THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



mon does, it is imperative to select white, short, 

 smooth-haired animals. We had one doe with 

 shaggy hair, and the fleeces of her progeny 

 up to the sixth generation were twice as heavy 

 with kemp as those of smooth, close-haired 

 does. The second and third generations will 

 appear almost perfect Angoras to a layman, 

 but when shearing time comes the amount of 

 kemp will shatter the delusion, as the relative 

 quantity of kemp and mohair, and the texture 

 and luster of the latter is the crucial point, 

 and proclaims the animal's ancestry. Up to 

 the third generation fleeces will possess little 

 value, but in the fourth generation mohair 

 should predominate, increasing and improv- 

 ing in quality with each succeeding genera- 

 tion if the herd is well managed. Sudden 

 changes of climate and food affect the tex- 

 ture, so these must be avoided as much as 

 possible by providing good houses, and mak- 

 ing the necessary changes of diet in spring 

 and fall very gradually. Except in the south- 

 ern part of the country, shearing is done in 



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