The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)Wood, Theodore
General
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)
Wood, Theodore
Animals -- Juvenile literature
It is beyond doubt that these hardy creatures are exactly suited for
living in large towns; an environment of bricks and mortar and
paving-stones suits them. Their spirits rise in proportion to what we
should deem the depressing nature of their surroundings. They love to be
tethered in places where they find bushes to nibble. A deserted
brick-field, with plenty of broken drain-tiles, rubbish-heaps, and
weeds, pleases them still better. Almost any kind of food seems to suit
them. Not even the pig has so varied a diet as the goat; it consumes and
converts into milk not only great quantities of garden stuff which would
otherwise be wasted, but also, thanks to its love for eating twigs and
shoots, it enjoys the prunings and loppings of bushes and trees. In the
Mont Dore district of France the goats are fed on oatmeal porridge. With
this diet, and plenty of salt, the animals are scarcely ever ill, and
never suffer from tuberculosis; they will often give ten times their own
weight of milk in a year.
The Kashmir shawls are made of the finest goats' hair. Most of this very
soft hair is obtained from the under-fur of goats kept in Tibet, and by
the Kirghiz in Central Asia. Only a small quantity, averaging three
ounces, is produced yearly by each animal. The wool is purchased by
middlemen, and taken to Kashmir for manufacture.
In India the goat reaches perhaps the highest point of domestication.
The flocks are in charge of herd-boys, but the animals are so docile
that they are regarded with no hostility by the cultivators of corn and
cereals. Tame goats are also kept throughout Africa. The valuable Angora
breed, from which mohair is obtained, is now domesticated in South
Africa and in Australia. In the former country it is a great commercial
success. The animals were obtained with great difficulty, as the Turkish
owners did not wish to sell their best-bred goats; but when once
established at the Cape, it was found that they proved better producers
of mohair than when in their native province of Angora. The clip from
their descendants steadily improves.
We now pass to consider various species of wild goats, all of which
present very interesting features for our study.
THE TURS
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