DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



NUMBER OF GOATS PER ACRE. 



There are millions of acres unsuitable for cultivation on which there is no object 

 in killing the brush. On this class of land Angoras can be pastured year after year, 

 if the goats are not too thick on the ground. 



For cleaning up brush land for other agricultural purposes it will take from 

 three to five head per acre from two to four years. Xo hard-and-fast rule can be 

 given, as the character of brush land varies. 



POISONOUS PLANTS. 



It has been said that Angoras can eat all kinds of poisonous plants. It is true 

 that they can do this without ill effects in many cases. The reason is that they have 

 the habit of browsing a little bit here and another there, so that the quantity eaten 

 <!' any one plant is small. There are records, however, of hungry goats turned on 

 to a patch of laurel being poisoned. 



Large greenbriers are objectionable, in that goats sometimes get caught by the 

 fleece, becoming entangled in the strong thorns and are unable to get free. 



MOHAIR. 



Mohair is the fine, long, outer coat of the Angora ; but there is sometimes more 

 or less of a coarse hair called kemp. Kemp is similar to the hair on the common 

 streless and will not take the dye like mohair. It has to be combed 

 out before spinning, and hence depreciates the value of a fleece in proportion to the 

 quantity present. The average shrinkage from this cause in the United States is 

 about 15 per cent. The purest-blooded Angoras have little or no kemp in their 

 fleece. The ideal fleece should possess length, fineness, lustre, strength of fibre, 

 freedom from kemp. and should be closely curled. 



The fleece from a first cross between an Angora buck and a common nanny 

 produces a very poor fleece. The fleece of the second cross is better, and that of 

 the fourth and fifth crosses very good, provided first-class bucks are used. 



WEIGHT OF FLEECE AND PRICE PEB POUND. 



C. P. Bailey, of California, says : " Half-bred goats scarcely shear enough to 

 pay for shearing; %-bred goats shear 1 to l ] / lb.. worth 15 to 20 cents; %-bred goats 

 >lit-ar 2 to 3 lb.. worth (1915) 20 to 30 cents; 15/16-bred goats shear 3 to 5 lb.. worth 



40 cents per pound." 



The average Oregon fleece is perhaps the heaviest in the States, and is about 



lb. in weight. It is also of the best quality, longer in staple, and brings a much 

 higher price than those from the Southern States, where the goats are often sheared 

 twice a year. The mohair from Polk County, Oregon, has sold for from 42 to 55 

 flits per pound for the past few years. The Northwest Angora Goat Association 

 reiKirts an average cash production of about $1.75 per head. A twelve-months' 

 growth of fleece averages about 10 inches in length, but superior flocks may produce 

 a I."- or 20-inch staple in a year. 



The fleece of " Romeo," a prize-winning buck, weighed 18 lb.. measured over 20 

 inches in length, and sold for ?115. but this is a very exceptional case. 



The best mohair comes from the kids, the young wethers, and the does. As the 

 animal becomes aged the fleece becomes coarser. 



The price of mohair has been steadily rising of late years. This is partly due 

 to increasing quality, but mostly to new uses being found for mohair. 



I'.S.A. MOHAIR PRICES, MARCH. 1915. 

 Best combing ........................................ 36c. to 3Sc. 



Good combing . . ................... .................. 34c. to 35c. 



Ordinary combing ................................... 30c. to 32c. 



Best carding ........................................ 33c. to 34c. 



Good carding ....................................... 2Sc. to 30c. 



Ordinary carding .................................... 25c to 26c. 



