38 NOTES ON ANGORA GOAT FARMING. 



whicli is rougli feed very suitable for goats, and it may be 

 rented from the Crown for =£20 per annum on a 14 years' 

 lease. Sheep cannot be kept there as the " lobelia " or 

 poisonous tare of King's Island abounds and invariably 

 proves fatal. The last attempt at stocking this island of 

 which I have any knowledge was in 1882, when 600 owes- 

 were placed there as an experiment, of which only 30 

 survived in about 6 months' time. The same plant has 

 proved most disastrous to the efforts made to depasture 

 sheep on King's Island, and if my conviction as to the 

 immunity of the goat from its evil effects prove correct — and 

 at least an inexpensive trial might be made— there is 

 practically unlimited scope for many years to come in the 

 unstocked islandi of the Straits for the development of goat 

 farming. 



On the coast in various parts of the colony there are large 

 heath -covered plains which may be similarly utilised, and 

 experience might show that even the much-abused button 

 rush country can be turned to account. Perhaps the 

 energetic gentleman who has obtained the lease of Maria 

 Island from the Grovernment may be induced to set apart the 

 southern end as a goat farm ; the ground is poor, can 

 maintain only few sheep, but has considerable capabilities as. 

 pasturage for the more active animals which feed principally 

 by browsing. 



The Tasmanian Stock Regulations at present in force 

 absolutely prohibit the importation of goats from any place 

 outside the Australasian colonies, but there are, no doubt, 

 some perfectly pure bred Angoras to be secured in Victoria, 

 !New South Wales or South Australia, where small flocks are 

 maintained. The common goat ewes are not difficult ta 

 obtain. 



A certain amount of surplus stock must accumulate until 

 after the third or fourth cross, when the hair of all should be 

 of nearly equal value. The skins of such half-bred or three-- 

 quarter-bred " kapatas " or wethers as are killed for meat 

 will be found for tanning purposes of far greater value than 

 sheepskins, the leather being substantial and of attractive 

 appearance. When the goats are killed carrying a medium 

 length of fleece the skins make excellent and most ornamental 

 mats, whether dyed or left of their natural colour, and find 

 purchasers at all prices up to .£1 each. 



Goats have much more intelligence than sheep, are easily 

 trained, and the employment of "voorboks" or leaders, kapatas 

 of the common breed — chosen for size and strength — is 

 infinitely better than to attempt working a flock with dogs. 

 These leaders are considered indispensable in South Africa, 

 they march in the van on making for the feeding ground in 

 the morning, and lead the way home at night. As decoys 



