a well-known animal with hollow, erect horns, turned backward. The male is generally bearded under the chin. Goats are nearly of the size of sheep, but they are stronger, less timid and more agile. They frequent rocks and mountains and subsist on scanty, coarse food. Their milk is sweet, nourishing and medicinal, and their flesh furnishes food. Goats are of many varieties, and it is not certainly known from which the domestic animal is descended, though opinion favors the wild goat of western Asia. Domestic goats are common in all parts of the world, and are valued for their hair, milk and flesh. In many parts of Europe, Asia and Africa great herds are kept as cattle are kept elsewhere. Goats are often kept as pets and may be harnessed and driven by children. The skin is used for a variety of purposes and yields the leather well known under the name of morocco. The Angora goat is furnished with soft, silky hair, of a silver-white color, which hangs down in curly locks eight or nine inches long. Its horns are in a spiral form and extend backward rather than upward from the sides of the head. See CASHMERE GOAT.