or GOAT, a genus of quadrupeds belonging to the order of pecora. The horns are hollow, turned upwards, erect, and scabrous. There are eight fore-teeth in the under jaw, and none in the upper; and they have no dog-teeth. This genus consists of 14 species, viz.

1. The hircus, or common goat, with arched carinated 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... 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 imported 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, flow 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 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, though as disagreeable as a foetid 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 stables 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 blithe: their excessive venery prevents their longevity; for in our climate they seldom live above 11 or 12 years.

Though the food of this animal costs next to nothing, as it can support itself even upon the most barren mountains, their produce is valuable. The whitest wigs are made of their 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 18d. 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. Bolsters 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 flesh 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 flesh 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, bedticks, 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 udder, or hung venison. The meat of a played 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 afo's milk; and has (with a tea-spoonful of hartshorn 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 refrigeratives 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 browses only on the tops, tendrils, and flowers, of the mountain shrubs, and medicinal herbs; rejecting the groser parts. The blood of the he-goat, dried, was formerly reckoned a specific in pleurifies, 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.

a. The Angora goat is a variety that is found only in the tract that surrounds Angora and Beibazar, towns in Asiatic Turkey, for the distance of three or four days journey. Strabo seems to have been acquainted with this kind; for speaking of the river Halys, he says, that there are goats found near it that are not known in other parts. In the form of their body they differ from the common goat, being shorter; their legs too are shorter, their sides broader and flatter, and their horns straighter; but the most valuable characteristic is their hair, which is soft as silk, of a glossy silvery whiteness, and curled in locks of eight or nine inches in length. This hair is the basis of our fine camlets, and imported to England in form of thread; for the Turks will not permit it to be exported raw, for a reason that does them honour; because it supports a multitude of poor, who live by spinning it. The goat-herds of Angora and Beibazar are extremely careful of their flocks, frequently combing and washing them. It is observed, that if they change their climate and pasture, they lose their beauty; we therefore suspect that the design of Baron Aldroemer, a patriotic Swede, turned out fruitless, who imported some into his own country, to propagate the breed for the sake of their hair.

b. The Capricorn of Buffon is another variety, having short horns, the ends turned forwards, their sides annulated, and the rings more prominent before than behind.

II. The ibex, or wild-goat, is the stock 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 the-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 Grifon's 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 hunter 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, pendant 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 chamois-goat, has erect and hooked horns. The body is of a dulky 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.

The chamois is of the size of a domestic goat, and his hair is as short as that of a hind. His vivacity is delightful, and his agility truly admirable. These animals are very social among themselves: We find them going in pairs, or in little flocks of from three to twenty; and sometimes we see from 60 to 100 of them dispersed in different flocks along the declivity of the same mountain. The large males keep at a distance from the rest, except in the rutting season, when they join the females, and beat off all the young. At this period, their ardour is still stronger than that of the wild bucks. They bleat often, and run from one mountain to another. Their season of love is in the months of October and November, and they bring forth in March and April. A young female takes the male at the age of 18 months. The females bring forth one, but rarely two, at a time. The young follow their mothers till October, if not dispersed by the hunters or the wolves. We are assured that they live between 20 and 30 years. Their flesh is very good. A fat chamois goat will yield from 10 to 12 pounds of meat, which is harder and better than that of the goat. The blood of the chamois is extremely hot, and it is said to have qualities and virtues nearly equal to those of the wild goat. The hunters sometimes mix the blood of the wild and chamois goats: At other times they sell the blood of the wild goat for that of the chamois. The voice of the chamois is a very low and almost imperceptible kind of bleating, resembling that of a hoarse domestic goat. It is by this bleating that they collect together, particularly the mothers and their young. But, when alarmed, or when they perceive their enemy, or any thing the nature of which they cannot distinguish, they advertise one another by a kind of whistling noise. The flight of the chamois is very penetrating, and his sense of smelling is acute. When he fees a man distinctly, he stops for some time, and flies off when he makes a nearer approach. His sense of hearing is equally acute as that of smelling; for he hears the smallest noise. When the wind blows in the direction between him and a man, he will perceive the scent at the distance of more than half a league. Hence, when he smells or hears any thing which he cannot see, he whistles or blows with such force, that the rocks and forests re-echo the sound. If there are many of them near, they all take the alarm. This whistling is as long as the animal can blow without taking breath. It is at first sharp, and turns flat at the end. The chamois then stops for a moment, looks round on all sides, and begins whistling afresh, which he continues from time to time. His agitation is extreme. He strikes the earth with his feet; he leaps upon the highest stones he can find; he again looks round, leaps from one eminence to another; and, when he discovers any thing, he flies off. The whistling of the male is sharper than that of the female. This whistling is performed through the nostrils, and consists of a strong blowing, similar to the sound which a man may make by fixing his tongue to the palate, with his teeth nearly shut, his lips open, and somewhat extended, and blowing long and with great force. The chamois feeds on the finest herbs. He selects the most delicate parts of plants, as the flowers and the tenderest buds. He is very fond of some aromatic herbs, particularly of the carline thistle and genipay, which are the hottest plants that grow in the Alps. When he eats green herbs, he drinks very little. He is very fond of the leaves and tender buds of shrubs. He ruminates like the common goat. The food he uses seems to announce the heat of his constitution. This animal is admired for his large round eyes, whose size corresponds with the vivacity of his disposition. His head is adorned with two small horns, from half a foot to nine inches in length. Their colour is a fine black, and they are placed on the front nearly between his eyes; and, instead of being reflected backward, like those of other animals, they advance forward above the eyes, and bend backward at the points, which are extremely sharp. He adjusts his ears most beautifully to the points of his horns. Two tufts of black hair descend from his horns to the sides of his face. The rest of the head is of a yellowish white colour, which never changes. The horns of the chamois are used for the heads of canes. Those of the female are smaller and less crooked. The skin of the chamois, when dressed, is very strong, nervous, and supple, and makes excellent riding-breeches, gloves, and veils. Garments of this kind last long, and are of great use to manufacturers. The chamois goats are so impatient of heat, that, in summer, they are only to be found under the shades of caverns in the rocks, among masses of congealed snow and ice, or in elevated forests on the northern declivities of the most scabrous mountains, where the rays of the sun seldom penetrate. They pasture in the mornings and evenings, and seldom during the day. They traverse the rocks and precipices with great facility, where the dogs dare not follow them. There is nothing more worthy of admiration than to see these animals climbing or descending inaccessible rocks. They neither mount nor descend perpendicularly, but in an oblique line. When descending, particularly, they throw themselves down across a rock which is nearly perpendicular, and of 20 or 30 feet in height, without having a single prop to support their feet. In descending, they strike their feet three or four times against the rock, till they arrive at a proper resting-place below. The spring of their tendons is so great, that, when leaping about among the precipices, one would imagine they had wings instead of limbs. It has been alleged by some, but without foundation, that the chamois, in climbing and descending rocks, supports himself by his horns. It is by the strength and agility of his limbs that the chamois is enabled to climb and descend rocks. His legs are very free and tall; those behind are somewhat longer, and always crooked, which favours their springing to a great distance; and, when they throw themselves from a height, the hind legs receive the shock, and perform the office of two springs in breaking the fall. In great snows, and during the rigour of winter, the chamois goats inhabit the lower forests, and live upon pine leaves, the buds of trees, bushes, and such green or dry herbs as they can find by scratching off the snow with their feet. The forests that delight them most, are those which are very full of rocks and precipices. The hunting of the chamois is very difficult and laborious. The mode most in use is to kill them by surprise. The hunters conceal themselves behind rocks or large stones, taking care that the wind blows opposite to them, and, when a favourable opportunity occurs, shoot them with musket-balls. They are likewise hunted in the same manner as stags and other animals, by polling some of the hunters in narrow passages, while others beat about to raise the game. Men are preferable for this purpose to dogs; for dogs too quickly disperse the animals, who fly off suddenly to the distance of four or five leagues.

V. The depressa is an African goat, with small depressed 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 a little forwards. It is about the size of a kid of a year old. It inhabits Juda or Whitaw in Africa.

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 Haffelquist 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 huntsman, 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 Arabs 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 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 huntsman 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 huntsman would not only lose his game, but his falcon also: for the animal, ruined by the wound, which could not prove mortal, would run to the deferts 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 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 homachs, called abomafus. See Bezoar and Abomafus.

X. The Tartarica, or faiga of Buffon, 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 semipellucid; the cutting teeth are placed so 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 destitute of horns. These animals inhabit all the deserts from the Danube and Dnieper to the river Irtysh, but not beyond. Nor are they ever seen to the north of 54 or 55 degrees of latitude. They are found therefore in Poland, Moldavia, about Mount Caucasus, and the Caspian Sea, and Siberia, in the dreary open deserts, where salt-springs abound, feeding on the salt, the acrid and aromatic plants of those countries, and grow in the summer-time very fat; but their flesh acquires a taste disagreeable to many people, and is scarcely eatable, until it is suffered to grow cold after dressing. The females go with young the whole winter; and bring forth in the northern deserts in May. They have but one at a time; which is singular, as the numbers of these animals are prodigious. The young are covered with a soft fleece, like new-dropped lambs, curled and waved. They are regularly migratory. In the rutting-season, late in autumn, they collect in flocks of thousands, and retire into the southern deserts. In the spring they divide into little flocks, and return northward at the same time as the wandering Tartars change their quarters.

They very seldom feed alone; the males feeding promiscuously with the females and their young. They rarely lie down all at the same time; but, by a providential instinct, some are always keeping watch; and when they are tired, they seemingly give notice to such as have taken their rest, who arise instantly, and as it were relieve the sentinels of the preceding hours. They thus often preserve themselves from the attack of wolves, and from the surprize of the huntmen. They are excessively swift, and will outrun the fleetest horse or greyhound; yet partly through fear (for they are the most timid of animals), and partly by the shortness of their breath, they are very soon taken. If they are but bit by a dog, they instantly fall down, nor will they even offer to rise. In running they seem to incline on one side, and their course is so rapid that their feet seem scarcely to touch the ground. In a wild state they seem to have no voice. When brought up tame, the young emit a short sort of bleating, like sheep.

The males are most libidinous animals: the Tartars, who have sufficient time to observe them, report that they will copulate twenty times together; and that this ability arises from their feeding on a certain herb, which has most invigorating powers. When taken young, they may easily be made tame; but if caught when at full age, are so wild and so obstinate as to refuse all food. When they die, their noses are quite flaccid.

They are hunted for the sake of their flesh, horns, and skins, which are excellent for gloves, belts, &c. The huntsmen always approach them against the wind, lest they should smell their enemy; they also avoid putting on red or white clothes, or any colours which might attract their notice. They are either shot, or taken by dogs; or by the black eagle, which is trained to this species of falconry. 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.

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 Aegagrus of Pallas, or Caucasian goat, has smooth black horns, sharply ridged on their upper parts, and hollowed on their outward sides. No vestiges of knots or rings, but on the upper surface are some wavy ridges; bend much back, and are much hooked at the end, approaching a little at the points. On the chin is a great beard, dusky, mixed with chestnut. The forepart of the head is black, the sides mixed with brown; the rest of the animal grey, or grey mixed with rust-colour. Along the middle of the back, from the neck to the tail, is a black list; and the tail is black.

The female is either destitute of horns, or has very short ones. In size it is superior to the largest he-goats, but in form and agility resembles a stag: yet Monardus compares it to the he-goat, and says that it has the feet of the goat. They inhabit the lower mountains of Caucasus and Taurus, all Asia Minor, and perhaps the mountains of India. They abound on the inhospitable hills of Laar and Khorazan in Persia; and according to Monardus are also found in Africa. It is an animal of vast agility. Monardus was witness to the manner of its saving itself from injury by falling on its horns; for he saw that which he describes leap from a high tower, precipitating itself on its horns; then springing on its legs, and leaping about, without receiving the least harm. This is one of the animals which yields the once-valued alexipharmic, the Bezoar-stone; which is a concretion formed of many coats, incrusting a nucleus of small pebble, stones of fruits, bits of straw, or buds of trees. The incrusting coats are created from the vegetable food of the animals, especially the rich, dry, and hot herbs of the Persian and Indian mountains. Its virtues are now exploded, and it is reckoned only an absorbent, and that of the weakest kind.

XIII. The Gnu, with scabrous horns, and thick at the base, bending forward close to the head, then suddenly reverting upwards. The mouth is square; the nostrils covered with broad flaps. From the nose, half way up the front, is a thick oblong-square brush of long stiff black hairs reflected upwards, on each side of which the other hairs are long, and point closely down the cheeks. Round the eyes are disposed in a radiated form several strong hairs. The neck is short, and a little arched. On the top a strong and upright mane, reaching from the horns beyond the shoulders. the chin is a long white beard; and on the gullet a very long pendulous bunch of hair. On the breast, and between the fore-legs, the hairs are very long and black. The tail reaches to the first joint of the legs, and is full of hair like that of a horse, and quite white. The body is thick; and covered with smooth short hair of a rust brown colour tipped with white. The legs are long, elegant, and slender, like those of a stag. On each foot is only a single spurious or hind hoof.—It is a strange compound of animals: having a vast head like that of an ox; body and tail, like a horse; legs like a stag; and the sinus lacrymalis of an antelope. The ordinary size of it is about that of a common galloway; the length of it being somewhat above five, and height of it rather more than four feet.—These animals inhabit in great numbers the fine plains of the great Namacquas, far north of the Cape of Good Hope, extending from S. lat. 25° to 28° 42', where Africa seems at once to open its vast treasures of hooved quadrupeds. It is an exceedingly fierce animal: on the sight of any body it usually drops its head, and puts itself into an attitude of offence; and will dart with its horns against the pales of the inclosure towards the persons on the outside; yet it will afterwards take the bread which is offered. It will often go upon its knees, run swiftly in that singular posture, and furrow the ground with its horns and legs. The Hottentots call it Gnu from its voice. It has two notes, one resembling the bellowing of an ox, the other more clear. It is called an ox by the Europeans.

XIV. The Dorcas, or antelope, has cylindrical annulated horns, bent backward, combed, 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 chace: 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.

The swiftness of this animal was proverbial in the country it inhabited even in the earliest times: the speed of Ashbel is beautifully compared to that of the tzebi; and the Gadites were said to be as swift as the roes upon the mountains. The sacred writers took their similes from such objects as were before the eyes of the people they addressed themselves to. There is another instance drawn from the same subject: the disciple raised to life at Joppa was supposed to have been called Tabitha, i.e., Dorcas, or the Antelope, from

the beauty of her eyes; and this is still a common comparison in the east: Aline el Caazal, or, "You have eyes of an Antelope," is the greatest compliment that can be paid to a fine woman.

Some species of the antelopes 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 housetops 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 leucarta, and the tarictica of Linnaeus, described above, vii. viii. ix. x. with the moschus grimmia of the same author. See Moschus.

The other species of antelopes distinguished by zoologists are:

1. Kevella of Pallas, or flat-horned antelope, has horns twelve inches long, flattened on their sides, inclining first backwards, bending in the middle, and then reverting forwards at their ends, and annulated with from fourteen to eighteen rings: the upper side of the body is reddish brown; lower part and buttocks are white: the size equal to a fallow roebuck. They inhabit Senegal; where they live in great flocks, are easily tamed, and are excellent meat.

2. The corine antelope, with very slender horns, six inches long, surrounded with circular rugae: on each side of the face is a white line; beneath that, is one of black: the neck, body, and flanks are tawny; belly and inside of the thighs white: on the knees is a tuft of hair. It is less than a roebuck, and inhabits Senegal.

3. The ngoro, or red antelope, with horns 5½ inches long; one or two slight rings at the base: ears much longer than the horns: hair stiff and bright; in all parts of a reddish colour, palest on the chest: tail very short. Inhabits Senegal and the Cape; where it is very frequent, and is a common food.

4. The dama or swift antelope (le Nanguer, Buff.), with round horns, eight inches long, reverting at their ends. The general colour is tawny; but this species varies in that particular. It inhabits Senegal; and is easily tamed. It is very swift: Aelian compares its flight to the rapidity of a whirlwind.

5. The elk-antelope of Sparman (Indian antelope of Pennant), has thick straight horns, marked with two prominent spiral ribs near two thirds of their length, smooth towards their end; some above two feet long. The head is of a reddish colour, bounded on the cheeks by a dusky line. The forehead is broad; the nose pointed. On the forehead is a stripe of long loose hairs; and on the lower part of the dewlap, a large tuft of black hair. Along the neck and back, from head to tail, is a black short mane: the rest of the body is of a bluish grey, tinged with red. The tail does not reach to the first joint of the leg; is covered with short cinerous hair; and the end tufted with long black hairs. The hoofs are short, surrounded at their junction with the legs by a circle of black hairs. The height to the shoulders is five feet. It is thick bodied and strongly made; but the legs are slender. It wants the sinus lacrymalis. The females are horned like the males.—The Caffres call this species empofos and poffio. The Dutch of the Cape call it the eland or elk. M. de Buffon, by mistake, calls this the condous, which he ought to have bestowed on his condoma. It inhabits India, Congo, and the southern parts of Africa. They live in herds; but the old males are often solitary. They grow very fat, especially about the breast and heart; so that they are easily caught; and when pursued, will sometimes fall dead in the chase. They are slow runners; when routed, always go against the wind, nor can the hunters (even if they front the herd) divert them from their course. The flesh is fine-grained, very delicious, and juicy. The hide is tough; the Hottentots make tobacco-pipes of the horns.

6. The cervine antelope, or antelope bubalis of Pallas, with horns bending outward and backward, almost close at their base, and distant at their points; twisted and annulated; very strong and black; the head is large, and like that of an ox; the eyes are placed very high, and near to the horns; the form of the body is a mixture of the stag and heifer; height to the top of the shoulders four feet; the tail is rather more than a foot long, affine, and terminated with a tuft of hair; the colour a reddish brown; white about the rump, the inner side of the thighs, and lower part of the belly; a dark space occupies the top of the back, the front of the upper part of the fore legs, and hinder part of the thighs. It inhabits Barbary, and probably other parts of Africa, being also found towards the Cape of Good Hope. It is the beker el waf of the Arabs, according to Dr Shaw; who says, that its young quickly grow tame, and herd with other cattle. Mr Forskål mentions it among the Arabian animals of an uncertain genus, by the name of bakar waf. This is the bubalus of the ancients; not the buffalo, as later writers have supposed. The Dutch of the Cape call this species barbeef. They go in great herds; few only are solitary. They gallop seemingly with a heavy pace, yet go swiftly. They drop on their knees to fight like the white-footed antelope or nil-gau, and the boch-bok, after-described. The flesh is fine-grained, but dry.—Mr Sparman informs us, that in this animal there is a pore one line in diameter, an inch or an inch and a half below and before the internal angle of the eye. From this pore, which is the aperture of a caruncle that lies below, there is secreted a matter almost like ear-wax, which he observed the Hottentots took in a piece of skin as a rare and excellent medicine; on the dried skin of the animal, this pore is fiercely to be discerned. This Mr Sparman supposes is the reason why so great and accurate a zoologist as M. Pallas (who describes it in his Specielegia under the denomination of Antilope bubalis) makes no mention of this pore, as he made his descriptions chiefly from the dried skins of this animal. The use of this pore, which is also found in the deer, is for affording freer respiration, a circumstance essential to beasts of chase. See Cervus.

7. The springer, with slender horns, annulated halfway, and twice contorted. The ears very long and dusky. The face, cheeks, nose, chin, and throat, are white. The whole upper side of the neck, part of the lower, the back, sides, and outside of the limbs, are of a pale yellowish brown. The chest, belly, and inside of the limbs, are white; the sides and belly divided by a broad band of chestnut, which runs down part of the shoulders. The tail reaches to the first joint of the leg; the upper part white; the lower black, and furnished with long hair. The buttocks are white; and from the tail half way up the back is a stripe of white, expandible at pleasure. This elegant species weighs about fifty pounds, and is rather less than a roebuck. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, where it is called the spring-buck, from the prodigious leaps it takes on the sight of any body. When alarmed, it has the power of expanding the white space about the tail into the form of a circle, which returns to its linear form when the animal is tranquil. These animals migrate annually from the interior parts in small herds, and continue in the neighbourhood of the Cape for two or three months; then join companies, and go off in troops consisting of many thousands, covering the great plains for several hours in their passage. They are attended in their migrations by numbers of lions, hyenas, and other wild beasts, which make great destruction among them. They are excellent eating, and with other antelopes are the venison of the Cape. Mr Mafon informs us, that they also make periodical migrations, in seven or eight years, in herds of many hundred thousands, from the north, as he supposes from the interior parts of Terra de Natal. They are compelled to it by the excessive drought which happens in that region, when sometimes there does not fall a drop of rain for two or three years. These animals in their course defoliate Cafraria, spreading over the whole country, and not leaving a blade of grass. Lions attend them; where one of these beasts of prey are, his place is known by the vast void visible in the middle of the timorous herd.

8. The striped antelope, has smooth horns, twisted spirally, and compressed sideways, with a ridge on one side following the wreaths; they consist of three bands; and are sometimes four feet and a half long measured in a straight line. They are naturally of a dusky colour, and wrinkled; but are generally brought over highly polished. The females are destitute of horns. In the upper jaw is a hard horny substance, disposed in ridges. The length of the animal is nine feet; the legs are slender; the general colour is of a reddish cast, mixed with grey; and from the tail, along the top of the back, to the shoulders, is a white stripe; from which are seven others, four pointing towards the thighs, and three towards the belly; but they vary in number of stripes. On the upper part of the neck is a short mane; beneath the neck, from the throat to the breast, are some long hairs hanging down. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, where it is called coedos, and is said to leap to a most astonishing height. This species wants the sinus lacrymalis.

9. The boch-bok, or wood-goat of the Cape, a species of antelope, according to Mr Sparman, unknown to all the cultivators of natural history, whether ancient or modern, till he described it in the memoirs of the Swedish academy for the year 1780, quarter 3d, by the name of antilope sylvatica. This animal has obtained the name it goes by, in consequence of its being the only one among the gazels in Africa, which may be properly said to live in the woods and groves. In size, the boch-bok is somewhat above two feet and a half high. The horns are ten inches and a half long; the ears half the length of the horns, or five inches.—The horns are black, in some measure triangular, and at the same time wreathed, so that both the sides and angles have somewhat of a spiral turn. At bottom they are rather rough, in consequence of a set of almost innumerable wavy-rings; which, however, are not elevated much above the surface. At top they are conical and sharp-pointed, and in that part as smooth as though they had been polished. The teeth of this animal are like those of other antelopes. It has no fore teeth or incisors except in the lower jaw, where it has eight.—There is no porous ceriferous in this, as there is in some other antelopes. The hairs on the head are very short and fine; afterwards they become more rough and rugged, resembling goats hair more than that of gazels or harts. Forwards on the neck, breast, sides, and belly, they are an inch and a half or two inches long. On the ridge of the neck, and so on all along that of the back, they are three or four inches in length, so as to form a kind of mane there, terminating in a tail about a finger's breadth long. On the hind part of the thighs and buttocks likewise, the hairs are eight inches long; the legs and feet are slender, and covered with short hairs; the fetlock-joints are small; the nose and under-lip are decorated with black whiskers about an inch long. The predominant colour in this animal is dark-brown, which occupies the principal part of the sides, the back, the upper part of the tail, the upper part of the chest and fore-ribs, and the fore-part of the belly. A still darker brown, bordering upon black, is discoverable on the outside of the shoulders, and some part of the fore-ribs. The fore-part of the nose, from the eyes to the muzzle, is of a foot colour. The ears are likewise as black as foot on the outside, but on the inside grey; and both outwards and inwards covered with hairs still shorter than those on the head; excepting half the fore-part of the lower edge, where the hairs are white and half an inch long. Divers small white spots, from nine to twelve in all, are seen on each of the haunches and on the sides near them. A narrow line of long white hairs extends from the neck all along the back and tail, in the midst of the long brown hairs already described. From the chine of the back to the sides run five white parallel streaks, which, however, are only discoverable by a close inspection.

This creature does much mischief to the vineyards and kitchen-gardens of the Cape colonists; and it shows a great deal of craft and artifice in avoiding the snares and traps set for it, as well as the ambuscades of the sportsmen. As the boch-bok runs but slowly, it sometimes happens that he is caught by dogs. When he sees there is no other resource, he puts himself in a posture of defence; and when he is going to butt, kneels down, like the white-footed antelope and the hartbeest. The colonists are not very fond of hunting him in this manner, as the beast on this occasion generally sells his life at a very dear rate, by going and killing some of their best and most spirited hounds. This creature's horns, which are its chief defence, sometimes also prove its bane, by being entangled in the bushes and small branches of trees, which thus stop the beast in its flight. In some measure to avoid this, it carries its nose horizontally and straight forward while it runs; so that its horns lie, as it were, directly on its neck; notwithstanding which, their horns are generally worn away a little on the fore part, and thus acquire some degree of polish.—This species of antelope is monogamous, or keeps in pairs. It is swifter in woodlands than the dogs, which likewise sooner lose scent of him there. The female, which is without horns, and on that account runs about in the forest more free and unimpeded, does not suffer herself so easily to be hunted out of the woods, having there, as well as on the plains, a more certain defence against the dogs in her legs, than the male has in his horns, especially as she is not so bulky and heavy as the male. Her breast is said to be very plump and fleshy, but the flesh in general is not very tender.

10. The leucoryx with the nose thick and broad, like that of a cow; the ears somewhat flouching; body clumsy and thick: The horns long, very slightly incurvated, slender, annulated part of the way; black, pointed. The tail reaching to the first joint of the legs, and tufted. The colour is in all parts a snowy whiteness, except the middle of the face, sides of the cheeks, and limbs, which are tinged with red.—This species is about the size of a Welch runt; and inhabits Gw Bahrain, an ile in the gulph of Baffora.

11. The picta, white-footed antelope, or nyl-gbau; with short horns, bending a little forward; ears large, marked with two black stripes; a small black mane on the neck, and half way down the back: a tuft of long black hairs on the fore-part of the neck; above that, a large spot of white; another between the forelegs on the chest: one white spot on each fore-foot; two on each hind-foot: the tail is long, tufted with black hairs. The colour of the male is a dark grey. The female is of a pale brown colour; with a mane, tuft, and striped ears, like the male; on each foot three transverse bands of black and two of white: It is destitute of horns. The height to the top of the shoulder is four feet and an inch; the length from the bottom of the neck to the anus, four feet. The head is like that of a stag; the legs are delicate. These animals inhabit the distant and interior parts of India, remote from our settlements. They are brought down as curiosities to the Europeans, and have of late years been frequently imported into England. In the days of Aurene Zebe, they abounded between Delhi and Lahor, on the way to Cachemire. They were called nyl-gbau, or blue or grey bulls; and were one of the objects of chase, with that mighty prince, during his journey. They were inclosed by his army of hunters within nets, which being drawn closer and closer, at length formed a small precinct; into this the kings, his omrabs, and hunters, entered, and killed the beasts with arrows, spears, or mufkets; and sometimes in such numbers, that Aurene Zebe used to send quarters as presents to all his great people. They are usually very gentle and tame, will feed readily, and lick the hands which give them food. In confinement they will eat oats, but prefer grass and hay; are very fond of wheaten bread; and when thirsty, they will drink two gallons at a time. They are said to be at times very vicious and fierce. When the males fight, they drop on their knees at a distance from one another, make their approaches in that attitude, and when they come near, spring and dart at each other. They will often, in a state of confinement, fall into that posture without doing any harm. They will, notwithstanding, attack mankind unprovoked. A labourer, who was looking over some pales which inclosed a few of them, was alarmed by one of the males flying at him like lightning; but he was saved by the intervention of the woodwork, which it broke to pieces, and at the same time one of its horns.—They have bred in England. They are supposed to go nine months with young, and have sometimes two at a birth.

12. The scripta or harnessed antelope (le guil, Buff.), has straight horns nine inches long, pointing backwards, with two spiral ribs. The general colour is a deep tawny; but the sides are most singularly marked with two transverse bands of white, crossed by two others from the back to the belly; the rump with three white lines pointing downwards on each side; and the thighs are spotted with white. The tail is ten inches long, covered with long rough hairs.—It inhabits the plains and woods of Senegal, living in large herds. It is frequent at the Cape, where it is called the bonte-bok, or spotted goat.

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.