Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found: A Book of Zoology for Boys

by Mayne Reid

Chapter Twenty.

Goats.

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.