354 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



a series of years, by discarding from the flock stead- 

 ily the worst he ought in time to possess a flock 

 shearing from 4 to 6 pounds of mohair, worth about 

 45 cents per pound at the present writing. That 

 will pay well. A fleece of 2 to 3 pounds worth 20 

 cents per pound is discouraging. 



It takes time, however, to breed out the common 

 goat from the Angoras. To buy any large number 

 of practically pure-bred goats is impossible in Amer- 

 ica. The breeder must have patience, persistence 

 and the habit of extermination. 



Now what of management! Newly arrived goats 

 from the Southwest are tender and when turned on 

 cold eastern pastures may suffer considerably for a 

 time. They need a dry shed, open to the south. To 

 this they will come whenever it threatens rain. They 

 may be fed there some dry forage, clover hay or 

 whatever is available. It is not usual to feed them 

 grain, and much grain will cause the kids to be born 

 with small vitality. The fence restraining them may 

 be of woven wire and thus they are easily held in 

 bounds. They must not be confined to too small a 

 pasture else they will famish. Better let them take 

 their time to the brush extermination and make a 

 profit from them as you go along. They will feed 

 upon the leaves of almost every species of tree and 

 brush, if they can reach them. They will not do 

 much in the way of girdling trees, though they will 

 eat the bark from some varieties of trees. They 

 do not much relish hickory. Green briars are dan- 

 gerous because they sometimes catch and hold fast 



