THE GOAT. 227 



Western Pennsylvania, to whom I sold a small flock, writes me that his goats are about a 

 third heavier than thej were, and that he has uo more fear of raising theur than pigs.' 



Martin Deal, of Bucyrus, Ohio, lias a fine flock, containing several beautiful 

 and valuable imported animals direct from Asia. This flock, from its fineness 

 and beautv, has attracted much attention and admiration. Mr. Deal proposes 

 to import and breed them to a considerable extent, so sanguine are he and his 

 friends of their value and success. 



George "VV. Ogden, of Montgomery, Ohio, possesses a fine flock, and has been 

 quite successful in breeding and crossing these goats with the common goats, 

 aaid has reported his success through the "Ohio Farmer." 



Mr. H Baldwin, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has a fine flock, mostly 

 raised upon his own farm, near the city. 



Thomas Kendrick, of Chicago, Illinois, has experimented considerably and 

 quite successfully in raising these goats upon the lake shore and the prairies 

 of Illinois, amply proving that they will succeed in those localities without de- 

 terioration. These brief statements of the results of past experiments evidence 

 encouraging progress in the development of this important interest, and cer- 

 tainly justify strong expectations of ultimate success. 



We add a few extracts from some of the various and valuable published re- 

 ports made upon this subject, showing the interest it has attracted from time to 

 time. The following report on Cashmere goats was made at the exhibition of 

 the United States Agricultural Society, held at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 

 1856, at which a special premium of $100 was awarded to R. Peters, of 

 Georgia : 



" They have become known as Cashmere goats from the pure white color, and fineness of. 

 their fleeces, and their undoubted eastern origin. The fleeces from the matured bucks weigh 

 fi'om six to seven pounds, those from the ewes from three to foin- pounds. The flesh of tlie 

 crosses is superior to most mutton, tender and delicious, making them a desirable acquisition 

 to our food-producing animals. 



" The ease with which they are kept, living as they do on weeds, briers, browse, and other 

 c-oarse herbage, fits them for many portions of our country where sheep cannot be sustained 

 to advantage, while their ability and disposition to defend themselves against dogs evidence 

 a value peculiar to this race. They are free from all diseases to which sheep are liable, hardy 

 and prolific, and experience has proven that they readily adapt themselves to all portions of 

 the United States. The bucks breed readily with the common goats, the second cross yield- 

 ing a fleece of practical utility, whilst the fourth is but little inferior to that of the pure breed. 



"A flock of valuable wool-bearing goats can be raised in a few years by using grade 

 bucks." 



Here is an extract from a report pf the special committee appointed by the 

 "American Institute," at then- exhibition in New York city, in 1855 : 



"They have examined with much interest the fleece submitted to them, and as well from 

 their own observations as from the results of a microscopic examination made and certified to 

 by several gentlemen of scientific eminence well known to them, are convinced that the fibre 

 of these fleeces is identical in character, and fully equal in value, to that from which tlie 

 highly prized Cashmere shawls are made. The fleeces on exhibition, and now under exami- 

 nation, amount to from four to eight pounds each. 



"The enterprise exhibited by the introduction of these animals into this coimtry, and their 

 pwopagatiou, cannot be too highly regaided. 



" First. These animals are long-lived, such being the case with the whole goat race. 



*' Second. They are prolific, breeding at the age of one year, with a period of gestation of 

 aibout five months, and yielding twins almost universally alter the first birth. 



" Third. They are hardy, experience having shown that they will thrive well in oiur cli- 

 mate from Georgia to New England, and that they reqiiire coarse and cheap food — as *he 

 inferior grasses, briers, bushes, &c. — such as is refused by other grazing animals. 



^'■Fourth. They produce a fleece of from four to eight pounds, valued at from $6 to $3 per 

 poimd in France, or Paisley, Scotland, for the manufacture of those high-priced shawls. 

 These fleeces can be produced, when the animals become numerous, at a less cost than the 

 conmion sheep's wool, and far superior to it. 



"Another fact of great practical value to our agiicultural interests is the facility with which 

 the Cashmere goats breed with the coiwmon goata of oui" country. 



