Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-01-04
ANG0RA GOATS.
hat an Expert Says AbOut
Their Culture.

Y Their Culture. U
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One of the most profitable branches
of animal industry in the United States
is the raising of Angora goats, as they
are thriving especially on land which
has hitherto been considered as utterly
worthless.
There are very few states in the
Union which have not millions of acres
of brushy mountain land of next to no
value located from an altitude of 400
or 500 feet above the sea level to 5000
or 5000 feet. depending much upon the
latitude of the land, which would offer
a perfect paradise to the Angora goat
and would if stocked with these ami
mails be a source of ever increasing
profits to their owners, and the amount
of money which would be required
would be so low compared to the prof
its which could be realized by an intel
ligent caretaker that the cost usually
should not be in the way of anybody
who wishes to engage in the enterprise.
The farmer whose farm partly con
sists of scrub mountain land would
have the advantage, and to him Angora
goats would be entirely supernumera-
ry, offering the greatest chances for
large profits. All he has to do is to
fence piece of land into two pastures.
turn his goats on them alternately.
sometimes in one, sometimes in the
other; drive them out at daybreak and
bring them back at shutdown. If posi-
BILE, he should connect the pastures
with his barn, where he should con-
struct an open shed or howell Any
thing that will turn rain would be suf
ficient. Upon arrival at their roosting
place feed them some little grain, and
they soon will not have to be driven in
any more but be there in time for the
sweet morsel
The owner of Angora goats should
procure at kidding time two or three
sucking pups of some strong breed of
dog. but if possible with a strain of
collie in them. and raise these pups on
a kidless doe "a common one would be
preferable) until they are large enough
TO follow the goats. Such dogs will
become so attached TO the breed of
their foster mother that they will fight
for them until death anything in the
shape of four or two legged ours that
would venture near their charge and
be the most reliable of shepherds. Two
or three dogs thus brought up with
goats could be trusted with the man
agement of a flock of sheep of as much
as two or three thousand and with
very little extra instruction would herd
them as well and with as much sense
of duty as any hired shepherd and be
by far cheaper | am often asked
questions in regard to the cost of goats
and whether common goats or Angoras
would pay best for a start.
Common goats are not high in price,
but the item of freight is considerable.
This cost may be ascertained from the
nearest railroad agent. Grade An
goras. according to their quality, would
cost from $3.50 up to IS or more. 1t is
only natural that for goats yielding
very heavy feeces very large prices
should have to be paid. and of course
also to the above prices the freight
would have to be added.
When asking advice as to the class
Of goats with which party new in the
business should begin with. much, if
not everything, would depend on the
following points:
First.-How near he is to local mar
ket for the surplus of his goats.
Second.-How many acres of land he
has at his disposal and how many
goats he could keep thereon, varying
all the way from five or six acres for
each goat up to five or six goats on
each acre, and cannot be determined
unless by personal inspection.
Third.-Whether he has to depend at
the very beginning upon a cash in
come from them, when the highest
grade of goats is doubtless the best,
before he realizes. The latter Of
course is In the advantage and if he
has plenty of means to start with
probably could make the most money
by grading up the ordinary common
goats or at least the very lowest grade
Of Angoras, for these latter breed
faster, and If he has enough money
to put up a canning establishment he
could reap large profits from the en-
terprise. Still, the lower the grade of
the Angoras the lower the quality of
their meat and the harder is it to dis
pose Of it, both at retail and wholesale.
Fourth.-How much capital he has
to invest and whether such can be in
vested, no matter in which state of the
Union, or whether he is compelled to
do so in an already fixed locality. This
is usually a principal and very vital
question. If a party has only a few
hundred dollars and absolutely de-
ponds upon the goat industry for a
living from the very beginning and has
no land of his own, | viii not say ex-
actly that be better stay entirely out
of the goat business, but | can promise
him pretty tough scratching for the
first two or three years, and he must
have a remarkably good constitution
and firm energy to stand the racket.
Fifth.-Last, but not least. must de-
pend upon the health. age, character
and former habits of the party. for a
man who has been living on a salary
of say $1,000 to $500 a year and per-
baps has quite family to support and
is himself on the downward grade of
life must not expect to be able 10 live
in the same way as before with a CAPT
tai investment of $500 or 81. 900 or even
$1,000, for he certainly will not be able
to do 1t.
But the Angora goat industry must
today be considered a very safe and at
the same time very profitable invest
ment, provided the personality Of the
new beginner is suited to II and If his
means are adequate to his own person
al demands of those OF bis family. The
land Is steadily increasing 'nT-