25 APRIL 1931, Page 14

ENGLISH WILD GOATS.

A visitor to North Devon the other day was amazed to find himself in the midst of a herd of wild goats—an animal that he hardly expected to find short of the Rockies. Their long horns and long white coats astonished him only less

than the Park kangaroos frightened the unhappy policeman in one of the most amusing of Mr. Kipling's English stories. We cannot within Britain rival Banff in Canada, where wild sheep may get in the way of your car, and where bears grub in the hotel dust heap ; but, after all, we do possess in Britain wild cattle, goats of a sort and many wild deer. The species of deer have lately been increased by the barking deer, whose appearance has surprised many countrymen. As for the haunt of the wild goat, if they may be so styled, their valley of rocks has a wild beauty that within its compass may be set beside any great sanctuary in any part of the world. It would be interesting to know what is the history of this herd

in this place. * * * *