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Now that so much attention is focussed on Southern Africa, it is quite refreshing to find that the Hominidæ are not the only mammals studied in the area, and that, besides the introduced Boer farmer, there is also the Angora Goat. We are absolutely dead weary of the political questions connected with the Boer, and rejoice to study the less exciting but more scientific problem of his Goat. And here let us at once clear the ground by a definition; by Boer we do not necessarily mean an inhabitant of the Transvaal, but the farmers who trace their descent back to the early settlers, are of principally Dutch and French origin, who use the "Taal" dialect, so largely Dutch in its construction, and are found all over South Africa, under the British flag as well as beneath those of the two Republics.
The first part of the volume is devoted to the history and derivation of the various breeds of domestic Goats, and our author agrees with the now generally accepted opinion that they are all principally derived from the Persian Wild Goat (Capra ægagrus), and that the blood element of the Wild Goat of Thibet (Capra falconeri) in the Angora breed must be small indeed, as "the outward twist of the horns, so pronounced in Capri falconeri, is unknown in the Angora (whose horns have the twist inwards) or any other domestic variety."
One reason for the great success with which the Angora breed flourishes in South Africa is pointed out by Mr. Schreiner in the fact that "our veld and climate are almost identical with those of the province of Angora." And this remark is true for the Colony, for practically "the Transvaal has no Goats and the Free State not a very large number." In 1893, the Cape had 2,811,206 Angora Goats, and 2,819,749 Common Goats. The effects of crossing is favourable to the fecundity of the Angora, the modern
