The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1902-02-08
RAISING ANGORA GOATS.
a NEW INDUSTRY IN TIE PENN:
sYLvANIA FOOTHILLS.
Thoroughbred FIocks Brought From
the Rockies to Eat Down the Shrubs
and Weeds on Land That Is Almost
worthless.

and Weeds on Land That Is Almost
Worthless.
In the foothills Of the Alleghenies,
thel refuge of the snake, owl and ra-
ven. where is hidden no mineral
!. wealth. and the stone-clad soil has
done its best if at the summers end
It is covered by scraggy growth OF
underbrush and weeds, a new indus
try has been born. Acres of this land
can be bought for almost nothing and
lAngora goats have been brought from
the Rockies to eat down the shrubs
and weeds.
The largest flock of goats in The
state Is owned by o. P. Shupe and j.
S. Hitchman of Mt. Pleasant They
bought a herd of 300 as beginning
from a western ranchman, and have
placed them upon tract of mountain
land, which lhey own near Mt. Pleas
ant. The goats are thoroughbred. An
goras, many of their pedigrees being
traced back to Angora, from which
country about 400 goats have from
time to time been imported. The noun
tain land, upon which the flock own
ed by Hitchman and Shupe has been
turned loose, is covered with a dense
growth of shrubs and small trees. The
goats readily eat this kind of pastur-
age, and in short time they will clear
off the land.
There is a large herd of Angora
goats in Somerset county. They were
brought from Arizona by Gen. A. H.
Goffroth in the early spring, and are
now in thriving condition. Many of
the goats sent from Arizona are a
cross between the Angora and the
common goat, but those purchased by
| Gen Goffroth were the purest speci-
mems that could be bought in the west
DR.. J. D. Jackson of Connellsville,
also had a carload of goats shipped
to him in April. He turned them loose
on tract of mountain land near Con
nellsvllle, and the animals thrived
wonderfully during the summer. At
Petersburg and Keyser, Nd, the An
CORA goats have been bred with the
common goat with some success. But
it is not until the fourth or fifth cross
that the characteristics of the common
goat disappear, and pure white, good
shearing goat with the long wavy
silky hair of the Angora is obtained
Though an Angora goat grows to the
same size as a sheep, it does not ma
ture so rapidly. A six-months-old kid
will not weigh nearly so much as q
lamb of the same age. But most OF
the 'spring lamb" which is shipped
from the west is in veality goat. The
Angora Is prolific breeder, and good
shearer till it is twelve or fourteen
years old. 1t has many Of the habits
of sheep. and thrives in any country
where sheep do, but it takes less care
than the latter and will eat many OF
theh things which sheep reject. This
is what makes it SO well adapted fol-
breeding in Fayette and Somerset
counties. The goats are browsers, not
grazers They feed upon the low
bushes, and always in flocks, eating
grass only when there Is nothing else
to devour. There is no pastUrage for
cattle or sheep in that part of the
country, and the rocky nature Of the
mountain land adds another advantage
to the breeding of goats in Pennsyl
vania. They prefer a rough hillside
to rolling meadow, being nimble and
| sure-footed.
Angora goats are hardy, and II
properly protected from rain or cold
after shearing will never die from ex
posure. They are usually provided
| with sheds, facing south during the
winter, and are fed sparingly on corn
fodder, straw and hay. with little
grain during March and April to pro
tect the does during the kidding sea
son.
The kids have to be watched il they
| are born early IN the spring, as they
will die in that region very easily
During the cold, wet weather of early
spring the does are more liable to
disown their kids, though this rarely
happens. Sometimes in the west as
many as 5000 kids are enclosed in a
paddock, and when the kids are let
out to feed each doe knows her owr
kid and will allow nc other to ap.
proach her. Sometimes the does lie
on the kids to keep them warm. and
smother them. At times in the west
nearly 200 kids are found after a
storm. smothered to death by their
mothers.
Unlike their timid brothers, the
sheep. goats are not afraid of dogs
They will defend themselves against
attack and usually get the better of
any stray dog that happens to annoy
them. They have few diseases, and
are never troubled with ''ticks" and
''scabs," two great drawbacks with
sheep.
There is a large profit in raising An
CORA goats successfully. They are
sheared twice in season In the west,
and the yield of many of the animals
runs as high as nine pounds. The
wool Is so much finer and more silky
than that OF the common goat or
sheep that it commands higher price
at all times. Goat owners in the west
Nhave been known to pay as much as
$500 for good billy" But they are
worth the price in the end. and are as
beautiful an animal as can he found.
with their silken hair falling to their
dainty hoofs, great dark eyes, small
horns and long white beard In a
few years the raising of Angora goats
bids fair to become one of the indus
tries In Somerset. Westmoreland and
other counties in Transatlantic