BREEDING AND CARE OP SH3SP. 1057 



make a nuisance of one's self after the manner of Beara-^A 3illy, the 

 goat. What wonder, then, that it is hard for the goat famil)' to shake 

 off the reputation of 2,000 years, especially when that reputation is 

 sanctioned by the Holy Word. 



But there are goats and goats. The Angora is not a worthless vaga- 

 bond like his bearded cousin, who loafs about the streets, a cheap clown 

 making fun for small boys, an unspeakable "butter in," whose chief 

 delight is to "chew the rag;" on the contrary, he is an aristocrat, dig- 

 nified and decorous, a thing of beauty and a source of profit to his 

 owner. Moreover, he has an interesting history. 



Although born and reared in the mountainous regions about Angora, 

 a province 200 miles southeast of Constantinople, he is thoroughly at 

 home in any part of the world where fortune takes him. 



It was in 1846 that Dr. James B. Davis of Columbia, S. C, at the 

 request of the Sultan, was sent to Turkey by President Polk to make 

 experiments in the culture of cotton. So well pleased was the Sultan 

 with Mr. Davis and his work that, as an expression of his appreciation, 

 he presented him on his return to the United States with nine Royal 

 Angora goats. These were the progenitors of the present Angora goats 

 in this country. 



Uncle Sam, however, did not make much of the Sultan's hint, for 

 after the lapse of sixty years the total number of goats within the United 

 States does not exceed 500,000. This seems insignificant when com- 

 pared with 75,000,000, the estimated goat population of the world. 



XXVI. A Profitable Industry. 



No domestic animal, not even the reindeer, is more thoroughly adapted 

 CO man's use than the Angora goat; and yet for some reason the goat 

 industry has not taken root in this country. Everything seems favor- 

 able, the climate is admirable, and the food supply is abundant. The 

 slow progress made in the development of this industry is more than 

 likely due to a lack of information regarding the profits that can be de- 

 rived from the business. 



I have little doubt that the Golden Fleece that Jason went forth to 

 find was the fleece of the first Angora. For the fleece of the pure Angora 

 is neither wool nor hair, but a fibre with qualities distinctly its own — it 

 is the mohair of commerce. From it are made not only the plushes but 

 the finer fabrics of ladies' wear, such as crepons and brilliantines. The 

 fibre is from three to six inches long, and the annual clip averages about 

 six pounds. The market price for mohair runs from twenty to forty 

 cents per pound, the average in the United States being about thirty 



