102 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1905 



Angoras for Pleasure and Profit 



By George E. Walsh 



LTHOUGH the Angora goat exhibits little 

 of the bellicose nature which characterizes 

 the common goat of the city squatter's cab- 

 bage patch, yet in lordly appearance and ma- 

 jestic mien the buck looks for all the world 

 as pugnacious as any four-footed beast. 

 Timidity is not an implied quality thereby; 

 in certain seasons and conditions an Angora buck is perfectly 

 capable of asserting his primitive rights, and even the meek- 

 eyed does and kids have powers for self-defense not fully ap- 

 preciated. But, as a rule, Angoras are gentle, affectionate 



An Angora Buck 



be made to the Angora, and whether the inclosure goes by 

 the name of pasture, park or pen, the results are practically 

 the same. On the farm a flock of Angoras reclaim and clear 

 wild, bushy land at little expense, and on the small country 

 place they graze upon pasture of weeds and bushes with 

 evident relish. The valuable fleece, meat and pelt bring to 

 the fancier a profit which adds materially to his income. 



Brushy pasture land or second-growth timber parks make 

 ideal locations for the Angora flocks. Low, swampy lands 

 are not so suitable for the animals as moderately elevated 

 regions. They are better investment than sheep for clearing 



A Flock of Nearly Two Thousand Angoras Photographed at Ward's Ranch Manor, Sullivan County, New York 



The Largest Flock in the East 



and susceptible, in a remarkable degree, to the gentle art of 

 petting. 



As exceptionally useful and beautiful ornaments for any 

 country estate, they are worthy of careful attention and 

 study. Unfortunately the embellished press accounts of their 

 early importation in this country, and the wonderful profits 

 they promised to yield to the slothful and lazy, created a 

 prejudice against them in many quarters. But now that the 

 boom has subsided, and the goats have become creditable 

 inhabitants of hundreds of our farms and country places, a 

 true appreciation of their worth is possible. 



All goats, of whatever breed and tribe, are nuisances 

 unless properly fenced in pasture fields. No exception should 



new ground. A one-hundred-acre inclosure of fair soil and 

 pasture will support upward of sixty to one hundred and 

 fifty does. If the flock is not properly nourished on such a 

 park or private inclosure, a little hay and grain fed at night 

 will equalize the food ration. 



A natural pasture or second-growth timber field fenced 

 with wire netting, three or four feet high, will accommodate 

 a flock of Angoras. The cost of inclosing ground with wire 

 netting averages $100 per mile, and with plain fencing wire 

 about $60. This includes posts placed firmly in the ground 

 every twenty to thirty feet, with a string of barbed wire on 

 top and wooden stays, one by two inches, to stiffen it, and 

 close netting that will keep the kids from crawling through 



