30 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Jan., 1902. 
flock of pure Angora goats. This flock was established in 1870, in which year 
Mr. Maurice instructed an expert living at Constantinople to procure him a 
number of the best Angora goats obtainable. The agent accordingly purchased 
the goats, and they were landed in South Australia, at the total cost of £21 5s. — 
per head. The animals, which were obtained in Asia Minor, formed the 
nucleus of the well-known Castambul flock. There was also a subsequent 
‘importation, and in 1875 Mr. Maurice bought Mr. W. F. Haigh’s entire Port 
Lincoln. flock of 106 for £558 10s. These were sent out by Sir Titus Salt. 
Ever since its introduction Mr. Clement Sabine has had entire charge of the 
flock, and has taken great pains to keep it pure. It was, in fact, the only pure- 
bred flock of any size in the colony, and its dispersal is a matter for consider- 
able regret, both on account of the picturesqueness of the animal and its 
usefulness and its suitability for our climate. In the north, Angoras have been 
crossed with the common goat, and in 1875 the crossbred hair realised 2s. 43d. 
per Ib. net, the pure mohair at that time fetching 2s. 11d. per lb.: 
Since then the price has receded considerably, until last year it was 
1s. 23d. per lb. The crossbreds mentioned above were running at Pekina, and 
were boiled down some years ago, their tallow realising £2 15s. a ton more than 
any other tallow from South Australia ever fetched in London. The weight of 
mohair grown varies considerably, according to the feed, but on bush country 
the does will yield from 4 to 61b., and the bucks from 6 to 8 Ib. Besides this 
the skins are’very valuable, and the meat is said to be excellent, and free from 
any strong taste. 
In the United States the value of the industry has also been appreciated. 
The first importation of Angoras to that country was made in 1848, and up to 
1880, when the Sultan’s edict prevented the further exportation from Turkey, 
400 had been received. In 1899, after nineteen years of breeding, there were 
(estimated) 247,775 pure Angoras in the United States. 
In Cape Colony alone it is estimated that there are 4,000,000 Angoras, and 
the export of mohair last year (1900) was 9,000,000 lb., of the value of 
£450,000. In 1899 the export was 12,800,000 lb., of the value of £640,000 ; 
and in 1897 it was 12,100,000 Ib., of the value of ‘£676,644—the discrepancy 
between bulk and value in the two years last quoted being accountable absent 
market fluctuations. Surely those figures will make people in this State think. 
Up to 1872 in Cape Colony the mohair industry was but a very small thing. 
In 1861 the export was 784 lb., of the value of £61; and in ten years the 
figures advanced to 867,861 lb., and £58,823. The next decade saw a jump to 
an export value of £253,128; and in 1892 the figures were 10,516,887 lb., and 
£373,810. 
In Queensland, also, something has been done in this matter. Mr. Charles 
Clark brought over to Queensland from Tasmania a number of Angoras, but 
they did not do well at Talgai, when run in flocks on the grass, but on bushes 
they prospered. Mr. Willis, of Springsure, has had a flock for some years, and. 
gets a good price for his mohair. At Moura, near Banana, there is also a small 
flock. In the Kilkivan district there is a grade flock numbering about 400, 
including kids, and the skins range in prices from 5s. to £1. The owner of the 
flock says: “ We have as yet not sold any of the mohair. . . . They (the 
goats) are very easily kept, and very healthy. Whilst the cattle were dying 
with ticks and redwater, the goats were feeding all around them, and were not 
in the least affected, nor did we ever find a tick on them. The flesh of the 
Angora is superior to mutton, being firmer in the grain, and that of the kids is 
a great delicacy.” He also says: “If there were a law for the protection of 
the Angora, I would get a purebred buck, and thus improve the fleece, making 
it of value for export, the lower grades not being of much value.” 
A Springsure gentleman wrote recently: “ We have had Angora goats 
now for some years, and found they did well all through the droughts, when the 
sheep died off in thousands, and when—at that time the ewes were unable 
to rear a single lamb—our children often had two lambs being suckled on one 
goat. At the second cross they have very good fleeces—viz., when the common 
goat is crossed with the purebred buck.” 
