The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-23
THE GOAT THAT JASON DROVE.

THE GOAT THAT JASON DROVE.
The first Angora goats ever brough
TO this country were Imported from
! Turkey by DR.. James b. Davis, of Co
lumbia, South Carolina. in 1S4s. Thre,
years later the flock was bought BY
Colonel Richard Peters, OF Atlanta
I with the exception of one that wa:
bought BY Colonel Wade Hampton, o,
South Carolina one by James Daven.
port, of Virginia, and one by William
| Osborne, of New York. South Caro-.
| lima has always been noted for taking
| the lead in important movements OF
one sort and another, as for example
the Secession movement, the fiftiett
anniversary of which fell on Tuesday
last, but it has not always kept peg
eing away at the things it has found.
The Angora goat, which Is now de-
clared by the Government experts at
Washington to be one of the most use
full of domestic animals and to have
been so classed for thousands of years,
was dropped by the State of Its origi-
nal American discovery and was not
again taken up until John II.
starln. an old steamboat owner
in New York. bought Folly Island
near Charleston and stocked 1t with
the creature whose back is covered
with gold-lined fleece and whose flesh
is fit for both kings and commoners
to eat. We do not know what became
of the .Angora goat that was brought
to Virginia tifty-seven years ago, but
it is not unlikely that he and all his
progeny We're stolen by the Yankees
who infested this State in the SOS.
However that may have been, there
is no reason why the cultivation of
this particular breed of goat should not
be again undertaken in Virginia. The
special goat expert of the Department.
of Agriculture. who has made an inti-
mate study OF his subject, says that
the usefulness Of this animal has been
manifested in number OF ways. for
example:
nishes some of the finest fabrics among
ladies goods, and is used in various
other manufactures; their habit of
browsing enables the farmer in the
wooded locality to use them to help
in subjugating the forest; their flesh
is exceedingly delicate and nutritious;
their milk is richer than cows milk;
their skins are used for leather: their
pelts make the neatest of rugs and
robes; few of them In a flock of
sheep are a protection against wolves
and dogs, and they are excellent pets
for children.
The soft undercoat of the Angora,
known as 'pashm," is combed out in
the spring, and sells for $50 to So
pound, each animal producing two to
four pounds. The Government author
ity says that the flesh of even the
present cross-bred animal is superior
to mutton, and that it is scarcely pos
sible to distinguish 1t from spring
lamb. If the animals are allowed to
browse, the meat gains gamey favor.
and is known as Angora venison.
a goat that will yield from three to
eight dollars worth of wool the year.
that is not a-'feared Of dogs, that chill
dren can play with safely, that tastes
when cooked. more like venison than
venison itself, that gives milk that is
far better than the milk of Pauline
Wayne is evidently the goat that yir-
gin'a should take pride In raising.
There is abundant range in this State
for this gift of the gods and instead OF
putting all our money in peanuts and
tobacco some of it should be invested
in the beautiful -Angora, which would
supply us with both food and drink
and clothing and aid in driving the
yellow dog off the reservation.