The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-07-22

Department OF Agriculture and publlshed
in the last Farmers Bulletin, the total
amount of mohair produced in the United
States annually is upward of million
pounds and is just about equal to the guam
tity imported. Furthermore, the mohair
industry is looking up and seems to offer a
field for profitable investment.
A great many people who are familiar
with the word mohair and even with the
article itself would be puzzled to find an
answer if they were asked to tell just what
mohair is 1.-The word mohair, explains
the Agriculture Department bulletin, is
the technical name for the fibre of the
Angora goat which is used in the manu-
facture of fabrics. The word comes to
us through the Old French mohere, from
the Arabic mukhayyar, meaning mohair
cloth
So when it is said that the mohair in
dustry is looking up in this country it is
equivalent to saying that the Angora goat
industry is looking up. Now, the Angora
goat history in the United States is rather
an interesting one. 1t was during the
Administration of President Polk that it
began. The Sultan of Turkey had to do
with the introduction of the Angora goat
into this country. He requested President
Polk to recommend some one who would
experiment with cotton culture in Turkey
and President Polk suggested DR.. james
B. Davis of Columbia, S. c. Dr. Davis
accordingly was invited to Turkey by the
Sultan and went there, with the result that
his cotton experiments so pleased the Sultan
that when he returned to America he
brought home with him nine Angora goats,
the gift to him of the Sultan.
These goats were frequently exhibited
at fairs and attracted much attention. 1t
was thought at the time that they were
the Cashmere breed, from the fibre of which
the costly cashmere shawls are made.
This mistake proved to be unfortunate, for
everything that was known about the
Cashmeres was said for these goats, with
the final result that there was such disap-
pointment that it gave a serious setback to
the Angora goat industry at its very out
set. An Angora goat can no more serve
the purposes of Cashmere than the beef
breeds of cattle can serve the purposes Of
the finest jersey stock. Yet all the same
the Angora is very valuable animal aud
this early disappointment in the Sultan
gift had tendency to blind people for
long time TO the fact.
In 1853 the Davis flock Of goats, con-
sisting of seven does and two bucks, was
purchased by Col Richard Peters of At
lanta, Ga, with the exception of one owned
by Col Wade Hampton of South Carolina
and one by Mr.. Davenport Of Virginia and
one by Mr.. Osborne of New York Later
Col. Peters imported others, and although
they did not prove satisfactory he is never
theless regarded as the real founder of the
Angora goat industry in this country.
His first importation was followed by
Others up TO as late as 1876 when the Sultan
became alarmed at what he fancied was
the development of an industry which
threatened the same line in Turkey. lu
1876 he issued an edict absolutely prohibit
ing the expectation Of Angoras and this
edict is still in force. Notwithstanding
the edict DR.. W. c. Bailey of San Jose,
CAL, went to Asia Minor early in the pres
ent year and succeeded in shipping four
goats, which arrived in New York in April
last and after passing Quarantine were
started for their California home on May g.
From these importations, supplemented
by few goats brought from South Africa,
have come all the herds that now are found
in nearly every State in the Union At
the close Of the Civil War about all the
goats of the Angora breed that remained
in the country were in the Southwestern
States and Territories, principally in Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Within the last few years they have gone
into Oregon in large numbers, and quite
recently several thousand have been taken
into Iowa and Missouri There is now
manifested an interest in the animal such
as was never known before since its arrival
away back in President Polk time and il
is believed that this interest viii result,
and that, before very long, in establishing
permanently an industry which will extend
to every part Of the country.
The most important product of the An
CORA goat is the long, silky, wavy fleece,
used either pure or in connection with wool,
silk or linen in variety of fabrics for house
furnishings and women's goods, brilhan-
tines, Innings, braid, pushes, astrakhan
cloth, furniture coverings and variety Of
other materials. The fine fabric called
camel hair is also of the best mohair, and
not from the camel, as would be supposed
from the name. ''Chamar is the Arabic
word for camel and the Arabs also call the
Angora goat the chamal.
There is market for all the mohair pro-
duced in the country, and, in fact, greater
demand from the mills than can be sup
Piled Two mills in Maine used $40, 600
pounds of domestic mohair in 1899 and
had to 10 abroad for 400, 900 pounds more.
But it is not merely for its fleece that
the Angora goat is valuable. Its meat is
Of excellent favor and very nutritious,
while as clearer of undiscovered ground
it has no equal. 1t has the true goat APP
petite and will eat next to anything in the
way of underbrush 1t is lis popularity,
too, that it eats kinds of vegetation, even
including weeds, which other stock avoid,
and avoids those kinds which other stock
prefer 1t win desert the finest clover and
blue grass for fine layout of weeds and
general vegetable rubbish and refuse.
In those localities where valuable land is
completely subdued by brush the Angora
is considered of more value for the purpose
of cleaning than for either its fleece or its
meat. 1t is said that in Oregon. where
Cinnamon have been paid as much as $50
an acre for cleaning off brush, goats have
done the work even better. Sprouts will
spring up behind man $ work of clearing
but goats keep them down until they cease
to appear.
The beneficial effect of the goats is not
all in the clearing of the land of brush.
In many parts of the country nutritious
grasses came in after the goats have done
their work The final result is that goats
put underbrush- covered land into condition
for cultivation, and actually go farther by
oo1vorfsno, a uyildarn acS into a Oood nastura