19 



ON THE ANGORA GOAT. 



By J. Swan, M.H.A. 



[Bead 14>th April, 1874.] 



Since I had the honor of addressing the Fellows of this 

 Society, in the session of 1873, upon the subject of Angora 

 Goat breeding, a paper has been published among the pro- 

 ceedings of the Victorian Zoological Society, treating this 

 question so ably, that I find a difficulty in adding anything to 

 it. 



The writer, Mr. Samuel Wilson, has had exceptional oppor- 

 tunities of observation, and he has adopted a most convenient 

 mode of tabulating the results of his experience and of his 

 calculations. 



When I first introduced this subject to your notice, my 

 object was to exhibit, by the aid of specimen skins, the 

 gradations by which a marketable Angora fleece can be 

 attained, starting from the first cross between the Angora and 

 the worthless common goat. 



Angora hair of the best quality is worth 3s. to 4s. per lb. ; 

 the average annual yield, 4 lbs., or say 14s. per head. 



There is on the table a sample from the fleece of a pure 

 goat, the property of Mr. Charles Clark, late of Ellinthorp. 

 This animal carried 8 lb. 10 oz. of washed hair, which sold in 

 London at 2s. 9d. per lb., the reason for the low price being 

 the small quantity offered for sale. On the same occasion 

 Mr. Clark sent hair from half and three-quarter bred goats, 

 which was valued at about 9d. and Is. 6d. respectively. 



The peculiarity of the Angora Goat consists in the character 

 of its fleece. Nature provides all animals with clothing 

 exactly suited to the climate and circumstances under which 

 she intended them to live. For this purpose their skins are 

 supplied with a covering of hair or fur, or a combination of the 

 two. In warm climates the covering is light and cool, while 

 in colder regions a warmer and more furry clothing is bestowed. 

 The opossums and kangaroos of Tasmania, for example, 

 have much thicker fur than those of Australia. Men have 

 taken advantage of this natural arrangement, and after re- 

 claiming various wild animals have cultivated those attributes 

 which suited their own requirements. 



All goats in this climate will be found on careful inspection 

 to bear a small quantity of silky hair near the skin, completely 

 hidden from casual observation, by the coarse outward hair. 

 This inner hair may be obtained in small quantities by 

 combing. 



The Angora raised in a climate peculiarly fitted for the pro- 

 duction of this silky hair, has been bred with a view to its 



