ANGORA GOATS 421 



quality by the clean-cut features possessed. There should be 

 no indication of coarseness about the muzzle or shoulders. 

 The fleece is a reliable guide to general quality. A close, 

 compact fleece, soft to the touch and with tightly twisted 

 spirals indicates quality development. A bright, lustrous 

 fleece, free from kemp and a pink, healthy skin, characterize 

 these animals as having desirable breeding qualities. 



Fleece.— The fleece should be dense and cover the entire 

 body uniformly. Special emphasis should be placed on the 

 belly covering. The annual growth should not be less than 

 ten inches. The density should be such that an average- 

 sized Angora will shear from three to five pounds. The 

 fleece should hang in wringlets or spirals tightly twisted up 

 to the skin. Loose, wavy hair is objectionable as it indi- 

 cates coarseness throughout. The fleece should be bright 

 and lustrous, having great tensile strength and freedom from 

 kemp or lead-colored hair. This depreciates the value of 

 the fleece regardless of its quality otherwise. Formerly it was 

 thought impossible to breed out these undesirable qualities 

 but recent improvements disprove the idea. 



The fleece of the Angora, known as mohair from a com- 

 mercial point of view, differs from the wool in sheep in 

 not having exterior scales and felting characteristics. The 

 mohair covers an undergrowth of hair which is technically 

 known as kemp. Mohair is lustrous and white, at times 

 attaining a length of sixteen to eighteen inches. Its value is 

 determined by the length, density, fineness and condition. 

 Emphasis should be placed on these characteristics as well as 

 on uniformity of covering and freedom from kemp or other 

 foreign matter. The fleece should extend from the base of the 

 horns, completely encircling the neck, and thence back over 

 the body, covering the body proper, arm pits, belly and legs. 

 Angoras which have been graded up by using a pure-bred 

 sire on common goats are frequently bare over the belly, 

 in the arm pits, on the legs, and have an inferior quality of 

 mohair. 



Breed and Sex Characteristics. — The breed is character- 

 ized by the possession of horns, both in males and females, 

 the characteristic fleece known as mohair, and the absence of 



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