Mammal Study 



279 



The Mohair Goats — There are two noted breeds of goats whose hair is 

 used extensively for weaving into fabrics; one of these is the Cashmere 

 and the other the Angora. The Cashmere goat has long, straight, silky 

 hair for an outside coat and has a winter under-coat of very delicate wool. 

 There are not more than two or three ounces of this wool upon one goat, 

 and this is made into the famous Cashmere shawls ; ten goats furnish 

 barely enough of this wool for one shawl. The Cashmere goats are grown 

 most largely in Thibet, and the wool is shipped from the high tableland to 

 the Valley of Cashmere, and is made into shawls. It requires the work of 

 several people for a year to produce one of these famous shawls. 



The Angora goat has a long, silky and very curly fleece. These goats 

 were first discovered in Angora, a city of Asia Minor south of the Black 

 Sea, and some 200 miles southeast from Constantinople. The Angora 

 goat is a beautiful and delicate animal, and furnishes most of the mohair, 

 which is made into the cloths known as mohair, alpaca, camel's hair and 

 many other fabrics. The Angora goat has been introduced into America, 

 in California, Texas, Arizona, and to some extent in the Middle West. It 

 promises to be a very profitable industry. (See Farmers' Bulletin No. 

 137, "The Angora Goat," United States Department of Agriculture.) 



The skins of goats are used extensively; morocco, gloves and many 

 other articles are made from them. In the Orient, the skin of the goat is 

 used as a bag in which to carry water and wine. 



References — American Animals, p. 55; Neighbors with Claws and 

 Hoofs, p. 190; Familiar Animals, pp. 169 and 183; Camp Fires of a 

 Naturalist, chapters VIII and XIII; Lives of Animals. 



Angora goat. 



Thompson, Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



