Angora Goat.

Of all the goats that skip along the crags of mountains, or find sustenance in the circus posters of great cities, the Angora goat is the most valuable as a source of revenue. It takes its name from a town in Asia Minor, of which district it is a native, and is distinguished for its beautiful silky hair, which is white and soft, and about eight inches long. This is shorn twice a year, and is much esteemed for making shawls, the yarn being known as Turkey yarn. A few years ago it was estimated that there were one million of these goats in the vicinity of Angora, and the yearly yield of wool was 2,700,000 pounds. The fineness of the hair may, perhaps, be ascribed to some peculiarity in the atmosphere of this particular part of the world, for it is remarkable that the cats, dogs and other animals of the country are, to a certain extent, affected the same way as the goats, and that they all lose much of their distinctive beauty when taken from their native country. Two or three attempts have been made to introduce the Angora goat into one of the Southern States of the Union, but not with marked success.

Elephant.

The largest quadruped at present in existence. Ten species of extinct fossil elephants have been discovered, but only two species are living, the Indian and the African. The Indian is characterized by a high concave forehead, small ears, and comparatively small tusks; the African has a convex forehead, great flabby ears and large tusks. The tusks occur in both sexes, curving upward from the extremity of the upper jaw. The nose is prolonged into a cylindrical trunk or proboscis at the extremity of which are the nostrils. This trunk is extremely flexible and highly sensitive, is said to possess 50,000 distinct muscles, and terminates in a finger-like prehensile lobe. It is of the utmost importance to the animal, for with it he eats, and drinks, and breathes. He drinks by filling his trunk and discharging its contents into his stomach, and having the power to store up water like a camel, he also possesses the accomplishment of drawing it forth again by means of his trunk and discharging it over his heated body. Curiously enough, although so large, he can climb steep declivities inaccessible to a horse. He is an admirable swimmer, is very fond of the water, is never found far from a stream or fountain, and sometimes walks on the bed of a river with only the tip of his trunk out, for breathing purposes. Elephants always live in herds; their general disposition is gentle, although some "rogues" are never admitted to companionship with the others. The ivory in the tusks is very valuable, which leads to the death of thousands.

Mullingong.

This little creature, known also as the duck-bill and platypus, although the largest is only twenty-two inches in length, has excited more curiosity than animals a thousand times its size on account of its extraordinary shape and singular habits. It is called duck-bill on account of the curious development of the inter-maxillary bones. It is essentially an aquatic and burrowing animal, and is formed expressly for residence in the water or under the earth. The opening of the ears is small, and can be closed at will. The feet are furnished with webs. The fore feet are employed for digging as well as swimming, and have powerful claws. It has been seen to make a burrow through hard gravelly soil two feet in length in ten minutes. The hind feet of the male have a spur which it can conceal entirely. It can run on land or swim in water with equal ease, and can climb pretty well. It has an extremely loose skin and can push its way through a small aperture, and is with great difficulty held in the fingers. The loose skin and thick fur protect it from injury, and the discharge of a gun which would blow any other animal all to pieces has very little effect on this one. It is very tenacious of life. It eats worms and insects, which it gathers into its cheeks and crushes between four horny channeled plates, which take the place of teeth. It is awake only at dusk and dawn, and sleeps the rest of the time curled up like a ball, with its tail shut down over its head. It is a native of Australia, and is as clean as a cat.

Orang-Outang.

The orang-outang inhabits the wooded lowlands of Borneo and Sumatra, where it sits alone, and unsocial, in dreary indolence on a platform which it weaves among the trees, and moves only when forced to by hunger or anger, or some other powerful motive. The male attains a stature of about four and a half feet, with a reach to its arms of above seven and a half feet, the relative proportion of legs and arms being very different from those of man, in whom the height and reach of arms are nearly equal. The face, hands, and feet are naked, and the fur is scanty, although rather long. Its strength is great according to its size, and when brought to bay it is a formidable antagonist. Its teeth are its weapons, and even the leopard does not care to encounter them. When hunters desire to capture an adult, they hem it in by felling trees around the one in which it is seated, and so prevent his escape, then cut down the tree, and secure the animal before it recovers from the shock. While young it is docile and even affectionate, but grows morose and ferocious as it reaches maturity. It can stand erect, but the attitude is seldom assumed, and is difficult and constrained. When walking on the ground it stoops forward, bringing the hands to the earth, and swinging the body by the long arms, much as a lame person uses crutches.