The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-12-18
AcRloA.s PRoElTAsLE eoATs
They Are Angora dBoer stock. and
Their Fleeces Are valuable.

They Are AngorR and BOer stock, and
Their FIeeces Are Valuable.
One of the most lucrative industries
in the Karoo districts of SouthAfricai is
Angora goat farming, and although it
las only been established for less than
90 years, the cape bids fair to become
the most important center OF mohasr
production in the world. The early at
tempts to import this goat from Angora
we're attended with greatloss ofmoney
and great disappointment, nearly all
She goats dying either on the way to
the cape, or very o after landing; in
fact, from the early i~mportations only
& very small number survived. But IN
1879 a large importation was success
fully made by three different firms or
individuals, who landed a large mum
Der of pure-bred Angora goats at Port
Elizabeth, where they were sold at from
,e1oO to e4oO apiece. Soon after that
the expectation Of Angora goats from
Turkey was prohibited for a time; but
in 1894 Mr.. Rhodes obtained the relax
alton Of this prohibition. Early in 1895
a shipment of 200 Angora goats, after
being quarantined, was sold at Port
Elizabeth at an average of e so apiece.
some of the rams selling for as much as
300 each. At presentthere are some
where about 100000 Angora goats in
the colony. &
The Angora in the colony is not now
pure-bred; the original imported rams
were crossed with carefully selected
pure white Boer goat ewes, and from
the succeeding ~in-breeding the present
flock have sprung, and a fine, glossy.
silky fleece secured. Indeed, it is ac-
ccpted hat mohair can now be pro.
duced in Cape Colony asperfeetin quail
ity and as beautiful in luster as any
produced in Angora itself.
The goat itself is a p~retty-looking
little animal, looking, with its long
white, wavy fleece, more like a sheep
than a goat. The beard, too, SO char
acteristic of the goat, is almost hidden
in the long hair about the neck and face.
The head is small and narrow, with
dropping or lop ears. Horns, light in
color, fattened, twisted slightly and,
spreading outward-are possessed by
both rams and ewes, though they are
smaller n the latter.
The small body is thickly covered with
a beautiful long fleece of white, lus-
trous, wavy, silky hair, which in we'll
bred goats nearly reaches to the
ground; and, in addition to this long
hair, there is an inferior under coat OF
hair, O. second coat, which has its w
separate market value.
The Karoo and higher lands of the
colony are the places where the Angora
hourishes best. Almost every farmer
in the Karoo has his flock of Angoras,
some several hocks of several hundred
in each. Every morning the focks are
driven out of kraals or sheltered in
closures into the veIdt, where they are
allowed to wander ard Craze all day.
but at night they are driven back to the
shelter of the kraal after being taken to
the dam to be watered.
Angoras are sheared about June.
when a good fleece will average from
five to six pounds in weight, with hair
from five to six inches long. About
November the goats tend to shed their
hair, but rather than lose it the farmer
again shears in October. After shear.
ing the wool is packed into large bales,
which are fastened securely with iron
bands; it is then exported to England
manufacture, a large part going to-
Yorkshire. In 1895 mohair to the value
of e710,867 was exported, and at the
present time one-tenth of the total Brit
supply is received from the Cape.
Among the most dreaded foes of the
timid little Angora n the jackal, the
red lynx and the bnboon; the two for
.er kill the kids for their flesh, but the
balloons rip open the udders of the
ewes in search of milk, and even open
stomachs of the kids for the sake
Of the curdled milk they may obtain.
first two animals are poisoned and
hunted down with dogs where possible,
and to keep down the baboon shooting
are frequently organized. BY
way Of encouraging the extinction Of
Lhese pests the government pays three
killings a tail for jackals and one shil-
ing a tail for baboons.-Black and