s 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;