My young readers will be surprised to hear that nothing is more
difficult than to tell a _Goat_ from a _Sheep_. Yet such is in reality
the fact. Of course the common goat is easily distinguished from the
common sheep; but then there are species and varieties of both these
animals so like in shape, size, colour, and habits, that the most
accomplished naturalists are unable to pronounce which are goats and
which are sheep! Indeed, some naturalists make no distinction at all,
but class both under the same genus. This, however, is not a correct
view, since there is an essential difference in the _nature_ of these
two animals, notwithstanding the frequent resemblance in their outward
appearance. It was upon this very point--their _nature_--that the
renowned Buffon relied in separating them; he alleging that the sheep
differed only from the goats in the greater gentleness and timidity of
their disposition. It is true that this is not a very scientific mode
of classification; yet, strange to say, it is held to be one of the
safest guides for distinguishing the one from the other. Of course, it
can only be relied upon when taken in connection with other indices of a
physical character. Perhaps you may fancy that goats and sheep may be
distinguished from each other by the "coat"--the former having a _hairy_
coat, while that of the latter is _woolly_. For you who reside in the
British Islands, this mark would stand good enough, since British goats
are in reality clothed with hair, and British sheep with wool; but in
many other countries the case is not only different, but directly the
reverse, the goats being _woolly_, while the sheep are _hairy_!
It may be further remarked, that there are both goats and sheep so very
nearly akin to antelopes, that it is again difficult to draw a line of
distinction among the three. Indeed, there is a section of the antelope
tribe, called the _goat-antelopes_, so called on account of this very
approximation. Several species of antelopes--as the chamois of the
Alps, and others--are by many naturalists classed as goats; and the
bighorn of the Rocky Mountains, which is a true wild sheep, is also
classed by some zoologists as a species of antelope.
The goats approach nearer to the nature of antelopes than do the sheep.
In fact, the mountain antelopes are extremely like goats in their nature
and habits. On this account the latter are supposed to stand between
the sheep and antelopes.
We shall separate the goats into two kinds: first, the _tame_ or
_domesticated_ goats; and secondly, the _wild_ ones. Of the
domesticated kind there is an endless list of varieties; and upon the
question as to which of the wild species was the parent stock, thousands
of opinions have been expressed, and long treatises written. It is just
as with the dog, and other domestic animals--no one can certainly say
what species was first introduced to the society of human beings; and it
is far more likely that it was not any one wild species, but several,
and belonging to different countries, that gave origin to the numerous
kinds of goats now in the possession of man.
It would be a troublesome task to describe these numerous varieties.
Every country has its kind; and, in fact, every district of country can
show a breed distinct from all the others. Instead of specifying each
breed, we shall only mention a few of the more noted and valuable sorts.
The Thibet or Cashmere goat is perhaps the most celebrated of the tribe;
its celebrity arising from the fineness of its wool, out of which are
manufactured the costly Cashmere shawls. An attempt was made to
introduce this variety into England; but it has not been successful,
though the cause of its failure has not been communicated to the public.
We can easily find a very good reason in the fact, that a first-class
Cashmere shawl requires a year in its manufacture; and therefore, if an
English weaver were to have the raw material for nothing, his labour
would amount to more than the shawl was worth in the market! It is just
the same with the culture of the tea-plant. There are many districts in
America where the tea-tree would flourish as well as in China; but what
would be the use of growing it there, since the labour required to bring
it to a state of readiness for the teapot would also raise it to an
unsaleable price! These are the important principles that people who
talk of protective duties entirely lose sight of.
The best Cashmere goats are brought from the Thibet country; and then
wool sells for a rupee a pound in Cashmere itself. It is spun by the
women, and afterwards dyed. The persons employed in making the shawls
sit on a bench around the frame. If it be a _pattern_ shawl, four
persons labour at its manufacture; but a plain one requires only two.
The borders are marked with wooden needles, there being a separate
needle for each colour; and the rough side of the shawl is uppermost
while it is being made.
The best shawls are manufactured in the kingdom of Cashmere itself,
though many are made in other Oriental countries, and also in France;
and the wool of several varieties of the goat, besides the Thibet, is
used in the manufacture. In Cashmere alone 30,000 shawls are made
annually--giving employment to about 50,000 people.
The Angora goat is another noted variety--esteemed for its fine silky
hair. It inhabits the countries of Angora and Beibazar, in Asiatic
Turkey, where it is kept in large flocks, the goatherds bestowing much
care upon the animals--frequently combing and washing them!
The Syrian goat, remarkable for its excessively long ears, is reared in
Aleppo and other parts of Asiatic Turkey, and is kept for the use of its
milk, with which many of the towns are supplied.
There are other varieties less noted, among which may be mentioned the
Spanish goats, without horns; the Juda, or African goat, with two hairy
wattles under the chin; and the pretty little Whidaw goat--also a small
African variety. There is also a Nepaul goat, and one belonging to the
Deccan, called Bukee--a very large gaunt fellow, with long shaggy hair.
The Irish goat, too, is a peculiar variety of the common or domestic
species.
Tame goats are distributed very generally over all the Old World. They
thrive well in the cold climate of Norway; and are equally at home in
the hottest parts of Africa and the Indian islands. In America they are
rare, in the territory inhabited by the Anglo-Saxon races--it not being
considered a valuable speculation to "raise" them; but throughout the
Spanish territories, both in North and South America, large flocks may
be seen, and the wild goats of Juan Fernandez are descendants of these
Spanish-American domesticated breeds.
The species of true _wild goats_ are not numerous, but are very
generally distributed over the world--particularly over the old
continents. In America only one wild species is indigenous: that is,
the Rocky Mountain goat. Some authors have asserted that this species
is not indigenous to America; but most certainly this statement is an
error. From its peculiar appearance, as well as from the locality in
which it is found, it could never have sprung from any known
domesticated breed. It is a long-haired creature, snow-white in colour,
and with very short straight horns. Its hair is of silky hue and
fineness, and hangs so low that the animal appears as if without legs.
Its skin makes one of the most beautiful of saddle covers; and for this
purpose it is used; but the animal itself being rare, and only found in
the most remote and inaccessible regions of the Rocky Mountains, a good
skin is as costly as it is valuable. It is met with in the great
central range, from Northern Mexico, as far north as the Rocky Mountains
extend; and it is supposed also to exist among the higher summits of the
Californian mountains.
The Ibex is another species of wild goat, somewhat celebrated. It is
the wild goat of the European Alps, where it is known by the Germans as
Stein-boc, and as Bouquetin among the French.
Another ibex belongs to the Caucasian Mountains, called Zebudor, or
Hach; and still another kind inhabits the Himalayas, where it passes
under the name of Sakeen. There is also an ibex in Siberia; and still
another in the Pyrenees.
In addition to these, there is a large wild goat in the loftiest
Himalayas, known as the Jaral, or Tur; and another in India called the
Jungle Kemas, or Wild Sheep of Tenasserim. In Northern Africa, again,
there are several species of native wild goats, as the Jaela in Egypt,
and the Walie of the African-Arab countries; but in South Africa no
indigenous wild goats have been observed--their place in that region
being supplied by their near congeners the Klipspringers, and other
rock-loving antelopes.