The book of the goat : Containing full particulars of the various breeds of goats and their profitable management / [Henry Stephen Holmes-Pegler].

  • Holmes-Pegler, Henry Stephen, 1848-
Date:
[1917]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The book of the goat : Containing full particulars of the various breeds of goats and their profitable management / [Henry Stephen Holmes-Pegler]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    constantly hear people talk with an air of assurance of ‘ white breeds/ ‘ black breeds/ ‘ long-haired breeds/ ‘ horned 5 and 1 hornless ’ breeds as if the fact of being white or black, of having hair more or less long, or a head garnished or deprived of horns, had ever characterised the origin of a European race.” All this is perfectly true as regards the goats of Europe, but, as the author here quoted further observes, cc this confusion of races is not so noticeable amongst Asiatic or African varieties, the charac¬ teristics of these being much more pronounced.” Whilst stating, however, as here shown, that the goats of Europe generally are difficult to divide into breeds, M. Crepin adds that “ the disposition of the ears, the shape of the horns—when there are any—and the colour of the eyes [!] are the only means of recognition for an experienced con¬ noisseur.” The points of distinction here given are of a singularly meagre character, and if we leave out “ the colour of the eves ”-—a feature I certainly never before heard mentioned or personally noticed as one which assists in defining a breed or variety—we have nothing left but ears and horns to guide us, and the latter vary, we know, a great deal even in specimens of the same kind. Now, the goats distinguished as breeds by M. Crepin are chiefly the following : The Alpine, the Schwarzhals, the Pyrenean, the Massif Central, the Corsican, the Murcien, the Grenada and La Mancha of Spain, the Maltese, the Arabian, the Crimean or Caucasus goat, the Bosnian of the Balkans, the Syrian, the Cashmere or Thibet goat, and, finally, the Angora. Illustrations furnished of these dif¬ ferent kinds do not in some instances show very marked features of distinction, and these latter are not apparently governed by ears and horns. German writers extend this list considerably, giving names of varieties that have probably only local notoriety. Such are the Saxony goat, the West¬ phalian, the Etinterwald, the Wiesenthal. the Starken-