76 The 'Book of the Goat. 



The first attempt was made here in 1857, when a few 

 pure-bred rams were introduced and crossed, for want of 

 a sufficient number of pure ewes, with the indigenous Cape 

 goat.* These half-breeds produced a coarse kind 

 of mohair, which, although fit for little else than stuffing 

 saddles, proved sufficiently saleable to encourage the 

 experiment on a larger scale, and a further importation 

 from Asia Minor was accordingly undertaken. This 

 second venture, consisting of six rams and one ewe, met 

 with marked success ; the animals were offered for sale 

 by auction, and realised high prices, one ram fetching 

 100 and another ,117. Their progeny, however, soon 

 became scattered far and wide, and, being crossed 

 with native goats without proper judgment, the purity of 

 the breed greatly deteriorated. Later importations 

 greatly improved matters, which was clearly evidenced by 

 the higher prices obtained for the clips in the English 

 market. This circumstance encouraged Mr. J. B. Evans, 

 acting as manager to the Cape Stock Farming Company, 

 to undertake a journey into Asia Minor, and to penetrate 

 into the heart of the Angora breeding district, there to 

 select the finest stock that could be obtained for money. 

 The result of his purchase has already been alluded to ; 

 but to show the superiority of these animals, and the high 

 value that was set upon them on the arrival of twenty 

 out of the original thirty head which he .succeeded in 

 landing at the Cape, I may mention that five of the rams 

 realised, when sold by auction, an aggregate of 1755, 

 their respective prices being .240, 270, 395, 4> 

 and ,450. The goat which attained the last remarkable 

 figure is the subject of the illustration on page 69, and this 

 being drawn from a photograph of the animal taken in 

 full fleece, just previous to its embarkation at Constant! - 



See "The Boer Goat of Cape Colony," page 65. 



