notice of only the domestic kinds. We
are ignorant whether foreign kinds would intermix and form new races
with our common species; we are therefore authorized to consider them
as distinct species, till it can be proved that these foreign kinds can
procreate with the common and produce fertile individuals: this degree
alone constituting the reality of what should be denominated species
both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms.
The goat has naturally more sagacity than the sheep and can shift
better for itself. He comes to man of himself and is easily
familiarized; he is sensible of caresses, and capable of much
attachment; he is more strong, light, agile, and less timid than the
sheep; he is lively, capricious and lascivious, and it requires much
trouble to conduct them into flocks. They are fond of straying into
solitude, of climbing steep and rugged places, to stand and even to
sleep on the tops of rocks or brinks of precipices. The female seeks
the male with eagerness and ardour; she is robust and easily supported,
eating almost all kinds of herbs and very few disagreeing with her.
The bodily temperament, which in all animals has great influence on
the dispositions, does not seem to differ essentially in the goat from
that of the sheep. The interior organization of these two species of
animals is almost entirely the same; they are fed, grow, and multiply
in the same manner, and have the same diseases, except a few to which
the goat is not subject. The goat is not, like the sheep, affected
with too great a degree of heat, but voluntarily exposes himself to
the liveliest rays of the sun, and sleeps therein without suffering
a vertigo, or any other inconvenience. He is not alarmed by rains or
storms, but appears sensible of the rigours of cold. The exterior
movements, as already remarked, depend less on the conformation of the
body than on the strength and variety of their sensations, for which
reason they are more lively and less regular in the goat than in the
sheep. The inconstancy of his disposition is strongly marked by the
irregularity of his actions; he walks, stops short, runs, skips, jumps,
advances, retreats, shews and conceals himself, or flies off, and all
this from mere caprice, and without any other cause than what arises
from the whimsicality of his temper; the suppleness of his organs and
strength, and nervousness of his frame, are scarcely sufficient to
support the petulance and rapidity of his natural motions.
That these animals are naturally fond of men, and that even in
uninhabited countries they betray no savage dispositions, the following
anecdote is a strong confirmation. In 1698, an English vessel having
put into harbour at the island of Bonavista, two negroes went on board,
and offered the captain as many goats as he chose to carry away. He
expressing a surprise at this offer, the negroes informed him there
were only twelve persons on the island, and that the goats multiplied
so fast as to become exceedingly troublesome, for instead of being hard
to be caught, they followed them about with a degree of obstinacy, like
other domestic animals.
The male (_fig. 26_) goat is capable of engendering at a year, and
the female at seven months old; but the fruits of this early coupling
are generally weak and defective, and therefore they are commonly
restrained until they are eighteen months or two years. The he-goat is
handsome, vigorous, and ardent; and one is sufficient to accompany 150
females for two or three months; but this ardour, which soon consumes
him, does not last more than three or four years, and by the age of
five or six, he becomes aged and enervated. Therefore, in choosing
a male for propagation, he should be large, handsome, and about two
years old; his neck should be short and thick, his head light, his
ears hanging down, his thighs thick, his legs firm, his hair black,
thick and soft, his beard long and bushy. The choice of the female
(_fig. 27_) is of less importance, only observing that those with
large bodies, thick thighs, who walk light, have large udders, and
soft bushy hair, are the most preferable. They are usually in season
in September, October, and November, though they will couple and bring
forth at all times. They retain, however, much surer in autumn; and
the months of October and November are preferred, because the grass
will be young and tender when the kids begin to eat. They go about five
months with young and bring forth at the beginning of the sixth; they
suckle their young a month or five weeks; so that about six and twenty
weeks may be reckoned from the time of their coupling to the kids first
beginning to feed on pasture.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 27. _She Goat_]
[Illustration: FIG. 26. _He Goat_]
When kept among sheep they do not mix with them, but always precede
the flock. They prefer feeding separately, are fond of getting upon
the tops of hills, and even upon the most steep and craggy parts of
the mountains. They find a sufficiency of food on heaths, barren and
uncultivated grounds. Great attention is necessary to keep them from
corn, vines, and young plantations as they are great destroyers, and
eat with avidity the tender barks, and young shoots of trees, and thus
prove fatal to their growth. They avoid humid and marshy fields, or
rich pastures: they are seldom kept on flat lands, because it does
not agree with them, and it makes their flesh ill-tasted. In most
warm climates goats are raised in great numbers and never put into
the stables. In France they would perish if not preserved from the
inclemency of the winter. It is not necessary to give them litter in
the summer, though absolutely so in winter; and as all moisture is
very hurtful to them they should never be suffered to lie upon their
own dung. They should be taken out into the fields very early in the
morning, while the dew is on the grass, which, though hurtful to sheep,
is very salutary for goats. As they are untractable and wandering
animals, the most active and robust man cannot manage more than fifty
of them. They should never be suffered to go out during snow or hoar
frost, but be kept in the stable, and fed with herbage, small branches
of trees gathered in autumn, or on cabbages, turnips, and other roots.
The more they eat, the greater is their quantity of milk; to increase
and preserve their milk still more, they are made to drink a great
deal, and they mix sometimes a little nitre or salt in their water.
They may be milked in fifteen days after they have brought forth, and
will continue to give a considerable quantity twice a day for four or
five months.
The female produces one kid, sometimes two, very rarely three, and
never more than four; she continues to breed from one year or eighteen
months, until she is seven years of age. The he-goat will propagate
as long, and perhaps longer if proper care is taken of him; but he
commonly becomes useless at about five. He is then sent to fatten
among the old goats, and castrated kids which have been emasculated
at six months old, to render their flesh more juicy and tender. They
are fattened with great care, in the same manner as wethers, but they
are never so good, excepting in very warm climates, where mutton is
always ill-tasted. The strong smell of the goat does not proceed from
his flesh but his skin. These animals are not permitted to grow old,
or perhaps they might live to ten or twelve years; but it is usual to
kill them as soon as they cease to multiply, because the older they are
the worse is their flesh. Both male and female goats have horns, with a
very few exceptions; they vary very much in the colour of their hair:
it is said that those which are white, and have no horns, give the
most milk, and that the black ones are the strongest. Though they cost
very little for their food they produce a considerable profit; their
flesh, tallow, hair, and skin, are all valuable commodities. Their
milk is more wholesome and better than that of the sheep; it is used
in medicine, curdles easily, and makes very good cheese. The females
will allow themselves to be suckled by young children, for whom their
milk is excellent nourishment. Like cows and sheep, they are sucked by
the viper, and also by a bird, called in France, the goat-sucker, which
fastens to their teats during the night, and, as some say, makes them
lose their milk for ever after.
Goats have no incisive teeth in the upper jaw; those in the under fall
out, and are replaced in the same time and manner as those of the
sheep. Their age may be ascertained by the knobs in their horns, and
their teeth. The number of teeth in the female goats is not always the
same, but they usually have fewer than the male, whose hair is also
more rough, and who has the beard and horns longer. These animals,
like the ox and sheep, have four stomachs, and chew the cud. Their
species is more generally diffused than that of sheep, and goats
similar to ours are found in many parts of the world; only in Guinea,
and other warm climates they are smaller, and in Muscovy and the more
northern regions, they are larger. The goats of Angora and Syria,
with ears hanging down, are of the same species with ours, as they
intermix together, and will produce in these climates: the males have
horns almost as long as the common kind, but their directions are
very different, they are extended horizontally from each side of the
head, and form spirals somewhat like a screw. The horns of the female
are short, they bend backwards, then turn down, and their points come
forward so as nearly to approach their eyes; but the directions of
these sometimes vary. These descriptions are from a male and female
goat which I have seen. Like most Syrian animals, their hair was very
long and thick, and so fine that stuffs have been made of it almost as
handsome and glossy as our silks.