b on
the Mauchamp farm, in 1828, which was remarkable for its long, smooth,
straight, and silky wool. By the year 1833 M. Graux had raised rams enough
to serve his whole flock, and after a few more years he was able to sell
stock of his new breed. So peculiar and valuable is the wool, that it sells
at 25 per cent. above the best merino wool: even the fleeces of half-bred
animals are valuable, and are known in France as the "Mauchamp-merino." It
is interesting, as {101} showing how generally any marked deviation of
structure is accompanied by other deviations, that the first ram and his
immediate offspring were of small size, with large heads, long necks,
narrow chests, and long flanks; but these blemishes were removed by
judicious crosses and selection. The long smooth wool was also correlated
with smooth horns; and as horns and hair are homologous structures, we can
understand the meaning of this correlation. If the Mauchamp and ancon
breeds had originated a century or two ago, we should have had no record of
their birth; and many a naturalist would no doubt have insisted, especially
in the case of the Mauchamp race, that they had each descended from, or
been crossed with, some unknown aboriginal form.

GOATS.

From the recent researches of M. Brandt, most naturalists now believe that
all our goats are descended from the _Capra aegagrus_ of the mountains of
Asia, possibly mingled with the allied Indian species _C. Falconeri_ of
India.[239] In Switzerland, during the early Stone period, the domestic
goat was commoner than the sheep; and this very ancient race differed in no
respect from that now common in Switzerland.[240] At the present time, the
many races found in several parts of the world differ greatly from each
other; nevertheless, as far as they have been tried,[241] they are all
quite fertile when crossed. So numerous are the breeds, that Mr. G.
Clark[242] has described eight distinct kinds imported into the one island
of Mauritius. The ears of one kind were enormously developed, being, as
measured by Mr. Clark, no less than 19 inches in length and 43/4 inches in
breadth. As with cattle, the mammae of those breeds which are regularly
milked become greatly developed; and, as Mr. Clark remarks, "it is not rare
to see their teats touching the ground." The following cases are worth
notice as presenting unusual {102} points of variation. According to
Godron,[243] the mammae differ greatly in shape in different breed