Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-14
AN ANGoRA GOAT FARM.
A Nyack LadS's Venture which Has
Proved Profitable.


NYAcR, N. Y. March 11.-Three miles
IRON this village, near the Hudson r1Ver'
is an Angora goat farm, which from its
novelty attracts much attention herea-
bout. 1t is looked upon as something in
the nature Of farmers freak, Ike the
raising OF bees or silk worms.
Goats browse and goats prosper on this
farm on the heights that border Rockland
lake as readily as they do on the rocks
| about Shantytown, in New York city.
But they are a different breed Of goats,
more aristocratic than their city rela-
yves as to wool, more epicurean IN their
! tastes, and more blue blOoded as 10
ancestry. The herd in this some
what novel farm just now num-
Ders 10, varying in age from the
tlny object of three months which looks
IKE cross between a dog, a RABBIT and
lady's powder pun. to the handsome pa
triarch OF the flock. a magnificent speci-
men OF the pure AngOra breed, with I'M
mense curling horns. This handsome old
| fellow with his wife were imported by
Or Agnew, the famous Occulist OF New
York, from Asia Minor, and the importa-
ton cost him heap OF money as theprice
oil goats goes. Their present owner is the
good woman who now runs this goat
farm. and who never tires of discanting
upon the good qualities Of her pets. They
know her voice, and answer to their
names when she calls them. Kind and
gentle they appear when visitors are
about. but the fondness for fighting, as
characteristic OF goats az it is Of a native
OF Iipperary, crops out when the herd is
together and apparently out Of sight OF
mankind.
strange fact noticed in the breeding
of these animals is that the females do not
thrive in this locality as well as the males.
The hardy female goat or the ordinary
species was introduced into this flock for
experimental breeding purposes, and with
marked success. Repeated crossings with
the common goat and her offspring has
produced apparently pure Angora goats,
the tendency being in all cases for the kids
to revert in the texture Of their wool to-
ward the male side. AS a consequence
the third generation has all the appear
ance of it's distinguished ancestry, and in
the fourth generation even the best eX-
perts cannot tell the pure blOoded from the
grade AngOra. This fact is a matter of
considerable interest to breeders of goats,
as an Angora buck costs 500 or over,
while the common goat can be had almost
for the asking. The fecundity OF the An
CORA is not so great as that of the common
goat, the Angora eve giving birth to bnt
one kid yearly.
AS a source of profit the goats have
turned out well. The wool 10 from to 6
inches in length, silky, and of beautiful
texture. A full grown animal will yield
pounds of wool, which will readily sell
at 81 per pound. just now the demand
for this wool is not particularly lively, as
the lustrous dress Of fabric into which it
was at one time largely converted is out
n vyif To- l.
therefore used almost exclusively in the
manufacture of plush for upholstery pur-
poses. When the kid is 6 months old its
hide. undressed, is worth SO, and will sell
readily for that amount to glove manu-
tacturers. Kids on the farm in question
meet with sudden death on that account
at about that age with considerable
regularity. When it is necessary to
kill them the good lady has them
chloroformed so that she may not
hear the death cries of her little pets. The
milk of the goat is much sought after by
dyspeptics, by persons suffering from
pulmonary troubles, and by otherwise
delicate persons. and it brings a much
greater price than cows milk. AS to
their use for food little can be said, be-
cause the goat does not flesh up well, but
the kid when killed young furnishes a
fair amount of tender meat which some
people ike IL VIII never become great
delicacy in the market or be in sufficient
demand to become a source OF income to
the goat raiser. There is nothing in the
world so cheap to raise as goats, because
they will find ample food in lots up here
where other animals would starve to
death. AcOrns are a favorite article OF
food with them, and as these abound in
the woods the cost for winter fodder is
mainly confined to the trouble of gather
ing the acOrns.