California Agriculturist, and Live Stock Journal 



more the greatest part of the fleeces ■will be 

 counted as first quality. Mr. Bailey says 

 that the three-fourths and seven-eighths An- 

 gora blood with the common goat mil make 

 "shorts" fleeces, a few seven-eighths will 

 make second quality, and the fourth cross, 

 fifteen-sixteenths, will nearly all make first 

 and second quality, while the fifth and above 

 crosses will be counted as first quality fleeces. 



Mr. Bailey sells a good many high grades 

 every year, and is not breeding so much to 

 sell the fleece as to meet the demand for the 

 goats themselves. 



Mr. Gilmore, of El Dorado, sent his last 

 year's clip to Messx-s. Hall & Turner, James- 

 town, New York, and got a return of 85 cents 

 for first quality fleece. Mr. Bailey has ship- 

 ped his this year's clip to Jamestown, and 

 expects a much better price than for last sea- 

 son's clip. 



The comparative value of sheep and goats' 

 fleece is worth noticing. Mr. B. assures us 

 that there are now, and have been sold in 

 San Francisco this year, some 6,000,000 lbs 

 of sheep wool, at 10 to 16 cents, costs of 

 freight to be deducted. There are now some 

 7,000 high grades and pure Angora goats on 

 this coast. The fleeces will average '2J^ lbs 

 to the head, or 17,500 lbs of mohair, worth at 

 least 80 cents per pound, or about $2 00 per 

 head annually, on an average, at present low 

 prices. 



Some parties are talking of shearing the 

 Angora goats twice a year, as is the custom in 

 this State to shear fine-wool sheep. Mr. Bai- 

 ley thinks it will be better to shear but 

 once a year, but advises feeding the goats 

 when pasture gets short and poor, and then 

 the fleece will be of a uniform strength and 

 texture, and be long, lustrous and much more 

 valuable than shorter fleeces. 



At any rate, the Angora goat will hold its 

 own in our climate, and our best breeders de- 

 clare that it is constantly improving. The 

 probability is that it is capable of being vastly 

 improved; and, taken from the half-civilized 

 country of its nativity and placed upon our 

 pastures and under the careful breeding of 

 enlightened and enterprising Americans, it 

 will not be many years before we can ship 

 specimens of Angoras back to their native 

 country that will "astonish the natives." 



Oregon is proving to be a fine climate for 

 these goats, and her pastures, green longer 

 than ours, may give her even an advantage 

 over California. Mr. Bailey sold 300 goats to 

 go to Oregon last faU, and has reports of the 

 most favorable character from them. 



The Sheep of Spain. — The following, 

 translated from Le Joivrnal d' Agriculiare pra- 

 iique, seems to imply that the Merino is not 

 so mxich of a favorite on its "native heath" 

 as in other parts of Europe or the United 

 States. If the Merinos described below are 

 a fair type of the fine-wool flocks of the mod- 

 ern Spaniard, says the National Live Stock 

 Journal, they but furnish additional evi- 

 dence of the indolence and decay of that once 

 enterprising people. The standard of the 

 noble flocks from which the importations, 

 during the early years of this century, were 

 made, was certainly far above that here por- 

 trayed, though considerably below what has 



resulted from the energy and skill of Ameri- 

 can breeders, as now represented in the dis- 

 tinctive family known as "American Me- 

 rinos": 



The breeds of sheep in the north of Spain 

 form three groups, perfectly distinct, and 

 characterized — first, by form; secondly, and 

 principally, by their fleeces. These three 

 types are designated in their native country 

 under the names cf Merino, Churra and 

 Lacha. 



First — The Merinos, or fine wools. The 

 Merino race, in Navarre, resembles somewhat 

 the type which is usually found in France 

 and other countries of Europe, under the 

 same name. Small in size, rather pot-bellied, 

 and altogether presenting a sorry appearance, 

 the only valuable feature about them is their 

 wool. 'This is short, frizzled, fine and knotty. 

 This race has, of late years, lost much of its 

 relative value, even in Spain. Raised prin- 

 cipally in Estramadura, New Castile and So- 

 ria, it forms the major part of the migratory 

 flocks; nevertheless, this race is now less ap- 

 preciated in the north than in the west of the 

 peninsula. Increasing slowly, yielding only 

 a medium quality of mutton, they are not 

 even profitable for their wool, which, though 

 exceedingly fine, is too little in quantity to 

 make up for the other inferior qualities; con- 

 sequently this race is very little noticed in the 

 fairs and other agricultural exhibitions; the 

 highest prizes being given to the other races, 

 which are usually much better represented. 



Second. — The Chiirra race, or curly wools. 

 They are much more numerous in Navarre, 

 and infinitely more esteemed than the pre- 

 ceding race. They are much stronger and 

 taller, wide in the shoulders, and closely built 

 in the hind quarters. The wool is of medium 

 length, curly and rather coarse. They are 

 held in high estimation for the fine quality of 

 their mutton. 



Third.— The Lacha breed, or long wool. 

 The distinguishing marks of this breed are 

 medium hight, larger in the hind quarters 

 thau the preceding race, a fine head, black 

 sometimes, small horns and frequently with- 

 out any. This race is particularly remarkable 

 for the great length of its wool, which some- 

 times measures 30, 35, and even 40 centi- 

 metres (12, 14 and IG inches), hanging fre- 

 quently to the ground, and giving to the 

 animal a very singular aspect, very much 

 resembling the llama. This curious race lives 

 upon the southern slope of the Pyrennes, to 

 the north of Navarre, and principally in the 

 districts of Irun and Valcarlos. It Uves con- 

 stantly out of doors, night as well as day, 

 either in sunshine or shade, remaining, with- 

 out inconvenience, exposed for weeks at a 

 time to constant rain, which slips off from 

 their thick fleeces without hurting them in 

 the least. They are never fed, except when 

 the snow covers the ground, and then only a 

 little straw and dry leaves, which serves to 

 sustain them till the snow disappears. Some 

 shepherds, during the lambing season only, 

 place their flocks under shelter. Their mut- 

 ton is reckoned a little less valuable than that 

 of the Churra race, but is nevertheless of good 

 quality. Their fine fleeces are very valuable, 

 and they supply the greater par; used in the 

 fabrication of the famous Valentij n cloaks. 

 It is remarkable that this race, to which its 

 long wool gives such a characteristic aspect, 

 although living in the same manner as other 

 races, is not subject to so many diseases, and 

 especially thoso which so often decimate the 

 other Spanish races. 



Inteokity. — Who ever possessed it that did 

 not derive untold advantage from it? It is 

 better than riches, it is of more value than 

 "diamonds and all precious stones;" and yet 

 every man may possess it. The poorest may 

 have it, and no power on earth can wrest it 

 from them. Young men, prize integrity of 

 character above all earthly gifts. 



Dark ages — The ladies. 



Principles Governing the Transmis- 

 sion of Characteristics by 

 the Sexes. 



B — 



|T has been advanced by some breeders 



that the male transmitted certain cliarac- 



r ters mainly relating to the exterior of the 



" animal, while the female transmitted 

 characters relating to the interior. And there 

 are many cases which seem to admit of such a 

 theory. The color of the cock is usually 

 transmitted to his offspring; the ram trans- 

 mits his peculiarities of horns and fleece, and 

 the buli the presence or absence of horns. 

 These facts, for such they seem to be, can, 

 however, be explained equally well in an- 

 other way. 



If we cross a number of varieties, we find 

 that instead of the offspring always showing 

 a blending of the characters of both parents, 

 in many cases the young animal or plant more 

 nearly resembles the one parent than the 

 other ; that is, one parent has transmitted more 

 characters than the other, or has transmitted 

 them with more force. 



Thus, when crossing the Short-horn bull 

 upon the native cow, the grade oflspring is 

 more of a Short-horn in its characteristics 

 than it is a native. We say, in this case, that 

 the Short-horn bull is prepotent, and to this 

 power of transmission we apply the term pre- 

 potency. Now, prepotency may belong to 

 either parent, in fact, it may belong to both 

 parents. The sire may be preijotent, so far 

 as certain characters go, but the dam may 

 be prepotent in other characters. Now, this 

 prepotency tends to give uniformity or fixed- 

 ness to a race or breed. Darwin makes the 

 observation that in certain families the effect 

 of the prepotency of some ancestor is seen in 

 some distinctive character. He says, " It 

 would appear that in certain famiUes some 

 one ancestor, and after him others in the same 

 family, must have had great power in trans- 

 mitting their likeness through the male line; 

 for we cannot otherwise understand how the 

 same features should be so often transmitted 

 after marriages with various females, as has 

 been the case with the Austrian emperors, and 

 as formerly occurred in certain Koman fami- 

 lies with their mental qualities. The famous 

 bull Favorite is ibeUeved to have had a pre- 

 potent influence upon the Short-horn race. 

 It has always been observed with English 

 racers that certain mares have generally trans- 

 mitted their own character, whilst others of 

 equally pure blood have allowed the character 

 of the sire to prevail." Now, this prepotency 

 may come into action independently of any 

 supposed influence of long breeding — so that 

 it cannot be refen-ed to habit, as some would 

 have It. Some of Darwin's examples .ire in- 

 teresting and instructive. In chapter four- 

 teen of his work on the variation of animals 

 and plants, he says: " The truth of the prin- 

 ciple of prepotency comes out more clearly 

 when certain races are crossed. The improved 

 Short-honi, notwithstanding that the breed 

 is comparatively a modern race, are generally 

 acknowledged to possess great power in im- 

 pressing their likeness on all other breeds, 

 and it is chiefly in consequence of this power 

 that they are so highly valued. Godine has 

 given a curious case of a goat-like breed of 

 sheep from Cape of Good Hope, a ram from 

 which produced oflspring htu-dly to be distin- 

 guished from himself when crossed with ewes 

 of twelve other breeds; but two of the half- 

 breed ewes, when put to a Merino ram, pro- 

 duced lambs closely resembling the Merino 

 breed." 



Here, in the first place, the goat-like ram 

 was prepotent, but his offspring, when mated 

 with such a strong breed as the Merinos, were 

 not able to transmit their characters. It is 

 also on record that of two races of French 



t^^^S- 



