Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-05-08
FLEECE OF THE ANGORA.
MILLION POUNDS ANNUALLY PRO-
DUC5D IN THE UNITED STATES.

ueS - Coat NJ eat Ia Much Better foou
Than Mutton - Tastes Like Venison.
The department OF agriculture an
nually receives thousands of letters Of
inquiry concerning Angora goats, and
in view OF the interest taken in the
subject Mr.. ID. e. Salmon. chief of
the bureau of animal industry, recent
ly made some investigations on the
subject. 1t is estimated. he says. that
there are about 100000 Angora goats
in the United States. and that their
annual production of fleece is over a
million pounds.
The history of the Angora goat in
the United States. Mr.. Salmon says,
has been marrcd b. the carelessness
or Indifference of occasional writers
for the press, who have often been in
accurate as to dates or facts. and also
by others whose interests have doubt
less led them into eXaggerations. The
real facts of its history however, are
so few and so simple as to prompt
that venerable breeder. William M.
Landrum, to say that they would make
but very small book. During the ad
ministration of President Polk the Sui
tan of Turkey requested of him that
he recommend some one who would
experiment in the culture of cotton in
Turkey. Accordingly. DR.. James B.
Davis of Columbia S. c.. was rec
commended, and he received the ap-
pointment. The work done by Dr.
Davis appeared to be highly crafty
ing to the Sultan. and so, upon his re-
turn. in 1849. the Sultan, desiring to
reciprocate the courtesy of the Presi-
dent, presented him with nine of the
choicest goats in his dominion. Col
Richard Peters, writing in 1876, says
of these animals: "These doubtless
were selected from the herds of An
CORA, a district of country lying among
the Taurus mountains. which tray-
erse Asiatic Turkey. and which de-
rives its name from its principal city
situated about 200 miles east of Con
stantinople." 1t doesAnot seem, there
fore. that DR.. Davis encountered any
great difficulty in securing this flrstim-
portation of Angora goats into this
country.
"Of the nine Angoras imported by
DIR. Davis. seven were does and two
were bucks. Besides these. according
to Col. Peters, there came in the same
lot one purc-bred Thibet doe. several
head of crosses between the Angora
and Thibet goats, and quite number
of grade does bred from the common
short-haired ewes of the country and
his AnSora bucks.
"The soft undercoat of the Cash
mere is known as 'pashum.' and is the
product from which the famous Cash
mere shawl was made. Mr.. VIM. M.
Landrum, who was probably the first
in this country to discover that our
so-called Cashmere goat was the An
CORA instead, through investigation
made about 1861, also states that there
is a difference between the Cashmere
shawl and the Paisley shawl These
are often referred to as being the
same shawl. While the filling of both
shawls was of pashum, the chain ofthe
latter was made from the kid fleece
out in the spring. and is worth. when
cleaned in the country where it is
produced, from $1.50 to 50 per pound.
GA large class of people in some
way have become possessed of the
opinion that the goat is practically
useless animal. They do not reach
conclusions upon Investigations, how
ever, and do not discriminate between
the different breeds. To them a goat
is goat, and there the argument
ends. Investigations prove that the
Angora goats are not only classed
among the most useful of the domestic
animals, and have been so classed for
thousands Of years. but their useful
ness is manifested in a variety of
ways. The fleece. called 'mohair' fur
nishes some of the finest of fabrics
among ladies' goods and is used in
various other manufactures; their
habit of browsing enables the farmer
in a wooded locality to use them to
help in subjugating the forest; their
flesh is exceedingly delicate and nutri-
tious; the milk, though not SO abun-
dant as with the milch breed of goats,
is richer than cows milk; their tanned
skins, though inferior in quality to the
skins of the common goat, are used
for leather; their pelts make the neat
est of rugs and robes; they are excel
lent pets for children; few of them in
a flock of sheep are a protection from
wolves and dogs; their manure is no
ticeably helpful to the grass which
follows them after they have cleaned
away the underbrush. These are all
vital subjects of varying degrees of i'm
portance, and will be considered here
under appropriate heads.
in those localities where valuable
land is completely subdued by brush
the goats are considered of more value
for the purpose of clearing it than for
their mohair or meat. They thus be-
come one of the farmers important
tools. Their value in this respect must
be measured by the value of the land