or Goat, a genus of quadrupeds belonging to the order of pecora. The horns are hollow, turned upwards, erect, and scabrous. There are eight foreteeth in the under jaw, and none in the upper; and they have no dog-teeth. This genus consists of 12 species, &c.

I. The hircus, or common goat, with arched carinate horns, and a long beard. It is a native of the eastern mountains.

The goat is an animal of more sagacity than the sheep. Instead of having an antipathy at mankind, they voluntarily mingle with them, and are easily tamed. Even in uninhabited countries, they betray no savage dispositions. In the year 1698, an English vessel having put into the island of Bonavita, two negroes came aboard, and offered gratis to the captain as many goats as he pleased. The captain expressed his astonishment at this offer. But the negroes replied, that there were only 12 persons in the island; that the goats had multiplied to such a degree, that they were become extremely troublesome; and that, instead of having any difficulty in catching them, they followed the men wherever they went, and were so obstinately officious, that they could not get quit of them upon any account whatever.

Goats are sensible of cares, and capable of a considerable degree of friendship. They are stronger, more agile, and less timid, than sheep. They have a lively, capricious, and wandering disposition; are fond of high and solitary places; and frequently sleep upon the very points of rocks. They are more easily supported than any other animal of the same size; for there is hardly an herb, or the bark of a tree, which they will not eat with pleasure. Neither are they liable to so many diseases as sheep: they can bear heat and cold with less inconvenience. The actions and movements of animals depend more upon the force and variety of their sensations, than the structure of their bodies: the natural inconstancy or fancifulness of goats is accordingly expressed by the irregularity of their actions: they walk, stop short, run, jump, show, and hide themselves, as it were by mere caprice, and without any other cause than what arises from the natural vivacity of their temper.

The buck will copulate when he is a year old, and the female when she is seven months. But as this is rather premature, they are generally restrained till they be be 18 months or two years. The buck is bald, beautiful, and vigorous; one is sufficient to serve 150 females. A buck for propagation should be large, handsome, and about two years of age; his neck should be short, and fleety; his head slender; his ears pendent; his thighs thick; his limbs firm; his hair black, thick, and soft; and his beard should be long and bushy. The females are generally in season from September to the end of November. At that time the males drive whole flocks of the females continually from place to place, and fill the whole atmosphere around them with their strong disagreeable odour; which, tho' as disagreeable as afaetida itself, yet may be conducive to prevent many distempers, and to cure nervous and hysterical ones. Horses are supposed to be much refreshed by it; on which account many people keep a he-goat in their steds or stables.

Goats go with young four months and an half, and bring forth from the latter end of February to the latter end of April; having only two teats, they generally bring forth but one or two young; sometimes three; and in good warm pastures there have been instances, tho' rare, of their bringing forth four at a time. They continue fruitful till they are seven years of age; but a buck goat is seldom kept after he is five. Both young and old are affected by the weather; a rainy season makes them thin, a dry sunny one makes them fat and blythe; their excellent venery prevents their longevity; for in our climate they seldom live above 11 or 12 years.

The food of this animal costs next to nothing, as it lives mostly upon such plants as are rejected by other cattle, and can support itself even upon the most barren mountains. But their produce is valuable. The whitest wigs are made of its hair; for which purpose that of the he-goat is most in request; the whitest and clearest is selected from that which grows on the haunches, where it is longest and thickest; a good skin well haired is sold for a guinea; though a skin of bad hue, and so yellow as to baffle the barber's skill to bleach, will not fetch above 18s. or 2s. The Welsh goats are far superior in size, and in length and fineness of hair, to those of other mountainous countries. Their usual colour is white; those of France and the Alps are short-haired, reddish, and the horns small. Boils made from the hair of a goat were in use in the days of Saul, as appears from 1 Samuel xix. 13. The species very probably was the Angora goat, which is only found in the East; and whose soft and silky hair supplied a most luxurious couch.

The udder of the goat is in great esteem as well as the hair. Many of the inhabitants of Caernarvonshire suffer these animals to run wild on the rocks in winter as well as in summer; and kill them in October for the sake of their fat, either by shooting them with bullets, or by running them down with dogs like deer. The goats killed for this purpose are about four or five years old. Their udder will make candles far superior in whiteness and goodness to those made from that of the sheep or the ox, and accordingly brings a much greater price in the market; nor are the horns without their use, the country people making of them excellent handles for tucks and pen-knives. The skin is peculiarly well adapted for the glove manufactory, especially that of the kid: abroad it is dressed and made into stockings, bed-ticks, bed-hangings, sheets, and even shirts. In the army it covers the horseman's arms, and carries the foot-soldier's provisions. As it takes a dye better than any other skin, it was formerly much used for hangings in the houses of people of fortune, being susceptible of the richest colours, and when flowered and ornamented with gold and silver became an elegant and superb furniture.

The flesh is of great use to the inhabitants of those countries which abound with goats; and affords them a cheap and plentiful provision in the winter months, when the kids are brought to market. The haunches of the goat are frequently salted and dried, and supply all the uses of bacon: this by the Welsh is called coch yr udden, or hung venison. The meat of a fayed goat of six or seven years old (which is called byr) is reckoned the best; being generally very fat and sweet. This makes an excellent patty; goes under the name of rock venison; and is little inferior to that of the deer.

The milk of the goat is sweet, nourishing, and medicinal. It is an excellent succedaneum for ass's milk; and has (with a tea-spoonful of hartsorn drunk warm in bed in the morning, and at four in the afternoon, and repeated for some time) been a cure for phthisical people before they were gone too far. In some of the mountainous parts of Scotland and Ireland, the milk is made into whey, which has done wonders in this and other cases where coolers and restoratives are necessary; and to many of those places there is as great a resort of patients of all ranks, as there is in England to the spas or baths. It is not surprising that the milk of this animal is so salutary, as it broods only on the tops, tendrils, and flowers, of the mountain shrubs, and medicinals herbs; rejecting the grossest parts. The blood of the he-goat, dried, was formerly reckoned a specific in pleuritis, and is even taken notice of by Dr Mead for this purpose, but is now deservedly neglected. Cheese made of goat's milk is much valued in some of our mountainous countries, when kept to a proper age; but has a peculiar taste and flavour.

II. The ibex, or wild-goat, is the flock from whence the tame species sprung. It has large knotty horns reclined upon its back, is of a yellowish colour, and its beard is black. The females are less, and have smaller horns, more like those of a common she-goat, and with few knobs on the upper surface: they bring one young one, seldom two, at a birth. They inhabit the highest Alps of the Grisons country and the Valais; are also found in Crete. They are very wild, and difficult to be shot, as they always keep on the highest points. Their chase is exceedingly dangerous: being very strong, they often tumble the incautious huntsman down the precipices, except he has time to lie down and let the animals pass over him. They are said not to be long-lived.

III. The mambrina, or Syrian goat, with reclined horns, pendent ears, and a beard. It is a native of the East. Their ears are of a vast length; from one to two feet; and sometimes so troublesome, that the owners cut off one to enable the animal to feed with more ease. These animals supply Aleppo with milk.

IV. The rupicapra, or shamoy-goat, has erect and hooked horns. The body is of a dusky red colour; but the front, top of the head, gullet, and inside of the ears, are white; the under part of the tail is blackish; and the upper lip is a little divided. It inhabits the Alps of Dauphine, Switzerland, and Italy; the Pyrenean mountains; Greece, and Crete: does not dwell so high in the hills as the ibex, and is found in greater numbers. They feed before sun-rise, and after sun-set. In winter, they lodge in hollows of the rocks, to avoid the falls of the Avelanches: during that season, they eat the slender twigs of trees, or the roots of plants and herbs which they find beneath the snow. They are very timid and watchful: each herd has its leader, who keeps fenny on some high place while the rest are at food; and if it sees an enemy, gives a sharp fort of his, by way of signal, when they instantly take to flight. They have a most piercing eye, and quick ear and scent; and are excessively swift and active. They are hunted during winter for their skins, which are very useful in manufactures; and for their flesh, which is very well tasted.

The chase is a laborious employ: they must be got at by surprize, and are often shot with rifle-barrel'd guns. In their stomach is often a hairy ball, covered with a hard crust, of an oblong form. They are said to be long-lived; bring two, seldom three, young ones at a time.

V. The depressa, is an African goat, with small deprest horns, bent inwards, lying on the head. It is about the size of a kid; and the hair is long and pendulous.

VI. The reversa, is likewise an African goat, with erect horns, and curved back at the points. It is about the size of a kid of a year old.

VII. The gazella, has long, erect, cylindrical horns, annulated near the base. It inhabits Egypt, the Cape, Arabia, the Levant, and India, dwelling in the plains.

VIII. The cervicapra, with plated cylindrical horns, inhabits Barbary. The hair near the horns is longer than in any other part of the body. The females want horns: Mr Haffelquill gives the following account of this species. "The cervicapra is larger, swifter, and wilder, than the common rock-goat, and can scarcely be taken without a falcon. It is met with near Aleppo. I have seen a variety of this which is common in the East, and the horns appear different; perhaps it is a distinct species. This animal loves the smoke of tobacco; and, when caught alive, will approach the pipe of the huntman, though otherwise more timid than any animal. This is perhaps the only creature, besides man, that delights in the smell of a poisonous and stinking plant. The Arabians hunt it with a falcon (Falco gentilis, Lin.) I had an excellent opportunity of seeing this sport near Nazareth in Galilee. An Arab, mounted on a swift courser, held the falcon in his hand, as huntsmen commonly do: when he espied the rock-goat on the top of a mountain, he let loose the falcon, which flew in a direct line like an arrow, and attacked the animal; fixing the talons of one of his feet into the cheek of the creature, and the other into its throat, extending his wings obliquely over the the animal; spreading one towards one of its ears, and the other to the opposite hip. The animal, thus attacked, made a leap twice the height of a man, and freed himself from the falcon: but being wounded, and losing his strength and speed, he was again attacked by the falcon; which fixed the talons of both its feet into the throat of the animal, and held it fast, till the hunter coming up, took it alive, and cut its throat; the falcon drinking the blood as a reward for his labour. A young falcon, which was learning, was likewise put to the throat of the goat: by this means are young falcons taught to fix their talons in the throat of the animal, as being the properest part; for should the falcon fix them in the creature's hip, or some other part of the body, the hunter would not only lose his game, but his falcon also: for the animal, roused by the wound, which could not prove mortal, would run to the defarts and the tops of the mountains, whither its enemy, keeping its hold, would be obliged to follow; and, being separated from its master, must of course perish."

IX. The bezoartica, or bezoar goat, is bearded, and has cylindrical, arched, and wholly annulated horns. It is a native of Persia. The bezoar is found in one of its stomachs, called abomafus.

X. The tartarica, has cylindrical, straight, annulated horns; the points inclining inward, the ends smooth; the other part surrounded with very prominent annuli; of a pale yellow colour, and the greatest part semifluidic; the cutting teeth are placed to loose in their sockets, as to move with the least touch. The male is covered with rough hair like the he-goat, and has a very strong smell; the female is smoother. The hair on the bottom of the sides and the throat is long, and resembles wool; that on the sides of the neck and head is hoary; the back and sides of a dirty white; the breast, belly, and inside of the thighs, of a shining white. The females are horulefs and timid: if attacked by wolves or dogs, the males place them in a circle, and stand round them with their heads towards the enemy, and will defend them stoutly. They beat like sheep: their common pace is a trot; when they go faster, it is by leaps. They are swifter than roebucks. They feed by lifting up the upper mandible, and going backward. The skin is soft, and excellent for gloves, belts, &c. Their best season is in September: at other times, the skins are penetrated by worms. The fat resembles that of mutton; in taste, like that of a buck: the head is reckoned the most delicate part. They are found between the Tanais and Borithenes, and as far as Altai-can, in flocks of 6000 or 10,000.

XI. The ammon, has semicircular, plain, white horns, and no beard. It is about the size of a ram, and is a native of Siberia.

XII. The dorcas, or antelope, has cylindrical annulated horns, bent backward, contorted, and arising from the front between the eyes. It is a native of Africa and Mexico. These animals are of a most elegant and active make; of a restless and timid disposition; extremely watchful; of great vivacity; remarkably swift; exceedingly agile; and most of their boundings so light, so elastic, as to strike the spectator with astonishment. What is very singular, they will stop in the middle of their course for a moment, gaze at their pursuers, and then resume their flight.

As the chase of these animals is a favourite diversion with the Eastern nations, from that may be collected proofs of the rapid speed of the antelope tribe. The greyhound, the fleetest of dogs, is unequal in the course; and the sportsman is obliged to call in the aid of the falcon trained to the work, to seize on the animal and impede its motions, to give the dogs time to overtake it. In India and Persia a sort of leopard is made use of in the chase; chase: this is an animal that takes its prey, not by swiftness of foot, but by the greatness of its springs, by motions similar to that of the antelope; but should the leopard fail in its first essay, the game escapes.

Some species of the antelope form herds of 2000 or 3000, while others keep in small troops of five or six. They generally reside in hilly countries; though some inhabit plains: they often browse like the goat, and feed on the tender shoots of trees, which gives their flesh an excellent flavour. This is to be understood of those that are taken in the chase; for those that are fattened in houses are far less delicious. The flesh of some species are said to taste of musk, which perhaps depends on the qualities of the plants they feed on.

Mr Pennant makes the antelope a distinct genus of animals, forming a link between the goat and the deer: with the first of which they agree in the texture of the horns, which have a core in them, and they never cast them; with the last, in the elegance of their form, and great swiftness. He distinguishes several species, among which he ranks the gazella, the cervicapra, the bazarica, and the tartaria of Linnaeus, described above, vii. viii. ix. x. with the moschus grimmia of the same author.

Capra Saltans, in meteorology, a fiery meteor or exhalation sometimes seen in the atmosphere. It forms an inflected line, resembling in some measure the caperings of a goat; whence it has its name.