The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-11
A PROFITABLE GOAT.

The Angora goat, the aristocrat of the
goat family, Is the subject of a pamphlet
lust issued by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture. The animal, it ap-
pears is a money-maker, and deserves
more general attention than 1t has here
tofore received There are at present
some 400, 600 Angoras in the whole coun-
try. producing less than half of the mo-
hair that is used in American mills. The
demand, therefore, is far in excess of the
supply. The native product, it is said,
is Just as fine and desirable as that i'm
ported, and manufacturers only enter
foreign markets for the reason that they
cannot supply themselves at home.
The fleece of the Angora goat is techni-
| cally known as mohair. 1t is from ten to
| twenty inches in length. grows in curly
ringlets, and is of so fine texture that it
would require several thousand of the
hairs laid down side by side to cover the
space of an inch The mohair enters into
the manufacture of some of the finest
materials for ladies' dresses. Certain
grades of it are mixed with silk and wool
in a large variety of fabrics known I'M
der fanciful names. All so-called camers
hair goods are nothing but best mohair,
and astrakhan has the same origin
The average clip Of mohair from
prime full-blooded Angora is from nine to
fourteen pounds, and it is worth from 25
to 40 cents a pound, according to quality
and condition. The poorest grades fetch
as much as 20 cents. The Angora is al
most as hardy as the common goat and
thus gives many annual shearings. The
pelt of the animal is worth 50 to IS. The
fieeces when dressed and dyed are used as
rugs and carriage robes, and the skins
are dressed by morocco and glove-leather
manufacturers The flesh is excellent for
food. 1t is not SO fat as that of the
sheep, and has none of the objections of
the flesh of the common goat. 1t is call
ed "Angora mutton" and "Angora veni-
son." and is highly priced in California.
Aside from it's value as fleece, mutton
and leather producer. the Angora goat is
a great pasture-maker. Turn a flock of
Angoras into an area of scrub-brush,
and in a year the scrubs and weeds will
be cleaned off, and the land will become a
pasture the next spring. Sheep, it is
said, will ruin a pasture; goats will i'm
prove it, In the Southwest goats are
often employed to clean off land that is
''hopelessly" covered with scrub shrub
berry. They can live and wax fat on land
where no other domestic animal could
possibly pick up a living. In many parts
of the country nutritious grasses come
in after the goats. Some of the finest
vineyards in California have been cleared
of brush underground by goats. In Iowa
and Oregon it is q common practice TO
keep goats to increase the pasturage
growth. Any breed of the hardy little an
finals will serve this purpose. When the
goats employed are Angoras. the owner
gets greater profits from his herd.
1t is a matter of local interest TO know
that Col. Richard Peters of Georgia is
regarded as the originator Of the Angora
industry in the United States. In 1919 the
| Sultan of Turkey presented TO DR.. ]. b.
Davis of South Carolina nine of the
choicest Angora goats in his Kingdom i'm
! recognition OF certain SERVICES rendered
by DR. Davis in introducing cotton plant
ing in Turkey In 1853 Col. Peters of
Georgia purchased DR.. Davis goats, and
began the industry of mohair growing
In those days the hair was more valuable
than It is now and the animals were very
high-priced. The Savannah Republican In
April 1860. said that Col. Peters was
selling his goats for round sums.
| having received $500 for one buck;
that the President of the Illinois
fair was so pleased with one of the bucks
on exhibition there that he offered Col.
Peters "the weight Of the buck in silver
for IT,"
While the industry was started in Geor-
gis, It has not remained with us. Two
years ago II is estimated. there were
only 100 Angora goats in this state. Most
OF them are now 10 be found IN Texas.
California, New Mexico Oregon and
other Western states. The value OF
desirable thoroughbred is at present
about 500