YVtm mm 9\ mwMk h^yc i,:,..,i fiM Hi life Go Class _ Book _ Copyright N°_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/manualofangorago01thom A MANUAL OF Angora Goat Raising WITH A CHAPTER ON MILCH GOATS. By GEORGE FAYETTE THOMPSON, M, S. Bureau of Animal Industry AUTHOR OP " Information Concerning the Angora Goat," " The Angora Goat," and " The Angora Goat Industry in 1901." Chicago, III., U. S. A : American Sheep Breeder Co. Press. 1903. THE LIBRARY OF CONFESS, Two Copies Received FEj 1903 n Copyright fcntry CLASS CX. XXo. No COPY B, Entered, according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1903, by the AMERICAN SHEEP BREEDER PRESS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. >TpO my father, Rev. R. S. Thompson, whose solicitude * for my welfare in youth has never been forgotten, whose Christian character has ever been my guide, and whose patient industry has ever been my inspiration, I dedicate this little work in deep affection. THE AUTHOR. PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT, The remarkable development of the Angora and mohair indus- try in this country during the last three years and the widespread demand for definite and reliable information concerning the breed- ing and raising of this class of goats and the production of mohair, emphasized by more than one hundred thousand letters of inquiry, a large number of which have come directly to the office of the American Sheep Breeder, have made apparent the desirability of and necessity for a manual or hand-book concise and cheap enough to be within the reach of all, and yet comprehensive enough to meet the wants of new beginners as well as veteran breeders. To meet this demand we are pleased to present this volume — "Angora Goat Raising and Milch Goats." The author, Prof. Geo. F. Thompson, the distinguished editor of the U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry, is the recognized authority in this country upon the subjects herein treated. The book is the result of years of painstaking study and research, and Ave offer it to the American public in the belief that it will meet a warm welcome and subserve the purpose for which the gifted author prepared it. The industries treated in these pages are yet in their infancy and manifestly have a great future. The demand for Angoras and mohair is far in excess of the supply and likely to remain so for many a year to come. We have many millions of acres of rough mountain, hill and brush land eminently suited to the goat industry, but unsuited to any other domestic use, that may be profitably devoted to the raising of Angoras and mohair, and until these are utilized, the mission of this book will not be wholly fulfilled. Coincident and coextensive with the Angora movement is a general awakening of interest in milch goats, especially in the towns and cities and among the leading physicians, hospitals and sanitariums. Our author gives an admi- rable summary of up-to-date information upon this subject, which we are sure will be received with marked approval. CONTENTS, chapter i. Page Origin and History of the Angora Goat 11 CHAPTER II. Description of the Angora Goat 30 CHAPTER III. Importers and Importations 36 CHAPTER IV. Number of Angora Goats and Production of Mohair. 49 CHAPTER V. Browsing and Pasturage 62 CHAPTER VI. Mohair and Mohair Manufactures 79 CHAPTER VII. The Meat, the Markets, and the Milk 96 CHAPTER VIII. Localities Adapted to Angora Goat Raising 101 CHAPTER IX. The Care of Angora Goats .*............... 117 CHAPTER X. Flock Management 135 CHAPTER XL Shearing, Shears, and Shedding .143 CHAPTER XII. Diseases and Other Enemies 153 CHAPTER XIII. The Skins and Their Uses . . . 164 CHAPTER XIV. Minor Features of Importance 167 CHAPTER XV. Milch Goats, 176 PREFACE, A wonderful interest has been manifested in the Angora goat industry during the last three years. Breeders and editors of live- stock papers have been overwhelmed with correspondence concern- ing these beautiful and useful animals. The Bureau of Animal Industry, burdened beyond anyone else probably with this corre- spondence, assigned to me the duty of preparing a bulletin on the subject. It was the purpose of that bulletin to answer all the inquiries that were made, and it met with a hearty reception every- where. That bulletin is now out of print. The demand, however, for a manual on goat raising is still very strong. Every day scores of farmers decide to investigate the industry with a view to engaging in it, and their first desire is for such information as may be found in this work. The information given herein is drawn from various sources — a thorough review of all literature on the subject, much correspondence with Angora goat men, personal acquaintance with nearly all of the leading Angora breeders in the United States, and some practical experience. The author desires to acknowledge here his obligations to persons and documents that have been helpful in the preparation of this volume. He is specially indebted to Mrs. Sallie Kussell Reeves, Dr. W. E. Griffith, and Charles M. Daugherty, and to many others, mentioned elsewhere, who have furnished photo- graphs. A list of the books which have proved very helpful, especially in the preparation of the chapter on "milch goats," is appended below. The Author. Die Ziegen und Kanincbenzucht. Von Dr. William Lobe. Pp. 80. Berlin, 1875. Die Ziegenzucht in Deutchland. Hire Mangel und Mittel zu ihrer Hu- bung. Von Peter Petersen. Pp. 78. Berlin, 1899. Leitfaden fur die Berbreitung, Pflege und rationelle Zucht der Ziege mit Verucksichtigung ihrer land und volkswirtschaftlichen Bedeu- tung. 2d part. Von. Fr. Dettweiler. Pp. 72. Darmstadt, 1896. PREFACE. Vii Die Hausziege, das Milchtier des kleinen Mannes, ihre Naturgeschichte, Geschichte, Rassen, Schlage, Nutzverwertung, Haltung, Pflege, Fiitterung and Zucht. Von Docent Dr. Ernst S. Ziirn. Pp. 72. Leipzig, 1901. Die Zeigenzucht. Krankheiten der Ziegen, deren Heilung und verhii- tung. Von A. v. Renesse. Pp. 37. Minister i. W., 1901. Die Ernahrung und Haltung der Ziege als Milchtier des Kleinen Mannes. 2d edition. Von Dr. G. Kloepfer. Pp. 62. Essen, 1896. Rind, Schaf, Ziege und Schwein. Von J. G. Obst. Pp. 41. Leipzig. Milch Goats and Their Management. By Bryan Hook. Pp. 115. London. La Chevre. Races, Elevage, Malaaies, Produits de la Chevrerie. Par Huart du Plessis. Paris. INTRODUCTION* So far as history enlightens us, the goat has always been one of the best-known domestic animals. How long he has been in disfavor simply because he was "nothing but a goaf and been the subject of every funny man's joke, we are unable to say. The oldest accounts show him to have been a most useful animal in the furnishings of hair for curtains, skins for clothing and tents and meat for the tribes, yet clown to this day he has been maligned beyond reason, and that, too, by those who have worn his skin as gloves and shoes and capes, his hair as the finest of furs and. ex- pensive dress goods, and eaten his flesh as delicious lamb. There has recently been an awakening in the United States, especially among those who are ever ready to welcome and to dig- nify any industry that is honorable and bids fair to pay dividends. And so it is that the Angora goats, the finest breed of the goat fam- ily, is now receiving the credit that has long been their due. His usefulness is manifested in various ways, as is shown in the several chapters of this volume. The fleece, technically called "mohair," furnishes some of the finest fabrics known among ladies' dress goods, as well as plushes, robes, rugs, etc. ; their habit of broAvsing admits of their being put to an economic use as brush destroyers, thus enabling the farmer to subjugate his brushwood with little or no aid from the ax; their flesh is exceedingly delicate and nutritious and it finds a ready market; the milk, though not so abundant as with the established milch breeds of goats, is richer than cow's milk, and approaches very closely human milk in qual- ity; their tanned skins are not suitable for shoe leather, owing to their peculiar texture, but good Work gloves and morocco for book binding are largely made from them; their pelts, when properly dressed, make rugs and robes of striking beauty and great utility; owing to their freedom from goat odor, so well known of common goats, and especially of their great attractiveness and docility, they make the very finest pets for children; a few of them among a flock of sheep are in a measure a protection to the sheep against the invasion of dogs ; their manure is noticeably helpful to the grass which springs up under them as they clear away the under- brush. These arc all subjects of varying degrees of importance, and will be discussed quite fully in this little volume. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Pages Geo. F. Thompson (portrait) Frontispiece Angoras in Asia Minor 16 Angoras on Sage Brush in Asia Minor 16 Pack Train on Skaria River ° • • • 17 Davis Importation 21, 23 Kemble Brothers' "Aztec" 33 Jno. S. Harris (portrait) 41 Dr. W. C. Bailey (portrait) 45 F. O. Landrum 47 Wm. J. Cohill (the boy breeder) 51 N. A. Gwin 53 C. P. Bailey & Sons 57 California Angoras 61 Goats on Brushwood ". 65 D. C. Taylor & Son 67 R. C. Johnson 71 Geo. H. Baldwin 73 Mrs. M. Armer 75 Geo. B. Goodall (portrait) 85 American Mohair 89 Turkish Mohair 93 E. D. Ludlow & Co 107 W. S. Prickett Ill Place & Hoover 115 Jas. A. Moberley 119, 123, 129 The Hughes Separating Bridge 127 Philo Ogden 137 Age Shown by the Teeth 139 Allen Shearing Machine 145 Ludlow Combination Shearing Table 146, 147, 148 Flexible Shaft Shearing Machine ... 149 Cooper Shearing Machine 151 African Goats 166, 175 Mrs. Edward Roby (portrait) 178 Mrs. Edward Roby's Milch Goats 181 Common Milch Goat of Queensland, Australia 183 Hornless Buck and Starkenburger Buck 187 Schwarzenburg-Guggisberger Doe and Hinterwalder Doe 191 Goat of Malaga, Spain, and Goat of Granada, Spain 195 Maltese Goat and Nubian Goat 199 Maltese Goat 203 Saanen Buck and Saanen Doe 207 Swiss Goat 215 Spanish Maltese Buck 219 Spanish Maltese Doe and Hornless Spanish Maltese Doe 221 A MANUAL OF ANGORA GOAT RAISING. CHAPTER L ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE ANGORA GOAT. Historical Scope of this Volume. Whoever would undertake at this time to add anything con- cerning the origin and history of the Angora goat to that which has been published by S. C. Cronwright Schreiner, 1 or in- deed attempt to improve upon his facts, will be confronted with a task well nigh impossible. The purpose of the writer hereof is to present to the Angora goat raisers a manual for every-day use, rather than a discussion of a history that is at best quite nebulous, and therefore he will content himself with such a brief historical survey as will logically lead to a proper consideration of the goat itself and its adaptability to the varying conditions of the climate and ihe soil of our country. Breeders generally are busy men and they will probably extend a more generous welcome to this volume if it condenses history and hastens on to measures of more im- portance. No thought is in mind of belittling the value of history to the student of any art or science, but an author should not add cost and inconvenience to a manual by giving a history in much detail of the subject treated. Origin of tlie Angora Goat. There are about ten species of wild goats, according to natural- ists, and all of them, except possibly the Eocky Mountain goat, J The Angora Goat. Pp. 296, New York. 1898. 12 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. are confined to Europe and the Himalayas of Asia. These are divided into two groups, as follows: I. The ibexes. — These according to Hayes, have, as a distinc- tive characteristic, horns "flat in front, with a horizontal triangular section, furnished with large transversal knots." II. Goats 'proper. — These, according to Hayes, have horns compressed and carinated in front, and, according to Wood, "may be distinguished from the ibex and the sheep by the peculiar for- mation of the horns, which are compressed and rounded behind and furnished with a well-developed keel in front." There are two subspecies of this second group — Capra falconeri and Capra ccgagrus. The latter is known as the Paseng, the Bezoar goat, or wild goat, or Persia, and is now generally accepted by nat- uralists as the goat from which the Angora is descended through Capra liircus, which is claimed to be the ancestor of all common breeds of goats. As to the parent of the Angora stock, there is a difference of opinion between the two best-known writers on this subject — John L. Hayes, author of The Angora Goat, etc. (1882), and S. C. Cronwright Schreiner, author of The Angora Goat (1898). The one takes the position that it is descended from Capra falconeri, the other from Capra ccgagrus. Owing to the additional informa- tion which has been obtained since the appearance of Hayes's book and which is embodied in Schreiner's work, there can hardly re- main a doubt of the correctness of the contention that the Angora goat descended from Capra cegagrus. Schreiner, who has made extensive research, has described these two subspecies as follows: "Capra falconeri has a beard which extends from the chin to the shoulders and chest, and long spirally twisted horns, the twist being outward from the base. The males, when old, become whitish all over. The ewes have a beard con- fined to the chin, and small horns with a slight spiral twist. It is a native of the Western Himalayas, northern Afghanistan, and possibly of Persia; it is also found generally in Cashmere and on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas. Fossil remains show that it is one of the oldest types of goats. "Capra ccgagrus 1 is chiefly remarkable for its enormous horns, which are larger proportionately than in any other ruminant J There is evidence that in classic times this goat was widely distrib- uted over the Grecian Archipelago, although in Europe it is now found only in Crete, the island of Antemelo, in the Cyclades, and perhaps also in Guire to the northeast of Eubea. Eastward it is found in the hills and mountains of Asia Minor, being especially common in the Taurus range, and it extends thence through Persia into Baluchistan, Sind, and Afghanistan. In India its range does not extend beyond the western side of Sind. It is found in Sind and Baluchistan in hills a little above the sea level; in the mountains of Persia it ascends to an elevation of 11,000 feet to 12,000 feet.— Schreiner. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 13 animal; they approximate the triangular in form, transversely rigid, and are bent backward as in the domestic varieties, being scimitar-like in shape and curve, and having no spiral twist. Large horns of Capra cegagrus measure 40 inches along the curve, but a length of upward of 52^ inches, with a basal girth of 7 inches, has been recorded. It stands somewhat higher than any of the domesticated varieties of the goat (an adult male stood 37 inches at the withers), from which it further differs in its short and powerful neck, its stouter limbs, and slender body. In the female the horns are exceedingly diminutive or are altogether wanting. The fur, which over the greater part of the body is short, is of a grayish brown color, with a black line running along the entire length of the back, while the under surface of the neck and the beard, which is present in both sexes, are of a brown color. In the winter coat the hair on the neck and shoulders is rather longer than elsewhere, and in the same season, in the colder part of the animal's habitat, a coat of woolly fur is developed beneath the hair." Native Habitat of tlie Angora Goat. At this time we can trace the history of the Angora goat back to the vilayet of Angora, in Asia Minor, and this location is usu- ally given as the place of its origin. Some have ventured to say that these goats were introduced there 2,400 years ago, but there is no reliable information extant bearing upon this point. There is pretty strong evidence which goes to show that they were a distinctive breed when Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Goats' hair was spun by the Israelites for curtains and other purposes for use in the temple. 1 In the story recorded in I Samuel (chapter 19) of the artifice of Michal in deceiving the messengers of Saul by. placing an image in the bed in place of David and giving it a pillow of goats' hair, is believed by Pen- nant to refer to a pillow made of the Angora fleece. The city of Angora, or Engurieh, the capital city of the vilayet of Angora, is the ancient Ancyra, and is located about 220 miles south by southeast from Constantinople. Angora was the seat of x Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord; whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goat's hair.— Exodus xxxv, 5, 6. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goat's hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.— Exodus xxxv, 23. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.— Exodus xxxv, 26. And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains he made them. The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain; the eleven curtains were of one size.— Exodus xxxvi, 14, 15. 14 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. one of the earliest Christian churches, and was probably estab- lished by the Apostle Paul. The province is mountainous to a con- siderable extent and furrowed by deej) valleys. It is about 2,900 feet above the level of the sea. Of the climate Mr. H. A. Cum- berbatch, British consul at Angora (1895), and quoted by Schreiner, says : "The climate is extreme. In the months of January and February the thermometer will mark a minimum of 10° F. for several days at a time, reach as far as 0° F., whilst in June and July the maximum readings of 85° F. are maintained day after day, with little or no rain. The country is covered with snow in the winter, rain and snow falling frequently. In 1894 the total rainfall at Angora was 8.12 inches, but that was an exceptionally dry season. For the first six months of 1895 the rainfall was 10.10 inches, which is somewhat above the average; the heaviest rainfall in twenty-four hours having been 1.20 inches." The following description is by a native Turk, who was once connected with the Bureau of Animal Industry: "Asia Minor, in general aspect, is an extensive peninsula, projecting like a bridge from the main mass of the Eastern continent towards Europe. Elevated plains occupy a great part of the interior, intersected and bounded by ranges of mountains, leaving only narrow lowlands between them and the shores. No part of the whole peninsula is less than 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, and the average height of the most fertile tablelands is from 3,000 to- 4,000 feet." With reference to the vilayet, or province, of Angora, the same writer says: "The peculiar domain of the Angora goat, even the very center of it — 39° 20' and 40° 30' north latitude and between 33° 20' and 35° longitude east of Paris — is more or less moun- tainous and furrowed by deep valleys. Elevated masses are generally shaded by fine forests, while the plateaus, which form a large part of the country, are but sparsely wooded. On account of this nudity the early spring heat dries up what humidity is left in the earth. The climate, as should be expected under such cir- cumstances, has extremes — winters very cold and summers exces- sively hot — the thermometer frequently descending to 5° to 10° F. below zero and rising as high as 90° F." One more quotation will be of interest as showing something of the diversity of climate and soil of Angora and their influence upon the quality of the mohair. No such distinction due to climate and soil can yet be made concerning localities in the United States, but this may be owing to the fact that since mohair has been receiving particular attention it has not been grown a suf- ficient number of years in any one section to give it a distinctive ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 15 character; the animals have recently had rapid change of owner- ship, and some have spent much time on the railroad. The following information is from Gavin Gatheral, many years British vice consul at Angora, and a man who seized every opportunity to inform himself concerning the Angora goat in his native habitat. "The most northerly point at which the mohair goat thrives is Kastamboul — a large and fertile province, but too near the moist winds of the Black Sea for the mohair goat to reach its highest development. The fleece, though lustrous, is harsh and coarse. It is somewhat unfortunate that the first selections for export to the Cape Colony for naturalization there, were made from this district. Had other varieties to be noted further on been preferred, the result of the Cape Experiment might have been more saris- factory. "Two hundred miles inland, and to the southward, lies Angora. This province produces five different varieties from as many dis- tricts. Yaban-Ova is a heavy lustrous fleece; Chorba, a mohair so soft and fine that it falls to pieces as soon as it is shorn from the goat's back; Chubouk-Ova is remarkable for its length and fineness of fiber; Ayash is a white but lusterless fleece. The rams of these first-named districts are undoubtedly thoroughbred, though smaller in size than those of some other varieties. They possess all the points that a practical stock breeder will commend. "Sheltered by oak forests during the short but severe winters, and grazed on the valley grass during spring and summer, they seem to find in the alteration everything needful for strength and vigor, as is proved by their being so prolific, the ewes having frequently pairs and often triplets. Joevas is bright and showy, but full of what is technically known as stick, or kempy, hair. "Bei Bazar is so near Angora that the mohair it produces has no marked points of difference. The rams are larger in size, very hardy, and stand a sea voyage well. A few have been recently (1880) exported to the Cape Colony, the result being highly satis- factory. To the northward are Cherkass and Geredeh, two dis- tricts where the mohair goats have been introduced in compara- tively recent times. There they develop distinct characteristics, owing to the difference of climate and elevation. The Geredeh ram is a large and powerful animal, covered with a fleece that seems almost black, surcharged with grease, but when scoured the mohair is found to be second to none in qualit} r and quantity. "The difficulty of access to this mountain region has hitherto prevented securing any of the goats for export. To the eastward are Sivrihisar and Eskishihan. Both suffered severelv from the 16 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. two years of excessive drought in 187-1-75, and the consequent famine. Many of the goats perished; but the grazers replaced them with stock from other districts, the result being a marked improvement in quality and value. ANGORAS NEAR SKARIA RIVER, ASIA MINOR. ANGORAS FEEDING ON SAGE BRUSH IN ASIA MINOR. "On the south lies Konieh, the soil there being of the color and character of brickdust. The fleece of the Konieh goat is a reddish brown and, though this reduces the value of the mohair, it is sought after for special manufactures. Climate, soil, or food ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 17 cannot affect the products of high-grade mohair, provided two very essential points are carefully observed, namely, purity of blood and avoidance of humidity/' It was in this country that this famous goat reached its per- fection — and such a perfection as has not yet been reached by the goats of either Cape Colony or the United States; indeed, the Turks themselves, by their shortsighted policy of extensive cross- breeding, have failed to maintain the high standard once held by their animals. That the altitude, the soil, or the climate, or all of them together possibly, had much influence in producing this fleece-bearing goat is supported by strong evidence, although there are some writers of note who claim that the character of the soil PACK TRAIN ON SKARIA RIVER. ASIA MINOR. exerts no distinctive influence. Dr. John Bachman, a well-known naturalist of this country and the Encyclopaedia Britannica both state that the fineness of the hair of the Angora goat may perhaps be ascribed to some peculiarity in the atmosphere, "for it is re- markable that the cats, dogs, sheep, and other animals of the country are to a certain extent affected in the same way as the goats." The same opinion was expressed by Captain Conolly, quoted by Southey (1848) : "It is remarkable that wherever these goats exist the cats and greyhounds have long, silky hair also — the cats all over their bodies, the greyhounds chiefly on their ears and tails." These statements lead Schreiner to the conclusion that the atmosphere is the chief factor. He says: "At any rate, there seems to be no doubt that a limited and comparatively well-defined region around the town of Angora possesses in a degree unap- proached elsewhere in Asia Minor, and probably in the world, 18 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. those conditions favorable to the development of the soft, silky, lustrous white mohair goat." Too much credit must not be given to the atmosphere of Angora in the production of mohair. That it has a marked influence on animals anywhere is generally ac- cepted. The experience of the Angora goat breeders of the Cape Colony and the United States shows 'that, with the best animals, a fleece equal to any produced b}^ Turkey may be obtained. Indeed, it should be gratifying to the mohair growers to know that, while their mohair product of three years ago was very poor and that from twenty-five to fifty years ago it was sold with difficulty on account of its quality, the product now put upon the market is excellent and that of 1902 was superior, as a whole, to any that had been grown previously. George G. Emery, Avho is the leading .mohair expert in the United States, made the statement at the [third annual (1902) meeting of the American Angora Goat Breed- ers' Association that he had seen some domestic fleeces that were in every way equal to the best Turkish. He also exhibited two pieces of plush — one from domestic hair and one from Turkish — which were so nearly alike that no one could distinguish between them without reference to a private mark. Our breeders are ^striving strenuously and intelligently toward a better quality of imbhair, and, in order to bring about this matter, they are eliminat- ling so far as possible the common goat blood. Turkey, indeed, greatly injured her fleeces by crossbreeding, but until quite recently our own practice of the same error led us to further extremes thai! Turkey went. Again, the breeders of our country have learned that the feed of the animal has a pronounced influence upon the quality of the mohair in the same way that it has an influence upon the meat. The matter of better mohair is discussed quite fully in the chapter on "Mohair and mohair manufactures." Crossing Upon tlie Kurd Cioat in Angora. Mr. Henry 0. Binns, who had about twenty years of experience with these goats in the vilayet of Angora, says the pure animals were about bred out in 1863. The reason for this was the exten- sive crossing with the common Kurd goat, reference to which has already been made. As early as 1839 there ceased to be a demand for the spun yarn of Asia Minor, owing to the fact that Europe could spin yarn at much less cost; but there was a European de- mand for the raw hair which exceeded the supply. This condition of things led to complications and a mixture of breeds from which the mohair world has not yet recovered. There can hardly remain a doubt, however, that, with the recent renewed interest in the industry, and with the intelligence that the breeders will bring to ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 19 bear, the Angora goat industry will soon be placed on the highest plane. The Angora Goat in the United States. To write a history of the Angora goat in the United States is not a prodigious task, but it is a delicate one. The average newspaper correspondent of fifty years ago was no more careful of exact facts than he is now, and it is unfortunate that the his- torian of the Angora goat industry is largely dependent upon that kind of literature for his raw material. However, their introduc- tion into this country was not so long ago that we are wholly dependent upon newsjmper articles by unknown men, but there are those still living who have known the industry from the first day of its inception. Upon these men and upon the articles published by them and by Col. Eichard Peters, the present writer depends for his information. During the Administration of President Polk, the Sultan of Turkey requested of him that he recommend some one who would experiment in the culture of cotton in Turkey. Accordingly Dr. James B. Davis, of Columbia, S. C, was recommended, and he received the appointment. The work done by Doctor Davis ap- peared to be highly gratifying to the Sultan, and so, upon his return, in 1849, the Sultan, desiring to reciprocate the courtesy of the President, presented him with nine of the. choicest goats in his domain. These goats were imported as Cashmeres and were so regarded until after they passed to the ownership of Colonel Peters. Doctor Davis thought they were the goats which produced the fleece from which the famous and very costly Paisley shawls were made; and it is true that one of the number was a Tibet goat, which, in other words, means Cashmere, and was the breed producing the Paisley shawl fleece. As late as 1861 they were regarded as Cashmeres, for the records show that in that year William M. Landrum, who has been breeding Angoras longer than any other living man in this country, was awarded a silver goblet and $25 in cash for the introduction of the first Cashmeres (Angoras) into California. To the casual observer, the Cashmere and Angora were very much alike — indeed, may have appeared to be the same animal — but the essential points of the animals are so different that it is a matter of wonderment how they could be regarded as being one species under two names. These differences will appear in the chapter devoted to a description of the Angora goat. At the present time it is everywhere acknowledged that the goats imported by Doctor Davis and known as Cashmeres were Ansforas, and that the 20 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Tibet goat which he imported was a true Cashmere. That Doctor Davis really thought his goats were Cashmeres, no one will doubt for a moment, and at that time nearly everybody else who pre- tended to know anything about goats agreed with him. It was sub- sequent scientific investigation that finally adjusted the error. The situation as it existed when these goats were introduced, if con- sidered in connection with the situation as it exists to-day, does not justify a very few writers who hold to the idea that the goats originally imported were Cashmeres, and that subsequent methods of breeding here have transformed them into Angoras. The first (or Davis) importation of Angoras was frequently exhibited at fairs, and always attracted much attention. The reports made by the officials of fair associations were always favor- able, sometimes flattering, and as is known after years of experi- ence, not always correct. The United States Agricultural Society which held an exhibition in Philadelphia, in 1856, awarded to Col. Eichard Peters, who was then the owner of the Davis goats, $100 as a special reward. The following report was made upon the ani- mals : "They have become known as Cashmere goats from the pure white color and fineness of their fleeces, and their undoubted Eastern origin. The fleeces from the bucks weigh 6 to 7 pounds, those from the ewes from 3 to 4 pounds. The flesh of the crosses is superior to most mutton, tender and delicious, making them a desirable acquisition to our food-producing animals. "The ease with which they are kept, living as they do on weeds, briers, browse, and other coarse herbage, fits them for many por- tions of our country, where sheep can not be sustained to advant- age, while their ability and disposition to defend themselves against dogs evidence a value peculiar to this race. They are free from all diseases to which sheep are liable, hardy and" prolific, and experience has proven that they readily adapt themselves to all portions of the United States. The bucks breed readily with the common goats, the second cross yielding a fleece of practical utility, whilst the fourth is but little inferior to that of the pure breed. "A flock of valuable wool-bearing goats can be raised in a few years by using grade bucks." The following extract is from a report of the special commit- tee appointed by the American Institute at i-j exhibition in New York City in 1855. The report was signed by B. J. Johnson, Charles J. Goodrich, and James J. Mapes : "They have examined with much interest the fleece submitted to them, and as well from their own observations as from the results of a microscopic exam- ination made and certified to by several gentlemen of scientific eminence well known to them, they are convinced that the fiber of 22 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. these fleeces is identical in character, and fully equal, in value, to that from which the highly prized Cashmere shawls were made. The fleeces on exhibition, and now under examination, amount to from 4 to 8 pounds each. "The enterprise exhibited by the introduction of these animals into this country and their propagation can not be too highly regarded. "First. These animals are long lived, such being the case with the whole goat race. "Second. They are prolific, breeding at the age of one year, with a period of gestation of about five months, and yielding twins almost universally after the first birth. "Third. They are hardy, experience having shown that they will thrive well in our climate from Georgia to New England, and that they require coarse and cheap food — as the inferior grasses, briers, bushes, etc. — such as is refused by other grazing animals. "Fourth. They produce a fleece of from 4 to 8 pounds, valued at from $6 to $8 per pound in France, or Paisley, Scotland, for the manufacture of those high-priced shawls. These fleeces can be produced when the animals become numerous at a less cost than the common sheep's avooI and are superior to it. "Another fact of great practical value to our agricultural in- terests is the facility with which the Cashmere goats breed with the common goats of our country. "From these and other considerations, of the correctness of which your committee have entire confidence, it will be obvious that every encouragement should be shown this new enterprise — a bold and judicious movement." A committee composed of James Eenwick, Joseph E. Chilton, and W. H. Ellet submitted the following report to the New York State fair, held in New York City in 1854: "The undersigned can not avoid the conclusion that in the goats imported, and whose descendants have been the subjects of this examination, we have the first known specimens of that valuable race of animals from whose hairy fleece the celebrated shawls are manufactured, known in commerce by the inappropriate name of 'reel camel's hair.' As the fleece does not appear to have deteriorated in the compara- tively warm climate of South Carolina, the distinctive character of the race is hard to be obliterated, while in the northern region of the United States this character can not well fail to be perma- nent. Viewed in this light, the introduction of this animal prom- ises to be of more value to the agriculture of the United States than that of almost any other animal." Many other similar reports were made by committees of fair 24 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. associations about this time, and they show how favorably the new industry was regarded. However, the conclusion can not be avoided that the highly exaggerated statements appearing in these reports added to the enthusiasm of the time. It is possible that a few fleeces sold at $8 per pound, but in a search for authority it is learned that one man quoted another and one newspaper quoted another, and so on, but the purchaser was never located. At one time this matter was in warm discussion in the agricultural press, and correspondents demanded to know who sold the fleece and who bought it, but their inquiries appear not to have been answered. The most definite statement possibly that can be made regarding this matter is by Mrs. Harriet E. Davis White, a daughter of Doctor Davis. She says: "The fleece of the Davis Cashmere goat was very fine, and some of it was sold to parties in Paisley for manufacturing their famous shawls; and a Germantown com- pany also bought some of the fleece and it brought $6 to $8 per pound. So the records state truly, though some have tried to dis- pute this fact. Owing to the lack of proper machinery, I presume, the fleece did not find a ready sale for several years. I saw some of the first fleece ever dyed and sent to Paisley." It willbe observed that Mrs. White refers in this quotation to the "Davis Cashmere goat," which has already been mentioned as among the original importation. No one can doubt the accuracy of her statement, because the marketable fiber of the Cashmere goat — the pashm — is exceedingly fine, only three or four ounces being the yield per goat, and the shawls made of it frequently sold for $1,500 each ; and it is easy to believe that this hair, which was worth $2 per pound in the most inaccessible portions of Thibet, and having a number of additional charges put upon it as it gravi- tated toward the manufacturing mills, would bring the amounts mentioned by Mrs. White. As there was at the time much con- fusion as to the exact breed of the goats, there was the same con- fusion regarding the fleece and the prices. There were then no mills in the country to fabricate the fleece, and not enough was produced for export to establish a standard. With reference to + he fleece of the Angora goat, the following is taken from the Country Gentleman of January 9, 1868 : "The conductors of that excellent Journal, the Boston Advertiser, ad- dressed Mr. Geo. W. Bond, the leading dealer in such material at Boston, for information, and in reply Mr. Bond expresses the opinion that if the Cashmere, or Angora, hair 'could be obtained here in sufficient quantities to warrant the starting of machinery suitable to its manufacture and could be offered at about $1 per pound, a steady and permanent demand for it would be created.' ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 25 He says, however, that it is consumed by less than a dozen houses in Europe, and that, in fact, one firm consumes about one-third of the whole supply, and has agents in Turkey purchasing the same. Nearly the whole supply comes from Asia Minor, whence the exports for the past three years have averaged about 4,000,000 pounds per annum. An inferior quality comes from South Africa. As to its value here, he adds : 'Of the specimens raised in this country which I have seen, some fleeces have been very handsome, but there has been a great want of uniformity in the various lots — some fleeces being very poor and kempy, probably being crosses on the common goat, while others were as handsome as any that I have ever seen from any quarter. The value in England has, I be- lieve, at no time exceeded 4s., or $1, per pound, unless it may have been for some exceptional parcels of great beauty and desired for some fancy manufacture in small quantities. The highest quotations in England to-day are 2s. 7d., or 62 cents, for the choicest quality down to 2s., or 48 cents, for good. * * * I doubt whether there ever was a time when 1,000 pounds of it could have been sold here for $1 in gold per pound; but a short time since, when fringes and tassels made of it became so fashionable, it is possible that a few of the choicest and most beautiful fleeces might have been sold at $4 and $6 per pound.' " A tabular statement of prices of mohair in England may be found in the chapter devoted to prices. Doctor Davis remained in the goat business but a few years, and his flock was disposed of to various persons. The world will probably never know just who all the parties were that secured them. An error has heretofore been made in writings of several persons— the present author among the number — in stating that the Davis flock of "purebreds" was purchased by Colonel Peters . But information recently coming to light corrects this error to some extent. A. O. Osborn, of Waterville, N. Y., published an article in the Country Gentleman of January 21, 1864, from which the following is extracted: "In the fall of 1854, Dr. D. C. Ambler, Col. William Osborn, and myself purchased of James B. Davis, Esq., of Columbia, S. C, three 'Cashmere goats' — one yearling buck, one yearling ewe, full blood, and one yearling half- breed — with the view of breeding for profit.*' Colonel Peters published an article in the American Agricul- turist for November, 1876, in which he said: "In the year 1854 I visited the farm of Doctor Davis, near Columbia, S. C, and found his stock of purebreds to consist of seven females and two males. Besides these he had one purebred Tibet ewe, several head of one-half Tibet and one-half Angora, and quite a number of 26 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. grade females bred from the common short-haired ewes of the country and his Angora buck. I purchased all of the purebred Angoras and several of the Tibet-Angoras." What Colonel Peters has said can hardly be doubted, although the following statement to the author by Mrs. Harriet E. Davis White apparently disputes its accuracy: "Doctor Davis had bred the Cashmeres with the common goats and had a fine flock of graded goats when Colonel Peters visited him to purchase goats from him. They discussed the value of the fleece and Colonel Summer said it would prove equal to the 'golden fleece' in a commercial way, in time. All of the purebred goats were not sold to Colonel Peters. Doctor Davis retained an interest which he did not dispose of to Colonel Peters until Doctor Davis's health began to fail ; and Col. A. G. Summer also held an interest in them. Coats had been sold to other men before this sale to Colonel Peters. The original contract between Kicharcl Peters, A. G. Summer, and Jas. B. Davis is still in the possession of his daughter'-' (Mrs. White). The contradictions which stand out in the three quotations above are probably apparent only. It is easy to believe that the goats referred to by Mr. Osborn were purchased before Colonel Peters purchased any and are probably the ones referred to by Mrs. White as having been sold before the purchase by Colonel Peters. We have a statement of record that one was purchased by Col- onel Davenport, who lived near Harpers Ferry, and another by Col. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina. A. 0. Osborn, in the same article from which he is quoted above, refers to his venture into the industry in this way: "In October I left home for Australia. Doctor Ambler, in the meantime and before winter, found a place for the ewes with a few owned by Colonel Davenport, near Har- pers Ferry, Va., and thither they were sent. They remained with Colonel Davenport's flock until 1859, when they and their increase were exchanged with.Eichard Peters, Esq., of Atlanta, Ga., who had purchased most of Doctor Davis's flock, for Brahmin cattle." One fact stands out prominently in the early history of the Angora goat industry in this country, namely, that previous to the outbreak of the Eebellion practically all of the x4ngora goats had passed to the ownership of Col. Richard Peters, of Atlanta, Ga. He took great interest in the little animal and its possibilities and is generally looked upon as the real founder of the industry in the United States. When we reflect that there was no real Angora goat industry in this country until within the last three years, we must reckon with others as well as Colonel Peters. Credit must first be given to Doctor Davis for his public spiritedness ; and ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 27 whether his goats came from Persia, as he believed, or from Angora, there can be no doubt that they were the equal of any that ever came to this country, with many evidences of superiority. Full credit is due to Colonel Peters, who gathered together the rem- nants of the Davis flock and distributed their progeny over a large area of our country, and preserved a nucleus of the flock when the industry appeared to result elsewhere in failure. The outbreak of the Eebellion played havoc with the industry, with the final result that the flocks in the Eastern and Southern sections of our country were annihilated, with the exception of a very few in isolated localities. Some goats, however, had previously been sent into California, and from that State had spread back into Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, and north into Oregon. The Western men who adopted the industry and finally saved it to the country were William M. Landrum, C. P. Bailey, and John S. Harris. It is no less gratifying to these men than it is to the thousands of goat breeders now in the United States, who delight in honoring them, that they still live to see the work of their earlier years now being crowned with abundant success. Thus we have had three stages in the establishment of the An- gora goat industry. Each of them has been all-important in its day, and all credit can not, therefore, be given to any one man. Previous to the outbreak of the Eebellion, there were many fair-sized flocks in the South and Southwest. There were smaller flocks in many of the Northern and Western States. Dr. Diehl, in 1863, mentions flocks containing from 300 to 1,200 and more in Atlanta, Ga. ; Gallatin and Nashville, Tenn. ; Eussellville, Frankfort, Paris, and Georgetown, Ky. ; Greenville, Lebanon, Montgomery, and Bucyrus, Ohio ; Green County, Ind. ; Chicago, Decatur, and Evanston, 111. ; St. Louis, Maramee, and Fayette, Mo. ; Baltimore, Md. ; Leavenworth, Ivans. ; Brownsville, Pittsburg, Washington, and Philadelphia, Pa.'; New York City, N. Y.; Bos- ton and Belmont, Mass. ; Austin, Tex. ; and in the States of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, California, and in other localities. Soon after the close of the war they spread out into the West, principally into Texas and California, where the natural conditions were most favorable and where they have, quite unknown to the public, in- creased wonderfully in numbers and, in the light of recent events, in importance also. In the spring of 1861 Colonel Peters sold two 16-months-old bucks to William M. Landrum, of San Joaquin County, Cal. They were sent from Atlanta to St. Louis by express; thence by steamer to Fort Leavenworth, and thence on foot to California with a wagon train. They subsisted on the journey by browsing on what 28 ANGORA GOAT RAISING- other animals rejected, and arrived at their "destination uninjured and in good condition. Mr. Landrum exhibited them at the State fair the same year, being awarded a silver goblet and $25 in cash. One of the goats, after siring about thirty kids, died of snake bite; the other one, famous on the Pacific coast under the name of "Billy Atlanta," lived to be ten years old, and then was accident- ally killed. He had sired about two thousand kids. This buck won the sweepstakes prize over all competitors at every State fair down to his death; and Colonel Peters stated in 1876 that his numerous descendants were scattered all along the Pacific coast, and that "his blood courses in the veins of over one-half the Angora flocks in that part of the Union, estimated to approximate 70,000." Colonel Peters further stated "that about one-third of the pure- breds introduced into California were contributed from the first and original (Davis) importations of 1849, and that their blood is present in probably two-thirds or three-fourths of the Angora stock on the Pacific coast." Mr. Landrum was in California from 1850 to 1883, after which time he went to Texas. He is now at Laguna, Tex. There have been from time to time various other importations of Angoras from Turkey and South Africa, which will be discussed in a chapter to follow. These were widely disseminated and the blood of most of them has been exceedingly beneficial to the in- dustry in this country. During the last two or three years a wonderful interest has been manifested in the Angora goat. The one great factor which brought this about was the information which was published and widely disseminated by the Bureau of Animal Industry. The large flocks of the West and Southwest have been divided up and distributed throughout the country. They may now be found in every State and Territory, including Alaska, and a few head are in Porto Eico. A considerable number are in Canada, where they are thriving well. Five years ago very few people, comparatively, had ever seen a goat of this breed, but now the Angora is a familiar sight in hundreds of localities. There are three principal reasons for the present interest in the industry, which are as follows: (1) They are very effective brushwood destroyers; (2) they are mohair producers; (3) they yield a carcass that is palatable and highly nutritious. There is a chapter devoted in this work to each of those phases of the industry, and therefore further discussion will not be entered upon here. A history of the goats themselves is not a complete history of the industry. One of the reasons why the industry did not become ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 29 a brilliant success from the first was because there was in this coun- try no mills for fabricating the fleece which was produced, and the fleeces that were produced were not good enough for exporting. G-oat raisers began to reap profits when mills were established here, and therefore the mohair manufacturer and the Angora goat raiser have conjointly established a great industry which is destined to fill a large place in the live stock industry of the United States. CHAPTER IL DESCRIPTION OF THE ANGORA GOAT. Puretoreds Ruined toy Crossing with Kurd Goat. Before proceeding with a description of the Angora goat, it is well to advert to a bit of history in connection with the mohair industry of Asia Minor. In 1867, when Israel S. Diehl, bearing a commission from the United States Commissioner of Agriculture, visited the province of Angora, he found but a few hundred looms working up mohair fleeces where once there were from 1,700 to 1,800 in operation. These few were struggling hopelessly against the fatal competition of European machinery and the aggressive policy of the European governments. The fleeces were exported to Europe for fabrication, thus rendering Turkey tributary to the monopoly then existing in this industry in Europe. The European demand for the raw material was so great and the facilities for fabricating it so much better and cheaper, that Turkey was compelled by the laws of trade to export the raw mohair. This is an instance where the prosperity of an industry almost proved to be its ruin, as we shall see. In order to meet this great European demand for raw material, the Turkish mohair growers, without wise foresight, began the practice of crossing the Angora upon the Kurd goat of that country. The inevitable result of such a practice was the adulteration of the blood of every Angora in Asia Minor so far as anyone knows or can judge by investigation at this time. Description oi a Purebred Angora Goat. This ruinous practice has left the world without a purebred Angora goat apparently. There does not even appear to be a record anywhere of a description of a purebred animal, except the very brief one of Henry 0. Binns, who spent twenty years in the mohair districts of Asia Minor between 1864 and 1886, and copied here- with: "The pure Angora in his prime is about the size of a five- months-old Cape (Cape of Good Hope) kid, with small thin horns, wooled all over the body, the hair almost covering the eyes; exceedingly delicate, and so subject to disease that no one cared to keep him. What is to-day called the purebred Angora is like the ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 31 English thoroughbred horse — the result of crossing and recrossing until body, class, points, etc., have attained to what is generally considered that the thoroughbred Angora ought to be." Schreiner's opinion of what a purebred Angora was, is as follows: "I think it is certain that the original purebred white mohair goat was a small, very refined, delicate animal, of great beauty, clipping at twelve-months' growth of fleece, about from 2 to 4 pounds (according to age and sex — kids considerably less), of dazzling white, fine, soft, silky, very lustrous mohair, curling in ringlets from 10 to IS inches long, with merely the minimum of oil in its fleece requisite to the growth of hair of the highest ex- cellence, so small in amount as to be inappreciable to the unskilled observer. It was perfectly clothed in every part ; it had short, silky, curly hair about the face and down the lower parts of the legs to the hoofs; a soft, silky, curly 'kuif (tuft on the forehead), and small, thin, light-colored horns. The ewe was of course smaller and finer than the ram, and had only one kid at a birth (of this there is abundant evidence)." Dr. John Bachman, a well-known naturalist, gives this brief description: "The Angora goat, more especially the varieties it has produced, is described by Hasselquist (1722-1752), Buff on (1707-1788), Pennant (1726-1798), and others as in general of a beautiful milk-white color, with short legs, and black, spreading spirally twisted horns. The hair on the whole body is disposed in long pendant spiral ringlets ; its ears are pendulous, and the horns of the female, instead of divaricating as in the male, turn backward, and are much shorter in proportion." Description of the Modern Angora Goat. The facts stated in the above paragraph make it apparent that a description of the Angora goat of to-day would not necessarily apply to the purebred Angora of fifty or seventy-five years ago. As no effort has been made by an association or body of goat breeders to adopt a description of our ideal Angora goat, any de- scription that may be made is largely a matter of the individual opinion of the one who makes it. However, there is singular unanimity among goat breeders as to what the best Angora should be. The Angora goat is smaller than the ordinary common goat. It weighs from 60 to 100 pounds, although some are frequently found that weigh considerably more, especially if fat. The back should be straight, with shoulders and hips of equal height. A sloping rump is very objectionable. The chest should be broad, indicating good constitution, and the body round, legs short and 32 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. strong. The head should not droop, but be clean cut, with bright eye and broad muzzle; avoid a pinched nostril. The horns are grayish — never black; in the buck they are heavy, with an inward twist, inclining backward and to the outside. The doe's horns rise immediately upward and backward, slightly outward, with very little inclination to twist. In most animals the ears are pendant and from 6 to 8 inches long, with an average width of about 2 inches, and well pointed. In some animals the ears are fox-like — short, pointed, and pricked. There appears to be no other differences between the goats having the different kinds of ears. The fleece of the animal should be pure white, although there are colored Angoras. No colored spots on the skin should be tol- erated. The fleece should cover the entire body — as dense on the belly and neck as on the back and sides; should extend to the ears and jaw. While some are breeding for the topknot and for mohair on the face and lower legs, this is not an evidence that the animal is better than another that may not have the head and face covered. The mohair should grow to the length of about 10 inches during a year, and hang in tight ringlets or wavy curls. The curl should extend entirely up to the skin. "Slipey" mohair, or that which has lost its curl and is dry, fluffy, and with but little luster, is an indication of a poor goat or one in poor health. Poor feed tends to bring about such a condition in the fleece. Are tliere Nonshedding Goats? Yes; there are Angoras which do not shed — a very few; there are more which shed at regular intervals of 2 or 3 years. There is no evidence, however, that these animals are a distinct strain of the breed; the fact that they do not shed is probably due to local conditions, such as their health or their care. Hornless Angoras. There are a few hornless Angoras, but not many. They seem, like the nonshedders above, to be accidents rather than a distinctive type, or strain. Colonel Black says he has no doubt that the horn- less goats are a "distinct breed." It is probably true that by proper selection in breeding a hornless type might be produced. Efforts in this direction are already being made with a flock in which Colonel Black is interested. Hornless Angoras, however, are not rare in Asia Minor. Absence of 111 Odor. A characteristic of ^he common goat that is very objectionable is the ever-present offensive odor from the bucks. In the Angora a a <% o P3 tt - c3 |? PL, O a —i vires. The production A\^as from 2 to 3 yards a day, Avorking from fourteen to fifteen hours. After a cut, say 40 yards, are woven, it Avas then taken by the Aveaver to the ware- ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 95 house of the merchant, who sent it to a dyeing and finishing estab- lishment, after which it was ready for the market. It is only within a very short time that in France and Ger- many these goods have been manufactured on power looms in special factories, and even to-day the mohair yarn is all made in England, but the plants, instead of distributing the yarn as here- tofore, now take it into their own factories, where it is woven, dyed, and finished. George B. Goodall was the projector of the mohair plush in- dustry in Sanford, Me. He began experimenting in 1881, and with his own hands placed the first mohair warp in a wire-power loom, and it was he who wove the first piece of plush. As soon as he had demonstrated that mohair plush could be made on a power loom, a company, composed of the three brothers — George, Louis, and Ernest Goodall — was organized for the purpose of entering upon this manufacture. A first-class inventor was con- sulted, and the perfect working wire-motion power loom now in use at the mill was the final result. The company started with one loom; they now have one hundred and sixty in operation, with a number of new ones in process of construction. The struggle at the beginning Avas one that would have dis- couraged ninety-nine men out of a hundred. Weeks and months passed before a piece of plush that could be termed perfect was produced, but perseverance conquered. As a result of the manufacture of car and furniture mohair plushes on power looms, where the production was from fifteen to twenty yards a day, the prices have been very materially lower in this country, and within six or seven years from the beginning of the manufacture prices were reduced fully 50 per cent. Besides the Sanford Mills, mentioned above, the Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company, at Lowell, Mass., as its name signifies, manufactures plushes, having begun this line of work in 1892. For several years these mills used imported mohair almost entirely, but in 1896, finding an improvement in the domestic product, they began to use the latter very largely. These facts of history ansAver conclusively the frequent inquiry whether mohair plushes are made in the United States. The statistics of mohair consumption in 1899 sIioav that our mills consumed not only all of the domestic product but over a million pounds of imported mohair. As the domestic supply increases and improA r es, other mills will consume much of it. Some do not use it at this time because it is difficult to obtain a supply such as Avould warrant the pur- chase of the special machinery required. CHAPTER VII. THE MEAT, THE MARKETS., AND THE MILK. Lnjjora Mutton. The features of the Angora industry which have received most attention from the general public so far are their habits of de- stroying brushwood and their ability to produce mohair. Their availability as a meat producer has long been well known, how- ever, to those who have been raising them, and the meat is, with- out exception, pronounced by those who have eaten of it to be the ecpial of any lamb. Some are sure that they can detect a sweet- ness not characteristic of lamb, but the truth is that most people would be unable to detect any difference between Angora meat and mutton, if feeding conditions in both cases had been the same. Indeed, thousands of them even now are sold upon the markets of Kansas City, where they are slaughtered and canned or put in cold storage and sold everywhere as lamb. This is simply the continuation of a practice adopted by the slaughterhouses when there was the most deep-seated prejudice against goat meat. At this time, however, that prejudice is rapidly waning, and soon there will be no difficulty in disposing of xVngoras for meat in any place in this country. This prejudice against goat mutton is founded upon ignorance rather than experience. The most ill-smelling "billy" of the worst possible type is made the standard of goat flesh for the whole goat family. As far back as Abraham's day we read of goats being used for meat, and this, too, when there were many cattle and sheep. Certainly there was no prejudice against them at that time. The flesh of the Angora is exceedingly nutritious and pala- table. Shropshire lambs, which are considered as among the best kinds of meat, are said not to be superior to a well-fed and well- cooked kid. In the Southwest these animals are as readily sold for meat as sheep, and the market has never been overstocked. A gentleman in Texas found a ready market for his canned Angora mutton, but was compelled to close his cannery because the supply of goats was not nearly sufficient to supply the demand. In the Northwest, in nearly every locality some have been killed for mut- ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 97 ton, and there has never been a derogatory statement concerning the quality of the meat. In Cape Colony it is said that the old does are slaughtered to furnish meat for farm hands and young wethers are sold to butchers in the town. In California many miners purchase An- gora wethers in preference to sheep wethers for salting down for winter use, because, as they state, the Angora contains less fat, is more easily kept, and is just as palatable. John W. Fulton, who is much interested in exploiting the An- gora goat industry in Montana and other parts of the Northwest, recently distributed Angora mutton to several prominent residents of Helena, and he has permitted the writer to copy a few letters which he received concerning the meat. The first one is from Hon. J. K. Toole, governor of Montana : "Referring to the Angora goat venison, which you were kind enough to send me, I am pleased to say that it formed a very satisfactory part of our Christmas dinner. We touched it rather gingerly at first through a sort of prejudice, but all agree that it was a very near approach to real venison." This is from Hon. J. A. Ferguson, commissioner of the Bureau of Agriculture, Labor and Industry: "It is with much pleasure that I take this opportunity of expressing a very favorable opinion of Angora venison as a welcome addition to the usual meats upon a bill of fare. It is sweet, juicy and palatable — preferable to ven- ison, pork, or mutton. A knowledge of the good qualities of Angora venison will surely lead to its adoption as a regular food, and it ought not to be difficult to develop a profitable demand for such a toothsome article." And this from A. M. Holter, a prominent wholesale hardware dealer: "In reply to your inquiry will say that we have used An- gora venison at our house on several occasions, and my opinion is that, when it is properly cooked, it compares favorably with mut- ton in every respect, and personally I prefer it." Hon. F. D. Coburn, Secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, speaks in highest terms of Angora mutton. Helena, Mont., Jan. 9th, 1903. Mr. Jno. W. Fulton, Secretary Montana Angora Goat Co., Helena, Mont. Dear Sir: — It gives me great pleasure to express to you my favorable opinion of Angora meat, such as you were kind enough to send me, which I found to be very delicious and sweet when properly cooked, and will compare favorably with meat of like species. I see no reason why the meat of Angora goat should not 98 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. become popular, and believe it will when the animals are properly fattened and put on sale in the markets. Yours respectfully, T. C. Power. Helena, Mont., Jan. 16th, 1903. Mr. J. W. Fulton, Secretary Angora Goat Co., Helena, Mont. Dear Sir : — Some little time ago I had the pleasure of receiving from you a roast of Angora venison. I desire to express my appre- ciation of your kindness, and say that I found it very palatable. As an article of food I believe it to be quite satisfactory. Yours very truly, Geo. M. Hays, Secretary of State. It would not be a difficult matter to compile a thousand endorsements of the use of goat's flesh, but it would be difficult to find any one who would condemn it after using it. Opinions are given herewith of only a few of the representative breeders in this country: From W. G. Hughes & Co., Hastings, Tex. — "The Angora is much more nutritious than sheep mutton, especially where the meat is grown on underbrush (leaves), as the following compila- tion of relative values of feed will show : Character of Z?eed. Protein. Starch, etc. Fats. Per cent. 3.5 4.5 5.2 3.3 Per cent. 9.7 10.1 15.2 7 Per cent. 0.8 1.0 1.5 0.7 "It is often prescribed by physicians for invalids and children for this reason. The meat is excellent, and not distinguishable from mutton of the same age and condition. It is largely sold as such in many of the larger markets, being regarded as a staple in the districts where it is raised." From C. P. Bailey & Sons Co., San Jose, CaL— "The young wethers make the best of mutton. The meat is rich and juicy and free from the strong taste so common to the meat of the common goat. I consider it equal to mutton. We have sold hundreds of head for mutton, always reserving the skins, which are worth green from 75 cents to $2 each." From H. T. Fuchs, Marble Falls, Tex.— "Anybody who has ever tasted a roasted or barbecued piece of Angora mutton will REGISTERED DOES AND FIVE YOUNG BUCKS. On Ranch of W. G. Hughes & Co., Hastings, Tex. LofC. 100 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. find it better than any meat they ever tasted. Angora mutton is worth in the markets about the same as sheep mutton. I sell it to my neighbors at 4!/o cents per pound, and in town I sell it at 5 and 6 cents per pound." From George A. Houck, Eugene, Oreg. — "It is better than mutton, being free from the oily taste of sheep meat and partaking somewhat of the flavor of wild meat." Angora mutton should be cooked longer than sheep mutton. If this is not done disappointment is almost certain. Well fattened old goats, if thoroughly cooked, may be made tender and palatable. There is not much to be said about the flesh of the common goat. It is not so generally used as that of the Angora, and in quality is not to be classed with it. The kids of the common goats, however, are considered very fine, and in some parts of the South many grown animals are slaughtered. Flavor of Angora Mutton. A fact noted in connection with Angora mutton, if the goat has been fattened principally on brushwood and weeds, is that it has the game flavor common to the flesh of deer and other wild game. It is this flavor which has given the name ""venison" by some to the flesh of the Angora. There is no reason to doubt the presence of this flavor, for it is well known that flavor may not only be fed into meat, but into milk and eggs as well. All game flavor disappears when the animals are fed grain and grass. One of the first and most important questions that arises in the mind of one who may contemplate engaging in the Angora goat raising is, Is there a market for the products? The same ques- tion arises in connection with any other line of stock raising or commercial enterprise, and it must be answered satisfactorily if there is to be an investment. Markets for Goats for Meat. It can not be said at this time that there is or will be a market for goats as steady as that for sheep, for the reason that compara- tively few have entered the regular channels of live stock trade; but it can be said that those which have been placed upon the market have been sold without difficulty. Usually the price has been a little below the ruling price for sheep, but it has frequently occurred at Kansas City (where most goats have so far been mar- keted) that a bunch of Angora wethers has brought more than sheep on the same day. This is where they are slaughtered and put upon the retail market as dressed mutton or used for canning. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 101 The time will soon come when dressed Angora will he called for, and it will bring as good a price as mutton. There is room now for the Angora as a meat animal. Cattle, sheep, and hogs are all bringing very high prices and Angora prices are high also, in sympathy with them. The live question just now, however, is not so much where to market them as where to get them. If the industry develops from the best breeding stock, with the purpose of mohair production in view, there will not be any considerable number to go upon the market for some time. Wethers are good mohair producers for seven or eight years; they may be then fattened for market, and then become excellent meat. The demand for a better quality of mohair will have a tendency to throw the poorer grade of goats upon the market as meat, but this quality will grow fewer and fewer every year. From the standpoint of mohair production alone, it Avould be a grand thing for the industry if three-fourths or more of the An- goras in the country at this time could be sent to the slaughter- house. For some time to come, as in the past, many breeders will continue the practice of building up Angora flocks by crossing Angora bucks upon common does, and then upon the does of the first, second, and third crosses, and so on. The males resulting from such crossing must not be permitted to grow to breeding age. They should be castrated early, for they sometimes breed when very young. The only use to which such wethers can be put is to convert them into meat. The flesh from such crosses is considered to be nearly as good as that of the higher grades. The Milk of Angoras. The Angora is not primarily a milch goat and is not often employed for that purpose. Information at hand shows that the' quantity of milk given by an Angora doe is uncertain, and in exceptional cases only does it approach in quantity that produced by the established breeds of milch goats, such as the Toggenburger, Saanen, Maltese, and Nubian. Evidently the reason why the An- gora is so uncertain in milk production is because it has never been bred with that end in view. The established breeds of milch goats have become such after long years of careful breeding — the selection of individuals with specially developed characteristics. This is necessary to insure quantity, quality, and duration of lactation. There appears to be no reason why the Angora might not be developed into a very fair milch goat if such a thing were desirable. But it is deemed wiser to charge the Angora with the duty of 102 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. producing a good fleece and raising a strong and healthy kid. When she does this, she does well. The hair on a good Angora covers the entire body alike, and thus it greatly interferes with the operation of milking. In the Southwest, where the practice of crossing the Angora upon the common and Mexican does has been in vogue, it is said that a good milch animal is frequently produced. The milking strain is very apt, in such cases, to come from the side of the common or Mexican doe. It is stated upon the authority of some of the oldest breeders of the country that the likelihood of finding a good milch goat among Angoras diminishes as the grade of the animal is raised. In this connection the remarks of William G. de Coligny, formerly a government officer of Ecuador (now of Springfield, Mass.), and one who had experience in that country with cross- bred Angoras and Nubian goats for milk, are full of interest. "The Angora goat in itself is not a good milch goat at all, but crossed with the Nubian, or Upper Egypt, goat, becomes quite a good milch goat," He states that from such crosses produced in Ecuador the daily yield of milk per head was about 2>y 2 liters. The crossing of the Nubian and common goat of Ecuador produced a goat with a milk yield of 3Vo liters. There is an abundance of authority that goafs milk is more nearly equal to human milk than that of any other animal, and that of the Angora is equal to that of any other breed of goats. An anlysis of goat's milk for the British Goat Society, with an analysis of cow's milk also for comparison, is shown in the table below. The cow's milk was from a cow which had been a winner at a dairy show : COMPARISON OF ANALYSIS OF GOAT'S AND COW'S MILK. Water Butter fat Casein Milk sugar Ash Total .. boat's Milk. Per cent. 83.21 7.30 4.18 4.10 1.21 100 Cow's Milk. Per cent. 87.56 3.63 &si The special reason why the milk of the goat is considered so beneficial is that it is not likely to contain the germs of tubercu- losis. Bovine tuberculosis is so prevalent now-a-days that many people will not touch it if it is not sterilized. .Goats are practically ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 103 immune to tuberculosis. It is true that goats will have this dis- ease if they are inoculated with it, but they are not at all likely to contract it otherwise. The reader, if interested, is advised to read the discussion of tuberculosis in the chapter on "Milch goats." CHAPTER VHI. LOCALITIES ADAPTED TO ANGORA GOAT RAISING. The Question of Cliniate. So far as temperature is concerned, no place has been found that is too hot or too cold for Angoras. Although not partial to heat, they will endure it quite as well as sheep. Shade is essential to success if the sunshine is very warm. The climate of Angora, where the breed originated and is still supposed to flourish in its more perfect state, is extreme. A tem- perature as high as 85° F. is registered in the summer and as low as 0° F. in the winter. The United States presents a wider range of temperature, where, in southern Texas and New Mexico, it may go above 100° F. in the summer, and in Idaho as low as 30° F. below zero in winter. The range of localities where An- goras have done well is from Guadalupe Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, to Ukamak Island, belonging to the Alaska Peninsula. M. L. Washburn, superintendent for the Alaska Commercial Com- pany at Kadiak, says: "On Ukamak Island we have a flock of Angora goats, which have increased GO per cent a year since they were placed there. They have given very good results in mohair, some of which is of good quality and fine texture." William M. Landrum is quoted as follows : "White goats can stand any amount of cold and snow, but sleet and wind are very injurious. On the other hand, they can endure the scorching heat of the Tropics. Their fleece is best at an altitude of from 3,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea level. The fleece never sheds on the Guadalupe Island, 210 miles from San Diego, at an altitude of only from 2,000 to 4,000 feet. I have grown mohair there 2 feet long, of lovely texture." In considering Angora culture it is of importance to study the climate with reference to moisture rather than temperature. It should be remembered that the original home of the goat is high up in the mountains, where the air is not laden with moisture. Under like conditions it thrives best here. It is a historical fact that the first effort to transplant the An- gora goat outside of Asia was a failure on account of these condi- ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 105 tions. This was in 1554, when a few individuals were taken to Holland, but they soon died, owing to the moist climate. The effect of climate has a great deal to do with the character of mohair. On this point John S. Harris, of Salem, Oreg., for- merly of Oakley, Idaho, a gentleman of much experience, is quo- ted: "Mohair grown here in Idaho is very bright when scoured, and, owing to the electric currents which exist in the air, the hair possesses elasticity, a property requisite to mohair. Goats do not grow a long staple here, but, owing to the cold, it is very dense. Neither do they grow so heavy a fleece as in a milder cli- mate, owing to the dryness of the air." Col. W. L. Black, who is a writer upon Angora subjects, and whose experience as a breeder covers a period of thirty years and more, says that the Angora goat will thrive in any part of our country, and the yield of mohair will be greatest in the colder States. He estimates that the yield can be increased fully one pound by removing the goats from Texas to any of the Northern States. Since Colonel Black expressed this opinion, the Angora goat industry has spread into every State of the Union and has in most particulars confirmed his view. Some who have taken them into Northern States and met with losses have been inclined to ascribe their misfortune to the change in climatic conditions, but there is much room for doubt about this. The condition of the goats when shipped, the change in character of feed, exposure in many cases to severe weather, and possibly the development of disease, are more likely to have been the adverse factors than the mere difference in climate. Tlie Character of Soil Desirable. Almost any kind of soil, except wet and marshy land, is suit- able for these goats. Their preference is mountainous or rocky land, where they find it necessary to climb hillsides and cliffs to browse. Such situations not only afford them the most apparent satisfaction in climbing and feeding, but the rocks serve to trim the hoofs, which is a matter of importance; for on soils devoid of rocks and coarse sand the feet must oftentimes be trimmed by hand. One thing which is essential to successful goat raising is pure drinking water, and no place affords this better than the springs and rivulets of hilly and rocky localities. It must not be understood, however, that rocks and hills are essential, though they afford the ideal to the goat. Some of the best goats in this country are on valley lands. As stated above, almost all kinds of soil are suitable except wet and marshy land. 106 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Goat? are not partial to water in any form — in the soil or as rain, snow, or sleet — and they drink a very small amount. It is well to remember that Angoras must be kept dry overhead and under- foot. Goats are as subject to foot rot as are sheep, and this is one reason why they should not be kept on wet soil. Such a locality has a deleterious effect on the mohair also. Land Available for Goat Raising. The character of land first suggested as being available for goat raising is that part of many thousands of farms which is already thickly covered with brushwood or which is gradually becoming covered. All through the Eastern and Southern States fields which were once in a high state of cultivation are now covered by a dense growth of brush and briers. Only the most vigorous application of the grubbing hoe and the torch prevents the brush from taking every cultivated acre. In some places there may be seen corn furrows made so long ago as to enable pine trees a foot in diameter to grow up in them since. In the lumber regions the removal of the trees gives an impetus to the under- bush, which soon becomes an intolerable nuisance. So there are, in Michigan and Wisconsin especially, thousands and thousands of acres of "stumpage" which are the best of soil and which, when the brushwood is removed, may be converted into the best of pas- tures for other live stock. These are the available lands which the Angora goats are now feeding upon; for they are giving a double return to their owners by clearing up the farm and by producing mohair. There is enough of this kind of work to engage the atten- tion of the Angoras for several years. Besides the kind of land mentioned above, there are millions of acres of rough mountainous land which are densely covered with brushwood, and which, in present condition, are of no economic use. Much of this land, if cleared of brush, would become seeded by natural methods to blue grass, and thus become good pasture land for other live stock. Much of it, too, is useful for nothing else than goats; grass will not "come in" after the goats. If the goats are removed after it is once cleared, brush will follow again. All of this mountainous land will in time become pasture for millions of head of Angoras. Capt. Almont Barnes, in an article entitled "Keeping goats for profit," makes some estimates of the amount of unimproved land in the country, basing his calculations upon the reports of the Eleventh Census. He finds that the total amount of unim- proved land in the United States is 265,000,000 acres. In Maine 108 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. there are 6,000,000 acres in farms, of which 3,000,000 are im- proved; in Georgia are 25,000,000 acres in farms, of which 9,500,- 000 are improved. He concludes: "There is, however, in the Uni- ted States a large, continuous area, embracing over one-third of the States and Territories, which invites particular attention in connection with this subject. It includes the South Atlantic and South Centra] divisions and a part of the Western division of the Census groupings, or twenty States and Territories, which together contain nearly 285,000,000 acres in farms, of which over 122,- 000,000 are improved and over 162,000,000, or 57 per cent, unim- proved. The average size of farms and the average amounts of unimproved land are greater in this area than elsewhere, and the climatic conditions are more uniform." To give a detailed description of all this land mentioned by Captain Barnes would require several large volumes, and can only be mentioned in the briefest manner here. Few of the people living in New England or west of the Alle- gheny Mountains realize how much of the land area of Mary- land, the Virginias, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mis- sissippi, and Georgia is still in virgin forest or how much is in brush and briers where good fields once were cultivated. That land which has "gone back," or grown up with brushwood and briers, is very cheap. There is an increasing interest in Southern agri- culture, and the States mentioned are even now welcoming back the Angora goats to their first American homes to do the work which is so expensive for man to do. Without the Angora, it may be a century before these millions of acres will yield anything useful to mankind. With him, they are soon converted into fields, pastures, and orchards. Piedmont Virginia has considerable forest land, with many varieties of oak, hickory, poplar, cedar, chestnut, pine, and other timber trees. Of oak there are at least seventeen different varie- ties. Most of this area has been cut over, so that there is remain- ing no considerable amount of mercantile timber. In several places, however, manufacturers are finding it profitable to work up the younger growths into spokes, handles, headings, staves, etc., and it is claimed that the pine, locally known as "old-field pine," pos- sesses large capabilities for utilization in the manufacture of paper pulp. What is said of Piedmont Virginia may be said of Pied- mont Carolinas and eastern Tennessee. Much of this region is already producing, in its northern part, some of the finest apples in the world, and, in its southern part, peaches that are of first quality. The railroads here, as elsewhere, are doing what they can toward the development of this waste land. Readers who may ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 109 be interested are advised to write to the Land and Industrial Agent of the Southern Eailway, Washington, D. C, for detailed information concerning available land in any of the States men- tioned. The conditions obtaining in the stumpage districts of northern Michigan are flattering for the Angora industry. Angoras have already been tried there, and they do well. As far north as Sidnaw, Houghton County, Mich., W. S. Prickett has a considerable num- ber, as well as a thousand Shropshire sheep. E. C. Anthony, of Negaunee, Marquette County, in the same State, is also succeeding with goats. Information concerning every feature of this section may be obtained from the Land Commissioner of the Duluth, South Shore, and Atlantic Eailway, at Marquette, Mich. E. W. McPherran, the present Land Commissioner, furnishes for this book the following description of the Michigan peninsula, under date of December 8, 1902 : "In Ontonagon County, especially in the territory between the east and west branches of the Ontonagon Eiver and east of Lake Gogebic, the country was originally taken up and covered by homesteaders and large lumbering companies. After the pine had been removed from these lands by the various parties in interest, lire broke out in the slashings at different times during the last fifteen years, and up to six years ago fires literally swept that territory bare. "The town of Ewen, situated upon the middle branch of the Ontonagon Eiver, is in the midst of this burned-over district, and the land on all sides of the town slopes from the south to the north and from the east and west down to the middle branch of the Ontonagon Eiver. The surface of this country is generally fair and rolling with almost no bad spots in it. The soil is a good strong clay and clay loam. There is left upon this land but little green timber, and that is in the low spots and along the streams and water courses where a little cedar and hardwood can be found— enough to afford material for fencing and ample pro- tection to stock. "As soon as the fire stripped the country of its timber, it be- came covered anew with second growth — hardwood, poplar, birch, etc. — and between the stumps and logs there sprang up a strong- growth of natural grasses, mixed here and there with patches of timothy along the old logging roads and clover and timothy near the camps, the seed being dropped, I presume, from horses and from hay brought into the lumber camps. "Col. L. D. Burch, of the American Sheep Breeder, made a recent examination of this territory and wrote me a long letter in which he expresses himself extremelv delighted with the whole 110 ANGORA GOAT RAIDING. situation and says that there is in this vicinity going to waste annually natural pasturage enough to feed several thousand head of cattle and a million sheep and goats. "Another stretch of territory admirably adapted to goat rais- ing extends west from Lake Gogebic and runs through what was originally a heavy hardwood and hemlock country. The land is a first-class clay loam and in many instances has been cleared either by fire or the lumberman's axe. Clearings, when they have not been immediately subjugated, become covered with a strong growth of young shoots, and, as the land is well watered and roll- ing enough to afford splendid drainage, it has always seemed to me an ideal country for the growth of sheep and goats. "'After crossing the Montreal Kiver, the boundary between Michigan and Wisconsin, one strikes another such tract of land as there is to be found in the Ontonagon valley with a somewhat similar soil. This country runs as far west as the village of Mar- engo, Wis., and possibly farther, and is contiguous to the D. S. S. & A. By., being evenly distributed on either side of the track. "I would also call attention to the country in Houghton and Baraga counties directly back of Baraga on Keweenaw Bay. In this vicinity a large number of German and Swedish farmers have settled and have made their mark, as they always do. Here one finds a nice tract of country, the slope being towards Keweenaw Bay on the east. The soil is clay and clay loam, and the growth of grasses and all roots crops is remarkably rapid. "At Sidnaw, Mich., Mr. W. S. Prickett has on Avhat he calls his 'Boycroft Farm' a herd of Angora goats and also about 1,000 registered Shropshire sheep. At Low Moor in Marquette County Mr. E. C. Anthony, of Negaunee, Mich., has had good success in raising both sheep and goats. "The territory just south of the village of Newberry, in Luce County, is another desirable location for the pasturage of goats. This country was stripped of its timber by the Newberry Furnace Company while in operation at Newberry, the timber being then used for fuel and kiln wood. The land around Newberry is a sandy loam with a slope from the south to the north and drainage into the Tahquamenon Biver. There are some 5,000 or 6,000 acres of this land almost entirely destitute of timber. "In the Ontonagon valley there are perhaps 35,000 acres of land suitable for the pasturage of goats; between the head of Lake Gogebic and Marengo, Wis., possibly twice that amount. "This land can be bought at varying prices — that at Newberry for about $2.50 per acre; that at Ewen for from $3.50 to $6, and 112 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. that between Marengo, Wis., and Lake Gogebic for about the same figures." So far as the lumbered-over condition is concerned, northern Wisconsin is much the same as northern Michigan. A bulletin (No. 88) recently issued by the Wisconsin Agricultural Experi- ment Station deals with the agricultural features of this section, and the statements given herewith are from it. Goats are to be considered, in most parts of our country, as the forerunners of sheep. They destroy the brush and weeds, fertilize the soil, and the grass which follows and which they are not likely to disturb becomes the best of pasturage for sheep or cattle. "One great ad- vantage which this region possesses that has been forcibly shown, especially in recent years, is that a clover crop is rarely subject to failure. In the southern counties the snowfall is often so light that clover winter-kills, and it is therefore difficult at times to secure luxuriant pasturage and maintain the fertility of the soil. In the central and northern counties this has never yet happened, and the result is that these highly nitrogenous forage crops can be raised in great abundance. This region is preemi- nently a grass region, wild grasses growing in the greatest pro- fusion, while the domesticated grasses, like timothy, red top, and Kentucky blue grass, are introduced with the greatest ease. This can be seen even in the primeval forests where timothy and clover spring up in the *'tote roads' wherever the sunlight is let in through the cutting of the timber. Not infrequently timothy reaches a development of five feet in height." The great adaptability of the soil of this section for clovei : and grasses makes pasturage perfect. Many men of means have recently started large stock farms in this hardwood belt, including some of the most prominent breeders in the country. Land is not very high in price. Whoever may desire further information should address an inquiry to the Land Commissioner of the Wis- consin Central Eailway, Milwaukee, Wis. Central and northern Minnesota are offering great opportu- nities for goat farms. Angoras are now being employed there by many farmers for clearing brush land, and the demand for them is rapidly increasing. The purpose is to have sheep follow the goats. The forest trees alone, says Prof. Thomas Shaw, would tell to an experienced eye the tale of the character of the land. Much of the forest is hardwood, comprising such varieties as maple, birch, hemlock, and in the lower lands elm and basswood. Large areas at one time grew straggling pines of good size, with more or less frequency, among the hardwood trees. Other forests are of ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 113 the grove order. They are composed of small trees, all or nearly all of the hardwood varieties, and they grow so closely that they crowd one another for existence ; and yet again are stretches where pines only grew. But these, compared with the whole area, are not large, except in Oneida County in the neighborhood of Rhine- lander and northward from that place. But in some other areas of Wisconsin the pine stretches are extensive. The kind of pasturage that is produced after the timber and brush are removed is shown in the following from Professor Shaw : "No sooner has the forest been cut away and fire has done its work in removing the encumbering timber and brush than the blue grass and white clover spring up like magic and take pos- session of the land. Where they come from so quickly, nobody seems to know, but they come, and they come to remain forever. If the bird and the winds could speak, they would probably tell us something about whence they come. Their rapid growth sug- gests the thought of spontaneous generation, which is, of course, impossible. But their coming so quickly and growing so luxuri- antly calls up the thought of the high adaptation of the country to those grasses. Even in trails in the forest they grow and flour- ish, where they must needs struggle for the light. This abundant growth not only furnishes fine pastures, permanent in charactci if desired, but their presence is an assurance that here is a land with high adaptation to a great variety of crops. In such a soil mixed pastures also permanent in character, and containing many varieties, can undoubtedly be grown, but the need for these has not yet been felt by the settlers." The "Soo" Line Railway is taking a special interest in the development of the lands described above, and any one who may be interested should write to the Land and Industrial Agent of that line, at Minneapolis, Minn. The increasing interest in the live stock industry of the country and the proximity of these lands to the great Chicago markets make them very desirable to many seekers for new homes. One of the things which has long been a menace to New Eng- land prosperity is ber great number of abandoned farms. The soil "ran out" and the weeds and briers "came in," while the owners sought new homes, perhaps in the West. The situation appeared hopeless until Angoras were introduced and began to demonstrate their usefulness in rehabilitating these farms, by exterminating the brush and calling back the grass. There are not yet many goats in New England, but good reports are made of the work of those which are there. Land is cheaper nowhere in our country than in this section. The Angora industry can not 114 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. fail to make good progress here, for they have here the feed and the markets. In Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana there is an abun- dance of available land. The Angoras have been tried in all these States and proved to be a successful venture. Seekers after loca- tions should correspond with the secretaries of the several boards of agriculture. In Montana the grazing question is receiving at- tention, and it is entirely probable that other Western States will be considering the relative value of grazing land for goats; for it must be remembered that, while goats prefer brushwood and weeds to grass, they will eat grass and thrive on it if confined to it. Besides, there are good mohair growers who believe that the quality of the fiber is improved if the goats have a diet largely composed of grass. The following letter from C. H. Hales, of Eugene, Oreg., con- tains matter of interest to any one who may think of engaging in the Angora industry in Oregon. Practically . the same condi- tions obtain throughout a large section of that country : "I have my goats in the Cascade Mountains in what is known as timber land, and I am satisfied that, by clearing up the underbrush with goats, it will not only make fine range for cattle, but will be the means of stopping our forest fires. The timber land here is not poor soil, but very rich. I have raised clover four and five feet high and timothy over six feet high on this mountain land. There are thousands of acres of this land now being taken as timber land under the Timber and Stone Land Act. It is the richest land we have. "My goats are fat, and I am of the opinion that it is not good policy to keep them on browse alone. I have not had a sick goat during the year, while a friend of mine who insisted on keeping his on brush lost several head with scours." The Ozark region, which embraces practically one-fourth of the south and southeastern portions of Missouri, and extends over a considerable portion of northern Arkansas, is peculiarly adapted to Angora goat raising. The soil of the major part, especially in Missouri, is what is known as limestone land with a clay sub- soil. The surface is high and rolling, in many places broken, almost mountainous in character. The altitude is from 1,200 to 2,000 feet. There is ample rainfall, something over 40 inches in a year, which is ample for the production of all horticultural and agricultural products which are raised farther north. The land is all covered with timber; the valuable portion has been cut off in most places, leaving an undergrowth which ranges from 4 to 30 feet high. Black, red, white, and bur oak predominate. In some 116 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. sections there are cedar and pine, also some hickory, walnut, and elm; in fact, all hardwood species are said to appear in these for- ests. Nearly every quarter section has permanent living water upon it. Tame grasses of all kinds do well here after the timber has been cleared away. In addition to the favorable conditions for the goat, it is well to have consideration for his master. This is a section whose apples, peaches, plums, pears, and cherries, as well as small fruits of all kinds, grow abundantly. The country is favorably located as to markets and railroad facilities, yet the land is very cheap, ranging from $1 to $5 per acre for unimproved land and from $8 to $15 for that which is improved. A. B. Hulit, Springfield, Mo., general manager of the Frisco Live Stock Company, is much interested in the development of this Ozark region, and will answer any inquiries concerning it. CHAPTER IX. THE CARE OF ANGORA GOATS. Tlie Question of their Hardiness. There has been a great amount of careless writing about An- gora goats which has given the widespread impression that they are very hardy. This is, indeed, true to some extent. The crosses upon common goats are very likely to be hardy, and it may be stated, as a general rule, that the higher the cross becomes the less hardy is the animal. Schreiner, who probably knows more about what the original purebred Angora goat was than any other authority, says : "I think it is certain that the original was a small, very refined, delicate animal." The fact that the besr mohair goats in the United States at this time are nearly all of this description lends much weight to his opinion. Our breeders may sometimes produce a large, hardy animal which will produce the best of mohair, but such an ideal is not yet in sight. In many instances during the recent rapid spread of this in- dustry, the careless or shiftless man has presumed upon the re- puted hardiness of the Angoras and has subjected them to all manner of discomfort and deprivation, apparently with the ex- pectation that final results will be fully as satisfactory as if ra- tional attention had been given them. While he would not think of putting a horse, or cow, or hog upon its own resources in a pasture in winter where the snow is a foot or more in depth, he has done so with his goats and then wondered why they did not, thrive, for had he not been told that "they will live on nothing" ? Now, it is true that many flocks pass through a winter and thrive well where the snow is deep and the temperature very low, but they get something to eat every day, and plenty of it. Let the keeper of Angoras use common sense in handling them and he will not be disappointed. Given adequate shelter and feed such as they relish, Angora goats will show that they have the ability to withstand both ex- treme cold and extreme heat. They thrive in Alaska and also in Guadalupe Island. The same ability to withstand extreme tem- peratures is exhibited by horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, which argues more for care than against climate. (See remarks on cli- mate in the chapter on ''Localities adapted to goat raising.") 118 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Angora goats can subsist upon vegetation which is utterly use- less for any other purpose, but this is only evidence of their eco- nomical keeping; it does not authorize one to conclude that they never need any other kind of feed. The purpose of speaking of the hardiness of the Angora goat here is to impress the fact that, if satisfactory results are to be obtained — indeed, if disaster is to be avoided — the animals must receive the same rational treatment that is received by other live stock when best results are sought. In the sense that domestic animals are hardy, the Angora goat is very hardy, but this characteristic is of service only so far as it enables him to respond the more quickly and satisfactorily to ra- tional handling. Shelter and Pens. A shelter is necessary during wet spells, and more especially if the rain is cold or in case of sleet storms. Dry cold alone has little or no injurious effect after the kids are three or four weeks old, and they will even frolic in the snow when the mercury is at zero, and sleep with apparent comfort in an open shed. With their dense covering there is no reason why this should not be true ; but this same dense covering when soaked with cold water or driven full of sleet, is a deadly menace. Goats will not get wet if they have an opportunity to avoid it. They appreciate a shelter and will always seek it at night, and during the day in the event of storms. They are said to be excellent barometers, being able to foretell stormy weather, and always contrive to place them- selves under shelter before the advance of a storm, if possible. Mr. Diehl says they will run miles to avoid an undesirable rain. Goats should not be left on the range or in pasture over night. The latter is practiced to a considerable extent, but experience has shown that they are safer in closer confinement during the nighttime. The pens in which the goats are kept at night should, above all things, be in such a location that they can be kept dry by drainage. Other live stock should be excluded, as they would only help to trample the ground into mud. They should have a dry place to stand and sleep, for they are apt to contract rheumatism in the knees. There would be little use in raising Angoras for their fleeces if they arc compelled to wade through mud and filth or be confined under these conditions. The fleece would soon be- come so soiled and matted as to be a ''burden unto death." The sheds provided for their shelter must be of a size to give an abundance of room. The goats should not, under any circum- stances, be huddled together. If they are thus crowded in cold 120 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. weather they will pile up, with the result that some of the younger ones will die from suffocation. One writer states that he has known as high as 30 being killed in this manner in one night. Oscar Tom, of Angora, Oreg., describes a shelter that proves sat- isfactory, in the following language: "The sheds should have eave troughs, and be boarded down to within 3 or 4 feet of the ground. There should be a ditch around the shed to prevent any water from running into it, and it should be open all around, so that the goats would not have to wait for others ahead of them to go in; a few cross ones could not block the way and keep other goats in or out, and the rain would not bl®w in, but the goats would have plenty of fresh air. ' There should be a good fence around the shed at a distance of at least fifty yards, to keep cattle and horses from trampling up the ground and working it into mud. Have the fence high enough for the goats to go under, but never allow hogs to run into the goat shed, for goats are easily frightened after dark." The ditch referred to will fill up very rapidly with dirt and manure, and should receive constant attention. If it is not kept perfectly clear it may as well not have been made. In some parts of the country the strong winds will blow rain under a shed such as Mr. Tom describes. In such cases, the side from which these storms usually come might be boarded to the ground. A better plan, in the opinion of some, is to have a few solid movable panels of fence to place around the openings of the shed on such occasions. This plan is convenient, too, as the panels may be taken away in fair weather, thus permitting a free circu- lation of air from all sides. Shelter from the sun's rays should be provided for summer time. Although goats are able to withstand intense heat, they do not thrive Well when subjected to it. For this purpose sheds more open than that described above are preferred, for the reason that the air will have freer circulation. Better yet than a shed against the suns' rays are large trees. In this case there is no obstruction whatever to the air. Herding and Fencing. Goats require a great amount of exercise, much more than sheep. The one is by nature a browser and the other a grazer, and the browsing habit naturally requires more activity on the part of the goats. They are sensitive to restraint and do better if not herded, but, of course, this is often a necessity, and there- fore should be done under as favorable circumstances as possible. So far as possible they should not be allowed to feel their restraint. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 121 If constant attendance is necessary, the herder should be of quiet disposition. The next best thing to the freedom of a range is a large pasture, where the goats may have oversight, but not con- stant attendance. Such pastures are considered the cheapest method of keeping these goats. They can easily be trained to come home by feeding a little and salting regularly. The fencing for pastures is a matter which early concerns one who contemplates going into the business, for it is the current belief that goats will climb onto any shed of ordinary height or jump any fence that will stop other animals. While they will climb anything that is built in such a manner that it may be climbed easily, they will not jump any ordinary fence. They will, however, creep through if there is an opening large enough. The old-fashioned "worm" fence, especially if it leans outward, will not stop goats. The angles in such a fence are an incentive and a delight to them. Indeed, there are many hogs that will go over a fence of this kind. The writer knows 01 an instance where an effort was made to keep goats inside a stone Avail ; but the alert animals found a stump near the wall at one point and from that jumped upon the wall, then walked nearly half a mile on the top of this, and then found a stone outside which assisted them down. He has also seen goats lie flat on their sides, as pigs are prone to do, and crawl under a woven-wire fence. These instances are related here as warnings that, while goats will neither jump nor tear down a fence, they require a well-made one. They accept every opportu- nity offered to climb or crawl. In constructing a goat fence there are other matters to be taken into account than simply that the goats should be kept in; the animals themselves, especially the young ones, must be protected from predatory animals, such as clogs and wolves. Too much de- pendence must not be placed upon the goat to defend itself, espe- cially in the dark. It often occurs that dogs and wolves do their worst work at night, when the goats are without an attendant, and they frequently go upon their forays in groups of two or more. The greatest cunning and generalship is exhibited by the "sheep- killing" clog. In the Southwest it is much more important to fence to keep varmints out than it is to fence to keep the goats in. So the double object must be kept in view in building a goat fence. Such a fence must be dog-proof, hog-proof, and wolf- proof. A hog at liberty which has had the taste of chicken or lamb or kid is a greater nuisance than any wolf or dog, and should be dispatched as being an enemy to other young live stock as well as kids, 122 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Any material which is usually employed in the construction of fences is suitable for goat fences. The manner of construction is the important feature. If the purpose is to clear land of brush- wood in order to convert it into pasture land, the fence should be made with permanency in view. A fence of ten-barbed hog wires, with posts set twenty feet apart, and having three stays between, is a very good one. The lowest wire is only 1 inch from the ground; the next four wires 34; inches apart, and one-half inch added to every space above the first below it. It is necessary that all wires should be kept taut. In the Southwest these barbs in- flict wounds upon Avolves and dogs which try to get through them and the screw worm infests the wound and death ensues. Goats are wise enough 1o let the wires alone. A good fence may be made of woven wire three feet high, drawn on the inside of posts, and a closely barbed strand of wire 3 or -f inches above fastened to the outside of the posts to prevent animals from jumping in. In hilly or rolling localities some difficulty is met in fitting the fence to the contour of the ground. Sometimes there must be filling under such a fence where it crosses over a depression. This must not be overlooked, for the goat will astonish you, if you do not attend to these places, by lying flat on its side if necessary to crawl through. C. P. Bailey & Sons Co., say: "Nearly every one has a mistaken idea about fencing pasture to hold goats. One man says, 'Make your fence hog-tight, horse-high, and bull-strong.' Probably this man had a few pet goats that had become experts at getting out of pastures. A good fence three feet high is amply sufficient to hold goats. Three boards, with two barb wires, or a 24-inch Page woven wire fence, with three barb wires above, will hold goats without lia- bility of escaping. Several of the corrals at our Nevada ranch are made of 36-inch I)e Kalb wire fencing, with one barb wire at the top. These corrals keep goats in and coyotes out. The barb wire on top prevents cattle or horses from breaking clown the fences/' A straight rail fence, if the rails are laid close together, as well as an ordinary board fence, will turn* goats; but a zigzag, or worm, fence is no sort of barrier to them. A stone fence has to be well built to prevent their climbing it. A goat would rather sleep on top of a barn than anywhere else below, and if it is possible for him to get on a roof he will do it. It is not necessary to state that their presence there is ruinous to the building. 124 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. The Question of Feeding. The principal reason why goats will prove to be more profit- able in some places than sheep as because they are practically inex- pensive so far as feeding' is concerned. This phase of the subject is quite fully discussed in the chapter on "Browsing and pas- turage." The goats eat the leaves in summer and the soft twigs in Avinter, and if there is an abundance of either they will not need much of anything else to sustain life. It is not possible in all localities, however, for goats to get twigs in winter, and there- fore some other provision is necessary. Corn fodder is a very good feed and is relished if there is no browse to tempt the goats away. They are also fond of clean straw. There is not sufficient nourishment in these fodders, and some grain should be fed to keep the animals in good condition. Probably the best feed is oats, and if it is sheaf oats it is better still. In Texas cotton seed is often fed by scattering it upon the hard snow, where goats will have to exercise somewhat to pick it up; besides, the time consumed in picking it up insures better mastication. Eeports from some goat men who have run their goats upon cowpea stubble in the autumn are of the most satisfactory nature. That which goats pick up would otherwise be good as fertilizer only, and it puts them in prime condition, in a very short time, for breeding and for winter. Cowpea hay, clover hay, and alfalfa hay are all most excellent coarse feeds, and with them no grain is necessary to carry goats through the winter in fair condition. In feeding grain care must be taken not to make the supply too liberal, unless the object is to be fattened for slaughter. Goats easily become lazy on a plentiful supply of grain and will decline to go out to feed upon the brush. This is an important ponit, as their hardiness, to a large extent, is attributed to their feeding upon browse and to the resulting exercise. The quantity of food necessary to keep goats in good condition varies according to the climate, but one-fourth pound of corn or its equivalent in other grain and 1-| pounds of hay at a ration is about a fair average. With abundant winter pasture this ration once a day (in the evening) is sufficient; if the pasture is scant, they ought to have it both morning and evening, and on wet cold days, when they are kept in the sheds all day, feed them three times or make their rations correspondingly larger. In feeding either hay or grain, absolute cleanliness must rule, as goats will not eat soiled food. There is no animal more particular about his food than the goat. He has no inclination for mud or filth in which to stand or walk, much less having to pick his food out of it, Bryan Hook, author ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 125 of "Milch Goats and Their Management," says: "The goat is of all animals the most fastidious in the matter of the cleanliness of its food, refusing, even though ever so hungry, to eat food that has been soiled or trodden under foot. For this reason a rack should be provided for the hay, and only as much given at each meal as the animal will consume, for that which has been trampled under foot will ever be rejected, even though carefully collected and replaced in the rack." When the production of mohair is reduced to a fine art, the question of feed in addition to browse will receive the most careful attention because of its influence upon the fiber. With this thought in mind, the reader is advised to see what Dr. McMurtrie says, as quoted in the chapter on "Mohair and mohair manufactures." Wet Grass Considered Injurious. The Angora goat breeders of Asia Minor attribute the health- fulness of their animals, as well as the excellent quality of mo- hair produced, to the very dry climate. They believe that moisture, even in the form of dew and sleet, is injurious and often fatal to the goats, and are very careful not to allow their flocks to go to pasture until the grass and other herbage is dry. While this view may be exaggerated, many of our breeders follow the Turkish practice with excellent results. The Question of Watering. Goats do not drink much water, but what they do drink must be clean. They have an inherent abhorrence of filthy water and filthy food. A running stream is a valuable thing in a pasture. If that is not present, water from a spring or well should be af- forded. The Question of Salting. Goats require more salt than sheep, owing to the more as- tringent character of their feed. If loose salt is used, the general custom is to give it once a week on regular days. If rock salt is used, it should be placed where the animal can get to it at any time. Eock salt is preferable, as it can be placed in boxes or troughs raised from the ground, and thus be kept out of the dirt and be of easy access to the goats at any time; and, too, there is no waste and do danger that the animal will eat too much of it. The Question of Marking. The question of marking is always proper. Several devices are in use, but the metal tag in the ear is probably best known. 126 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. A practice which appears to give satisfaction is to tattoo the num- bers into the ear, using indelible ink, It is found that the metal is sometimes pulled out by the brush. Kidding' and the Kids. The kidding time is the most important in the life of the goat. For two or three days after the kids are dropped they are exceed- ingly delicate, and there will be no future success unless good care is given at this time. They can not "rough it" at this period, but will die from very little exposure or neglect. They are more deli- cate for a few Aveeks than lambs. When the kids are large enough to follow the Hock ihey have constitutions stronger than lambs of like age and are able to care for themselves very well. The proper time for kids to arrive is in the spring, about the time when leaves start on the trees and bushes. At that time there is milk-producing food for the doe, and the weather is also warm enough to favor the kids. The exact time may be governed, of course, by the service of the bucks and will be earlier in lo- calities where the seasons are earlier. If the kids come in cold weather, there will be greater difficulty in saving them. Warm stabling must also be provided, and the does will require extra feeding in order that they may supply milk for the kids. A few days before a kid is due the doe should be separated from the flock. Some breeders would put her in a pen alone, while others would put as many as 20 in one pen. If the facilities are at hand, a small pen for each doe is better, for the reason that the doe will sooner "own" the kid and there will be less clanger of injury than if among a number. A doe knows her kid by the sense of smell, especially when it is young. This characteristic is so strong that some breeders assert that if two kids of different mothers are rubbed together, the does will often refuse to own them. Whoever cares for the doe at kidding time will find it an important part of his work to see that the does own their kids. This difficulty in any case will disappear in a few days, and it will then only be necessary to arrange for the does to get to the kids whenever they desire. If kids are dropped on the range or in the pasture, they must be carried home and special care given to see that the does are made to own them, for many times they will refuse. A lamb will follow its mother very soon after it is dropped, but a doe will hide her kid as best she can in the bushes or behind a stone or log and leave it there while she goes away to feed; and on her return she expects to find it where she left it. The Mexican method of handling the kid is largely practiced ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 127 in Texas and New Mexico and consists of '"staking," or "toggling," the kid. When the kid is dropped, take it to a protected place (shed or barn), seeing to it that the doe follows, and "stake it out," or "toggle" it, with a string about 14 inches long. Tie this string to one leg, changing occasionally to the other legs to avoid lameness. This string should have a swivel in it to prevent twist- ing, and the kids should be carefully watched so long as they are so tied, which will be from seven to ten days. The does should remain with the kids until they leave them of their own accord to go out for feed. The kids may then be alloAved to run loose in a pen together until they are large enough to go out with the flock, which is when they are from four to six Aveeks old, or when they are able to jump a board from 12 to 20 inches high placed across the gate. The height of this board this method in Nevada for more than twenty-five years. If the restrains the kids that are too small to follow the flock and at the same time enables the does to go and come as they please. W. G-. THE HUGHES SEPARATING BRIDGE. Hughes & Co., of Hastings, Tex., have a device for separating the does from the kids which is better than the board. It is a bridge, either end of which drops to the desired height. This device enables the does to go out and in without injuring the udder, which is apt to occur where they have to jump a board. The following is from Dr. W. C. Bailey, one of the best-known breeders in the world : "There are in use two methods of handling kids at kidding time; namely, the corral method and the staking method. Each of these has points which render it most valuable under certain conditions and in certain localities. THE CORRAL METHOD. "This method may be used with any number of goats. With various modifications and adaptations which best suit the size of the flock, the climatic conditions, the facilities for feeding, etc., it may be used by the beginner with success. We have practiced 128 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. herd is a large one, say 1,000 head, three men are required to handle the goats at kidding time. The service of the bucks is so managed that the kids will be dropped gradually through several weeks. At the height of the season we -expect from 75 to 100 kids a day. The season lasts about thirty or forty days. Fortunately, most of the kids are dropped in the daytime. "We have four or live small corrals, fenced with 36-inch woven wire and large enough to hold 50 does and their kids. The doe should be allowed plenty of room, because if too close to her neigh- bor she may adopt the other doe's kid. Besides, these small corrals, two large ones are needed, each large enough to hold 1,000 does. Along the fence of one of these corrals are a dozen small pens just large enough to hold a doe and kid. At the gate of this corral a jump board is placed. This jump board is intended to keep back those kids which are not large and strong enough to jump over it. A 2-inch board about 18 inches high will answer the purpose. Another device sometimes used is a platform open at the end, so that the kids may run under it and thus avoid being trampled upon when the goats are going out over the paltform. "The small corrals may be made of panel fence and located in a meadow where some feed is afforded. The does should always have some kind of feed at kidding time. "In the morning the flock is carefully examined, and all does which show signs of kidding during the clay should be separated and placed in one of the small corrals. The large flock is now turned out, and one of the men is sent with them with instruc- tions to take the herd at once as far as he intends to go for feed that day, then to let them feed over a limited area and gradu- ally work their way home. A few does will drop their kids on the range, and the herder should carefully note the number and their location. He should see that the herd does not feed around one of these does, as she is apt to leave her kid and join the band, thus necessitating much extra work in finding the kid and in giving it to its mother. Early in the afternoon the band is placed in one of the large corrals. Now the herder and another man go out with a wagon or on foot and carry the kids home, gently dri- ving the mothers. The kids should not be handled or rubbed against one another more than is necessary, as the doe knows her kid by the scent. These does and kids are placed in the small corral which contains the does held back in the morning with the expectation that they would kid during the day. We now have one day's kidding in one of the small corrals. The does and the kids should be watched to see that they are properly arranged. Do not bother them more than is absolutely necessary. Do not be 130 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. in a hurry to make a doe own a kid. Do not drive the goats around one of the small pens. "The does should remain with their kids in the corral for a day or two at least, or until the kids are properly mothered. Any does which have not kidded should be taken out. The next morning any kids which may have been born during the night are put in another small corral with their mothers, as well as the does which are expected to kid during the day. The procedure of the previous day is repeated. In about three days, if one has limited quarters, the first day's mothers and kids may be put in the second large corral ; that is, the one with the jump board at the gate. Now this 'wet' band is placed in charge of one of the men and sent out to feed. The gate is opened, the mothers passing out over the jump board, and the kids remain in the corral. The herder must not range his goats near the does that are kidding upon the range, and he should be cautioned to come in later than the 'dry' band, so as to avoid any possibility of their mixing. When his band ar- rives at the corral the gate is opened, and each mother hunts for her kid. Some of the kids may not find their mothers, and if after a day or two there are a few unnourished kids and some does with overdistencled udders they should be placed together in the small pens along the side of the corral. The doe will own the kid in a day or two, whether she is its mother or not. The kids should not be allowed to become too weak before this is done. If one does not have enough small pens, a doe may be held while two or three kids suckle her, and thus tide them over until some of the small pens are vacant. "The next day the second day's kidding is added to the wet band. The wet band thus gradually grows, while the dry band decreases. During the day two men will be employed at herding the dry and wet bands, respectively, and the third man will be kept busy inspecting the kids, feeding the does in confinement, etc. If the weather is stormy some of the kids will have to be sheltered. The advisability of having the kids dropped gradually through a period of thirty or forty days will readily be seen. If help is inexperienced they may be gradually trained, or if the weather is stormy there will be time to get all things arranged properly. 'The kids should not be allowed to go with their mothers until they are about six or eight weeks old. If they go before this, they will probably become tired very soon and go to sleep. When they awake the band will have gone, and they are liable to be lost. During the day, while the mothers are feeding, the kids would eat a little grass if they could be herded near the corral. "As stated before, there may be many modifications of this ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 131 method which will suggest themselves, but the above is a general outline of a method commonly in use. THE STAKING METHOD. "This method is largely employed, even with large flocks, in New Mexico, but is possibly best suited to small flocks. It is without doubt the best method for certain surroundings. About, the same amount of help will be required as with the corral method. There should be a good supply of stakes similar to tent stakes. There should also be a supply of swivel blocks which are about 4 inches long and having a hole bored near each end. A piece of rope about 6 inches long is fastened to the stake, and the other end is passed through one of the holes in the swivel block and a knot tied in the end. Another piece of rope of equal length is likewise knotted and passed through the other hole of the swivel block, the loose end being tied to the kid's leg. Any swivel will take the place of this primitive method. The herder or owner can busy himself during the winter months by making stakes and swivels and by cutting and attaching the ropes. "When a kid is born it is taken to a convenient place to stake and the mother is gently coaxed to follow. The stake is securely driven into the ground, and the kid fastened to it by the hind leg. The mother is left with the kid, in order that she may know where to find it upon returning from feeding. The kid should be staked where he can get plenty of sunshine, shade, and shelter. A small bush, a post, or a box will answer the purpose admirably. If there are twins, they must be so staked that they can suckle at the same time. The rope should be changed from one hind leg to the other occasionally, to prevent unequal development. Some- times a vigorous kid gets thoroughly tangled and requires help. The kid may thus be staked until he is old enough to go with the flock, which is after six or eight weeks, or he may be put in a corral a few clays, as is clone in the corral method. "There are many successful breeders who use this method en- tirely. One may expect to get good results if he follows either the corral" or staking method carefully." There is very small loss among kids cared for as set forth above. Many of the breeders on a large scale report the percentage of increase as 100. This does not mean that every kid lives, but that so few die that the loss is offset by the number of twins that are dropped. The most practicable fencing to be used at kidding time is made of portable panels. By the use of these panels a pen may be made large or small and be moved from one place to an- other without difficultv and with verv little work. 132 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Weaning. — Kids should not be weaned until they are 4-J months old unless they are very strong; but they should not remain with their mothers after they are 5 months old. This especially applies to the buck kids, as they will often breed at 6 months of age or even younger. Castration. — The buck kids not reserved for breeding purposes should be castrated when about 2 weeks old. The earlier it is done, the better will be the meat and the mohair. It is pointed out in previous pages that the mohair from wethers ranks with that from the does, and the flesh is superior to that of the does and inferior only in small degree to that of the kids. A cool day should always be selected for the operation of castration and careful attention given for a few days. Notes on Kidding from Correspondents. As kidding is the most critical period in the handling of goats, it is very important that the breeder, especially if he is a beginner, should be well informed on this matter. It therefore seems de- sirable to quote herewith the various views of men who are suc- cessful and well-known breeders. From F. 0. Landrum, Laguna, Tex. : "There are several meth- ods of handling goats during kidding. The one employed here is the Mexican plan. When the kid is dropped take it by the hind legs, so that the doe will follow, to where you want to stake him. Stake with rope about 12 inches long, with wooden swivel in cen- ter. Leave them staked until after they are marked and cas- trated and well owned by the mother. Sometimes kids are herded with their mothers and sometimes by themselves until they learn to be herded. If not handled properly and the kids are allowed to mix together, the doe loses the scent of her kid, and young does will often disown them." From W. G. Hughes & Co., Hastings, Tex.: "We keep the nannie and kid to themselves so far as possible for a day or so, and do not allow more than 20 nannies and kids in the same pen until the kids are over a week old, nor more than 50 nannies and kids in the same pen until 2 weeks old. Kids are kept in the pen day and night until a month old, and are then allowed to run outside the pen during the day to eat a little; the feed may be furnished them in the form of cut branches if there are no bushes near the pen. They should also have access to water after 4 weeks old. When 6 weeks old they can go out with the flock for a few hours in the afternoon, the flock being brought in at midday for this purpose. After 8 weeks they can go regularly all day with the ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 133 get through kidding time is to put all the does that are soon to bring kids in a separate small pasture where they can be looked up easily. In case of bad weather they should be brought into their shed every evening before sundown; but if the weather is dry and not too cold they can be left out, and all the does will likely own their kids. Of course, the kids will not follow their mothers as lambs do, but will lie down in a thicket or under a bush, a weed, a log, or a rock, and remain there till the mother comes back to it, even if it should have to wait till it starved to death ; but after a kid is a few days old it is able to follow its mother, although it is best to keep the kids at home. Kids need not suck oftener than twice a day." From Josephus R. Barnette, Globe, Ariz. : "I cut out the heavy ewes from the rest of the herd, and hold them in a close herd, and catch the kids and bring them with their mothers to the corral, where each kid is staked separately with a toggle, or swivel, being careful to see that the mother knows where the kid is. After this I let the new mothers come and go at will, only noticing them enough to see that they come to their kids regularly. The kids should be watched closely in order that they may not get tangled up and hurt. When they are about 2 weeks old they are turned loose in a corral and a board is put at the gate over which the mothers jump in going to and from their kids. When the kids are 3 months old they may be allowed to go with the herd." From Col. Wm. L. Black, Fort McKavett, Tex. : "This is the most critical period in the handling of goats. The kids are gener- ally collected daily, as soon as dropped and able to stand and suckle the mothers, and are confined in a corral for several weeks, much of the time tied to a stake driven into the ground. It is no! safe to let them run with the flock until they are a month to 6 weeks of age, as they are liable to drop out of the flock and be' lost." From H. I. Kimball, Maxwell City, 1ST. Mex. : "I always keep the kids in a corral until they are old enough to follow the doe, which is when they are about 30 days old. In taking the kids to the corral care should be taken to get nothing on them that will change the scent, for does are very sensitive. If two kids from different does are rubbed together, the does will often refuse to own either of them. All kids should be castrated before 2 weeks old, as there is less clanger and they do not get so sore." From C M. Scott, Malta, Idaho: "Take all the nannies out from the other goats as soon as they kid, and put them by them- selves. I have about 100 small pens in which I put the nannies. Put the young nannies and old ones in different pens. Here they 134 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. flock. We use a bridge for the purpose of 'cutting back' such kids as should not go out with the flock." From H. T. Fuchs, Marble Falls, Tex. : "The easiest way to remain for 4 or 5 days and they are then turned into a larger pen, but not more than 50 should be put together." From Oscar Tom, Angora, Oreg. : "I aim to have a field of fall grain or reserved pasture to turn the does in a few days before kidding commences, and turn the does in another pasture as fast as they drop their kids. Keep the kids up about 2 weeks, then let them go with their mothers." From Henry Fink, Leon Springs, Tex. : "I stake the kid in a barn for 2 weeks. The mother goes out in the daytime to feed and is put with the kid at night. After 2 weeks the kid is turned loose and kept in a pen until 2 months old, when it is allowed to go out with the flock." Care oi the Feet. The toes will grow to a great length and turn up at the points, like an old-fashioned skate, if they are not trimmed. They will not only thus become a nuisance to the animal, but: will get sore and become very painful. Where the goat has the run of rocky land or land that is sandy to a considerable extent, hand trim- ming will not be necessary, but if for any cause the toes grow too long, they should be pared off with a knife. If the soil is wet much of the time, the animals are liable to be attacked with foot rot. For treatment of this disease, the reader is referred to the chapter on "Diseases and other enemies." CHAPTER X. FLOCK MANAGEMENT. Tlie Best Flock. It is assumed that whoever goes into the business of raising Angora goats will do so principally for the production of mohair, rather than meat or skins, and therefore it is to his interest to possess a flock that will yield a profit from the beginning. The best flock for this purpose is one composed of high grades, or thoroughbreds. (There are no purebred Angora goats, so far as any'one knows. ) Such a flock will produce good mohair from the first. There is a great difference between high-grade goats — in length, strength, luster, density, and fineness of fleece. The better these qualities, the higher will be the price. Whoever enters upon this industry will shape his plans to con- form to his capital, just as he would do in any other business. If he begins with high-grade does, they will cost him from $5 to $15 each, and the prices of good bucks range from $20 to $100. Ex- ceptionally excellent bucks, especially winners in the show ring, will bring higher prices. A large flock of this kind of animals, although preferable, would cost a small fortune, and so be beyond consideration by the greater number of people who will engage in the industry. A Flock from Small S5« "inning. A plan that may be pursued by one who has limited capital is to begin with a few first-class animals and from these build up a flock. The result is quite sure to prove satisfactory. This may be the wisest plan for the beginner to follow, as experience, which is so necessary to success, will be gained as the flock in- creases. The mohair from such a flock will bring a good price and the kids are far more profitable than crossbreds. Crossing Upon the Common Does. It is observed in a previous chapter of this book that many years ago the Turks began the practice of crossing Angora bucks upon Kurd does. They had in mind the twofold purpose of pro- ducing thereby a hardier animal than the purebred Angora and 136 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. of increasing the number of goats in order to supply the increased demand of Europe for mohair. The practice of crossing Angora bucks upon common does in the United States began at once upon their introduction, and the results have been satisfactory in that the industry was thereby saved to the country. It is probably a safe statement that if our supply of Angoras had depended en- tirely upon importations and their offspring, there would be noth- ing here now worthy to bear the dignified title of industry. Most of the large flocks of the Southwest had Mexican does for their foundation, but it is a most encouraging sign of the times that the practice is not followed any more except to a limited extent. The country has no further need of such crosses, and it is desirable that the practice cease altogether. The advantage claimed for crossing upon common does is that good does may be purchased at $1.50 to $2.50 each; that during the first and second crosses there are many twins, thus increasing the flock in that proportion — a condition not existing, except to a small extent, among the high- est bred Angoras; and the size and hardiness of the progeny are increased and the liability to disease decreased. Care should be exercised in starting a flock by this method to select only such common does as are entirely white ; any other color, however slight, is objectionable. There should be no dark spots on the skin. The offspring from such animals might prove satis- factory, but the probabilities are to the contrary. In handling crosses, the breeder finds that atavism, or reversion of type, often becomes apparent when it is most objectionable. It is also necessary, in order to insure best results, that the common does should have as short hair as it is possible to obtain it. This hair (known in the Angora fleece as kemp) will be cor- respondingly short in the crosses. Crosses upon long-haired does will oftentimes exhibit kemp from two to four inches long. This means a heavy shrinkage in noilage when the mohair reaches the manufacturer. The buck used upon these does and upon all the crosses should be the best one can afford. A poor buck will defeat the object of the breeder. It must be remembered that the excellence of mohair which is in view must be contributed entirely by the buck. All male crosses for many generations (a dozen would not be too many unless kemp should disappear) should be castrated and prepared for slaughter as soon as large enough. The building up of a flock of Angoras by the practice of cross- ing upon common does is not so rapid as many suppose. Let it be assumed that we have a floek of 100 common does which drop as many kids the first season. Half of these are bucks, leaving 138 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 50 does for the next cross. These 50 drop 50 kids, 25 of which are does; the next cross would give 12 or 13, and the. fifth cross 6. This last number represents approximately the number of high- grade does that would result each year from a flock of 100 common does at the beginning. I have spoken of the fifth or sixth cross as being high grades, and so they are; but they are far, very far, from being purebreds, and it is probably giving them too much credit for excellence to call them thoroughbreds. A purebred Angora should not have any kemp whatever. How long time may be necessary to produce a kempless Angora from crossing upon common stock no one will venture to say. Instances have been reported where kemp was still in evidence after twelve crosses. While the purpose of the above paragraphs is to tell why cross- ing upon common stock is resorted to and how it is done, it is a practice to be discouraged at this time. The Angora goat breeders are just now doing their utmost to produce kempless animals, and this crossing is persistently working against their purposes. Every drop of common blood adds trouble extending over many years. Proper Age for Breedingt Goats of both sexes will sometimes breed when they are 5 months old, and often at 6 months, but from the fact that they are at this age but a month or two from weaning time and are not nearly full grown, it is obvious that they should not be permitted to breed. They reach maturity when about 16 or 18 months old, and they ought not to breed before this time. If bred earlier the kids will not be so strong or so well developed. They are in their prime when from 2 to 6 years old, but with proper feeding in winter they have been known to breed regularly until 15 years old. The average life of goats, however, is about 12 years. There should be no tendency to keep does until they are very old unless they bring kids of exceptional merit, for it must be remembered that their mohair gets coarser, and consequently less valuable, as they grow older. Old does make very good mutton if fattened on grain, or if a good portion of their feed is grain. The cooking re- quires a little more time than for young animals. The accompanying illustration shows how the age of goats may be determined until they are four years old. After that, in the absence of definite information, the age is a mere matter of guess, based upon the general appearance of the animal. The new teeth are longer and larger. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 139 FlRSt Ylar Slcond Year Fifth Yelar :he age shown by the teeth. In-and-ln Breeding. In-and-in breeding means the breeding of related individuals. The term is indefinite, and with some refers to a close relation- ship and with others to any degree of relationship. Extensive cor- respondence with the goat raisers of the United States shows that with them the term means generally the breeding of individuals of close relationship. There is an overwhelming sentiment against the practice be- cause of the injurious result to the constitution of the offspring. It is quite generally agreed, however, that in-and-in breeding will produce a fleece of finest fiber, having beautiful luster and little oil, but the weight will b,e reduced. The few who favor the prac- tice contend that the quality more than offsets the quantity. The offspring of related animals are not so large and strong as those which are not related ; they are quite delicate and naturally more subject to disease. The fact must not be overlooked, however, that John S. Harris, of Salem, Oreg., has followed in-and-in breeding continuously and with evident success, and, too, they are 140 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. kept in a climate where the temperature in winter is sometimes far below zevo. But Mr. Harris is a gentleman who understands the art. of breeding. If all goat raisers knew so well the prin- ciples of breeding as he does, there might not be so many to con- demn the practice. However, they have learned much by experi- ence, and it can not be contended that they are wrong in advising generally against the practice. Management of the Buck. Bucks usually come in heat about the middle of July and con- tinue so about six months; does, however, do not usually come in heat until the latter part of August or the first of September. As the period of gestation in goats is from 147 to 155 days (or about five months), care must be taken in mating the animals to have the kids dropped in proper season, which will vary some- what with the locality. The kids should not come before the warm days of spring or when vegetation begins to put out vigorously. Therefore the buck should be put to service from November 1 to December 1, so that the kids will come about the first of April or May. The only objection to earlier kidding is the extra care re- quired to preserve the life of the kids, for they are exceedingly delicate for a few days, as has been stated before, and even a little cold at this season will probably prove fatal. A buck, like any other domestic animal, should be in the best possible condition when put to service. He should be well fed with grain for a few weeks before this time, and the feeding should be kept up until a few weeks after his service is ended. As to the number of does which a buck may serve, there is a great diversity of opinion. The greater number of goat raisers, however, think 40 or 50 is all that may be served with good re- sults. Col. Eichard Peters wrote that he had obtained the best results with 200 breeding does by turning in with them ten se- lected bucks. His object was to have the kids come as nearly at one time as possible, thus shortening the period of careful watch- ing. Eeferring to Colonel Peters's practice, Dr. J. E. Standley says he regards it a great success, and will adopt it in the future. He says, further: "I have tried the one-service system, also turning in bucks at night, removing them during the day, and other plans, but decidedly prefer Colonel Peters's plan/' Where there are very large flocks it is not always desirable that the kids should all come at one time. If they are dropped at inter- vals for a month, one attendant may thus be enabled to look after a large number, whereas if all come about the same time, one attendant could not do the work, and assistants Avho mav be ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 141 strangers to the flock would be necessary. (It is not well to have many strangers with these goats at any time, and certainly not at kidding time.) The handling of "riginals" (ridgels) should have a word here. If the one testicle which descends is removed, the riginal will not get kids, but he will bother the does. If the descended testicle is not removed, he will breed without difficulty. He should be killed as soon as practicable. Number of Kids. Thoroughbred Angora goats do not generally drop more than one kid at a time, while the common goats nearly always drop two or three. There are many twins with the first cross, but the number of twins diminishes as the crosses become higher. It is stated that the purebred Angoras never dropped but one at a time, and that the presence of twins in a flock is evidence of a base origin of the goats. The latter statement is disputed by some, who believe that the purebred Angora (having no trace whatever of base blood) will drop twins as regularly as the common goat. This is a point that is liable to remain in dispute, as there is no way to settle it. In the Southwest, where most of the large flocks are located and where no particular care is given the goats on most ranches, the average percentage of kids is about 70. In other places, where such care is given the does at kidding time as they ought to have, the increase may easily be 100 per cent. There are instances of the increase reaching as high as 120 per cent. Good handling of a flock anywhere ought to give a kid for every doe of the flock. Size of Flocks. All goat raisers agree that Angoras can not stand crowding together ; and the higher the grade of the goats the more suscepti- ble are they to injury from crowding. Special stress should be laid upon this matter of crowding, for it is more serious than many people will be inclined to think. They will argue that goats ought to stand what sheep and hogs do in this respect, but the fact is they will not stand it. Let no one crowd his animals, and be convinced of his error when he finds a half dozen dead ones in his goat shed some morning. Goats require much fresh air and it must be afforded them. Many who have taken goats from the South to the North have worked injury to their flocks when attempting a kindness by providing barns too warm, without sufficient ventilation. For well-fleeced goats drv barns are needed more than very warm ones. 142 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. To state just how many should be kept in a flock is difficult, as the number depends upon the character of their restraint. Where they have the range at day and large yards at night, the flocks may be very large, but where they have pasturage and small pens at night the flock must not be large. It is stated by some that goats in small flocks shear more than those running in large flocks. A flock ought not to exceed 2,000 in number. Dehorning. Dehorning the goats has received very little consideration, and it is probable that Q. M. Beck, of Beargrove, Iowa, is the only goat raiser who is now practicing it. Many other breeders report that they do not dehorn but believe it practicable, while a very few ex- press opposition to the practice. Mr. Beck writes as follows: "I dehorned 45 head last fall (1899) and found it a success, as it stops a great deal of bunting, which is liable to cause abortion, saves shed room, saves broken legs, and will save many kids." These same reasons have brought the dehorning of cattle in quite general favor among breeders, and it is probable that as the Angora goat industry grows into a large industry the practice of relieving the goats of their civilized weapons of warfare will be generally adopted. Mr. Beck dehorns in the fall after all flies are gone. A different view of the question of dehorning is taken by C. P. Bailey & Sons Co., who dehorned 250 head which were in a band by themselves. They bunted as much or more than before the horns were removed. "Goats always butt each other, but we have never seen any ill effects resulting, except occasionally a leg being broken from being caught between the horns. It deprives them of their only means of defense, and we consider it unnecessary and objectionable." CHAPTER XL SHEARING, SHEARS, AND SHEDDING. Shearing Once or Twice a Year. In Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and sometimes in California shearing is done twice a year — in the months of March or April and in September or October. The reasons for this are that the fleece will often shed in the fall as well as in the spring, if it is not clipped owing to the long warm season. H. T. Fuchs, of Texas, says: "1 find it quite necessary to shear twice a year, as they suffer too much from heat in the summer and autumn and even during the warm days in winter if they are not sheared about the middle of September, and in the springtime as soon as they begin to shed their long silky hair." There are occasional in- stances in these localities where goats carry their fleece through the year, but all breeders, except in some parts of California, repori. the practice of shearing twice a year. In the other parts of the country shearing is done but once a year, and that in the months of March or April. The rule for shearing time does not depend so much upon the calendar as upon the condition of the fleece. It should not be delayed until the fiber begins to shed, as then the oil will begin to go back into the body of the animal, the mohair thus losing its life and luster. After goats once begin to shed, the loss of mohair is considerable. A bit of the fleece may be caught upon a twig or thorn or silver and be pulled out. When the hair is not shedding the goat is very careful about its hair, for it gives pain to have it pulled; but when it is shedding the skin itches, and every effort will be made to rid itself of the fleece. As to the relative values of the semiannual and annual fleeces, there does not seem to be much difference of opinion. The semi- annual fiber is shorter and therefore less desirable for fabricating, and the price is not so high as for that of the annual fleece. It is generally agreed that the two shearings combined weigh a little more than the annual shearing, but probably the increase does not average more than a quarter of a pound. However, some who have practiced it report that the gain is not equal to the cost of the second, shearing, and that shearing twice is done from necessity rather than from the standpoint of profit. 144 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. It is well to keep in mind the fact that our mohair manufac- turers have never yet been able to secure all the long staple that they needed, but at the same time the market has always been overstocked with the shorter staple. This is especially true of the mohair which is not over four inches in length. Much of the semi- annual shearing is not so short as this and so brings a better price in a more certain market. Use of Clipping Machines. The use of clipping machines, although largely employed among large sheep raisers, has not yet come into general use among goat raisers. Those who have used them indorse them, and they will no doubt soon come into general use. They are more rapid than hand work, and the results are more satisfactory. The cutting of the skin is easily avoided in reasonably careful hands, while it requires extreme care with hand shears to prevent cutting. Mr. H. I. Kim- ball, of New Mexico, says of the use of the machines: . "I sheared them [the goats] myself faster than the best hand shearer I ever saw, and I got a better price for my mohair." Another gentle- man says: "1 will say that the clipping machine for sheep will work well on goats in every respect. I have sheared ten goats in one hour and done up the fleeces.'' The power machines may op- erate any number of shears, all of which are connected with the driving shaft. The same machine, with one pair of the same kind of shears, is made for operation by hand power, A man or a boy of good strength -may easily operate this machine, while another applies the shears to the goat or sheep. The machine is not ex- pensive, and goat men generally will find it to be to their advantage to use it. Of course, the goat raiser will consider the relative cost of shearing with machines and by hand before he will purchase a machine. The decision will probably depend upon the number. The cost of hand shearing is about 4 cents a head. In the South- west there are Mexicans who follow the profession of shearing sheep and goats; these usually receive 2 cents a head with their board. Many of them will shear 85 or 90 a day, the average of all being about 60. Any man who can shear sheep can shear goats. If shearing is done by hand, a short-bladed shear should be used in order to avoid cutting the hair twice. Another objection to hand shearing is that there is often double cutting of the hair. The results are a shortening of the fiber and an increased amount of noilage. The shears tised for goats, both hand and machine, are the same as those used for shearing sheep. It is much easier for the POWER AND HAND SHEARING MACHINES. Manufactured by the Allen Sheep Shearing Machine Co., Chicago. 146 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. shearer and more humane to the goat if the shears are always sharp. I The Operation of Shearing. Goats are not so gentle in the hands of the shearer as sheep, and many, especially among beginners in the industry, are anxious to know how best to handle them during the operation of shearing. The illustration presented here is of a combination shearing trough and table, and was devised by F. W. Ludlow, of Lake Val- ley, N. Mex. This table is very simple and is equally suited to LUDLOW COMBINATION SHEARING TABLE. hand and machine shearing. It is first used in the shape of a trough. The goat is placed in it on its back and held down by means of an iron yoke across the throat. While in this position all the underparts, sides, and legs may be worked upon. Mr. Lud- low says that in machine shearing it is a good plan to start at the brisket and shear all the belly as far back as possible; then shear the front legs and neck ; then start at the hocks and shear up the hind legs and along the sides to the point of beginning. After shearing one of the sides allowed by the trough, the goat is tied — "hog-tied," to use a Western expression ; that is, all four feet are tied together. The sides of the trough are now dropped, forming a table upon which to finish the operation. The illustration shows that there is now free access from the tail to the head, and the goat remains helpless. In the illustration the fleece already cut has ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 147 been pulled away in order that the table might be shown, but the proper course is to leave all the fleece upon the table until the goat is liberated, and then roll it up inside out. Mr. Ludlow's description of this table is given herewith: "The table is simple in construction. It is about 22 inches high, 2 fee! 10 inches long, and 21 inches wide. The top is composed of two 9-inch sides, which are hinged to the 3-inch centerpiece. On the lower side of these movable flaps is a narrow piece 8 inches long, which catches on the framework of the table when the sides are lifted and holds them stationary. When the sides are elevated, the top of the table forms a trough 3 inches wide at the bottom and possibly a foot wide at the top. Into this trough the goat to be shorn is thrown feet up. A small iron yoke, which is attached to the end of one of the sides, is placed over the goat's neck and fastened to the other side. The goat's head is hanging over the end of the table and the yoke prevents it getting free. The belly 148 ANGORA GOAT RAIDING. and legs are then shorn. The legs of the goat are then tied to- gether, the yoke removed from the neck, and the sides of the table dropped, so that one has a plane surface on which to shear the rest of the animal. An untrained man can shear 100 goats a day with a shearing machine and such a table." Since Mr. Ludlow wrote the above, a Mexican in his employ sheared 226 goats in eight hours and fifteen minutes on this table, record for goat shearing. This stands as the world's Washing tlie Goats Before Shearing. If the animals have been well cared for through the winter and early spring, it will not be necessary to wash them before shearing. And yet it is next to impossible to have a flock where all or any considerable number of them are clean enough to shear without washing, and it will be time and money well spent to put them through the water. Most goat men do not wash their goats before shearing and this is the reason why so much very foul mo- GOAT CLIPPING MACHINE, Manufactured by Chicago Flexible Shaft Co. Chicago. SHEARING PLANT, USING STEWART SHEAR. Made by Chicago Flexible Shaft Co., Chicago. 150 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. hair is thrown upon the market. Some goat men, like many sheep men, harbor the foolish notion that the mohair buyer is going to pay them just as much for their dirty mohair as for that which is comparatively clean. On the contrary, they are liable to be of- fered less than it is really worth. Care of the Fleece After Shearing. The operation of shearing should be done in a building free from straw and dirt, which might adhere to the fleece after it drops from the goat. It should then be rolled up, inside out, and packed in the sack without being tied in any way. This is the manner in which the mills desire to receive it. The practice of tying the fleece with almost any kind of twine that may be at hand obtains very largely among goat raisers in the United States, but not with those of Turkey and Cape Colony. The reasons why the mill operators do not desire fleeces tied are very forcibly stated by one of them (George B. Goodall), as follows: "I want to mention another evil which should be corrected, and that is the use of twine or string around the fleeces. Vegetable fibers will not take dyes used for animal fibers, and in cutting these strings hy the sorters more or less of the vegetable fibers get into the mohair and have to be carefully burled out from the face of the finished goods, which acids to the cost of each piece. A mohair should be simply rolled up without twine of any description. You never see it on Turkey or Cape mohair." Previous to the year 1902 the manufacturers complained bit- terly of the practice of many shippers of mohair tying fleeces with all sorts of dirty and frowsy twine. Some even used baling wire; and the instances were not rare where stones and clods weighing several pounds were found in the sacks. These were no doubt placed there to make additional weight, and they did: but the mohair buyer does not pay the freight, neither does he buy without careful examination of every sack, so the loss falls directly back upon the shipper. For the year 1902 the mohair buyers of American mohair state that there have been no flagrant efforts at fraud by such schemes. After the fleece is taken from the goat, it should be spread out upon a clean table, as stated before, and all foreign particles care- fully removed. The fleece is apt to contain straws, pieces of briers, burs, and sometimes even cockleburs, and all these should be taken out before the fleece is rolled up. While this procedure is neces- sarily tedious and to some may appear useless, it will pay. This work must be done somewhere, and wherever it is done the mo- hair producer pays for it either directly or indirectly. As labor HAND AND POWER SHEARING MACHINES. Manufactured by the Cooper Shearing- Machine Co., Chicago. 152 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. on the farm and ranch is cheaper than that in the mills, it would better be done there. Some have adopted the practice of baling their mohair instead of using the old-fashioned sack; but the baling is not so satisfactory to the manufacturers as the sack, and it will therefore probably not be generally adopted. The Question of Shedding. The question of shedding is not now provoking so much dis- cussion as it did two or three years ago. There Avere a few breed- ers who maintained that purebreds and thoroughbreds would not shed their coats under natural conditions ; there were others who asserted that they would shed biennially ; others who maintained that the matter of shedding and nonshedcling was a question of feed and care and still others who stoutly affirmed that it is per- fectly natural for the Angora to drop his fleece annualky, and when he does not, it is the exception, not the rule, Avhich obtains. This last view is rapidly coming to be generally accepted by the breed- ers; at the same time, they acknowledge that there are some indi- viduals that carry their fleece two years. This characteristic of the individual, however, is not believed to be applicable to any partic- ular strain ; it is only an incident. As a rule, Angora goats, like sheep, shed their fleece annually as soon as the warm weather of spring opens up. In the Southern States, it is found that they will shed twice a year, and it is for this reason that semiannual shearing is practiced there. CHAPTER XII. DISEASES AND OTHER ENEMIES. Goats are less subject to a variety of diseases than sheep, yet there are some diseases that appear to affect both alike. The two animals are so closely allied that treatment for disease is about the same for both. Stomach worms (Strongylus contortus) affect goats as readily as sheep. They are also found in cattle and deer. In discussing this disease, the attention of goat raisers is called to some experi- ments conducted in Texas only quite recently by Dr. Ch. Wardell Stiles, then zoologist of the Bureau of Animal Industry. As this is an important and somewhat extensive disease, and as great care is needed in proper treatment, Dr. Stiles is quoted somewhat at length as follows: "Sheep, goats, and cattle suffer from the effects of roundworms. This is especially true during wet years. These parasites are found particularly in the lungs, the fourth stomach, and the bowels, and, when present in iarge numbers, they may result in death of 5 to 50 per cent of a flock. For some of these parasites treatment is pos- sible, but for others treatment has not been found altogether satisfactory. "Eoundworms which live free in the fourth stomach or in the bowels may be expelled by using various drugs in drenches. A long list of medicines might be mentioned, but many of the drugs most highly recommended frequently fail to effect a cure. Fail- ures are clue to several causes: The drug itself may be of little or no value; it may not be administered in the proper dose; it may not be administered in the proper way. "One of the most commonly used drenches is turpentine, but more satisfactory results are obtained from the use of coal-tar creosote, or coal-tar creosote and thymol or gasoline, or bluestone. "I have had excellent success in treating sheep, goats, and cattle for the twisted wireworm {Strongylus contortus) with a 1 per cent solution of coal-tar creosote. The medicine is easily prepared and quite inexpensive. It may be purchased of the druggist in small quantities of 1 ounce or in pound bottles. One ounce is sufficient for about 20 adult sheep, and the cost of the treatment is less than 154 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. one-half a cent per head ; if creosote is purchased by the pound, the cost is reduced to less than one-quarter of a cent per head. If creosote is called for at a drug store, beechwoocl creosote will usually be dispensed. This is more expensive than the coal-tar creosote and not so satisfactory in expelling worms. "A 1 per cent solution of coal-tar creosote is made as follows: Coal- tar creosote 1 ounce Water 99 ounces * "Twisted wireworms (Strongylus contortus), taken directly from the stomach of sheep or cattle, die in one-half to one and a half minutes when immersed in this solution. "If, in dosing, this liquid enters the lungs the animal may succumb in a few minutes. If the dosing is performed carefully, as much as 6 2-3 ounces may be given to a full-grown sheep with- out fatal results. In some cases, however, the animal shows ill effects, from which it usually recovers within half an hour. Six ounces were given to a number of sheep without the slightest ill effects. The following table gives the doses of the 1 per cent mix- ture which were used in about 400 cases without ill effects: Lambs 4 to 12 months old 2 to 4 ounces (about 60 to 120 c. c.) Yearling sheep and above 3 to 5 ounces (about 90 to 150 c. c.) Calves 3 to 8 months old 5 to 10 ounces (about 150 to 300 c. c.) Yearling steers 1 pint (about 480 c. c.) Two-year-olds and above 1 quart (about 960 c. c.) "Sheep, goats, and calves which received this treatment showed a marked improvement a few days after receiving a single dose. "In experiments with creosote at Washington, D. C, sheep were drenched with a 1 per cent solution and killed immediately after- wards. Upon opening the fourth stomach, it was found that the wireworms present were dead. In some cases where this was tried later, the wireworms were found to be still alive ; but it is believed that the explanation of this fact has now been discovered. Creo- sote does not appear to have much effect upon the worms below the stomach. "If an overdose is given by mistake, and if the sheep appears severely affected by it, the animal should be placed in the shade. Even in some cases of very severe overdoses, where the animal is given up for dead practically, it may entirely recover within an hour. "If, in addition to the stomach worms, the animals were suf- fering from severe infection of bowel worms, such as the hook- worms, better results were obtained in the treatment when pow- dered thymol was added to the creosote. In cases of this kind, the * 99 ounces equals 6 pints and 3 ounces. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 155 creosote solution is prepared, as directed above, and 30 to 80 or even 100 grains of thymol added to each dose after it has been measured. "Thymol is expensive, the price varying in different parts of the country. It may be purchased by the ounce, but it is con- siderably cheaper if purchased by the pound. Avoid using thymol which has become yellowish or reddish and which has run together in the bottle so as to form a solid mass. Powder the crystals and have the druggist measure 30 grains. Give 30 grains to a lamb, about 50 grains to a yearling, and 70 to 80 or 100 grains to older sheep, according to size. "In experiments I have had excellent results with a single dose of the creosote and thymol mixture. If necessary, however, the dose could be repeated after a week. "The popular method of drenching is with a bottle. The use of a drenching tube is, however, far more satisfactory. A drench- ing tube may be made by taking an ordinary tin funnel, which may be purchased for 5 or 10 cents, and inserting the narrow end into one end of a rubber tube or hose, say 3 feet long and three- eighths or one-half inch in diameter; into the other end of the rubber tube is inserted a piece of three-eighths-inch brass or iron tubing about 4 to 6 inches long. "The metal tube is placed between the animal's back teeth, and the sheep or calf is allowed to bite upon it. Tbe water or drench is poured into the funnel, which may be held by an assistant or fastened to a post at a convenient height. The man who holds the metal tube between the animal's teeth can control the animal's head with the left hand, and by holding the tube in the right hand, near the point of union of the rubber and metal tubes, he can easily control the flow of the fluid by pinching the rubber hose. Care must be taken not to hold the patient's nostrils closed, other- wise the dose will enter the lungs. "It is usually advisable to fast animals twelve to sixteen hours before dosing. "Different persons prefer to hold the animals in different posi- tions during drenching. Thus (1) the animal may be left stand- ing on all four feet; or (2) it may be placed on its haunches, one man holding its back up against his own body; or (3) it may be placed directly on its back on a sloping piece of ground, its head being in a direct line with its back, and higher than its rump ; or (4) it may be placed upon its side, the head being brought around so that the horns are squarely on the ground; the operator may then place one foot on one of the horns (especially in the case of semiwild cattle) and thus aid in holding the animal still. 156 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. "So far as administering the close is concerned, the position on the back (3) is by far the easiest in the case of sheep, and the side position with head down (4) is the easiest in dosing cattle; furthermore, in these positions there is much less danger of an accident by getting the dose in the lungs. If animals are dosed standing or on their haunches, the nose should never be allowed to go above the eyes; otherwise the drench may pass down the windpipe into the lungs. "By dosing sheep with water colored red and blue with dyeing material, and killing the animals immediately after the liquid was swallowed the following results were obtained: "If the dose was given with the sheep standing, (1) almost the entire quantity went directly into the fourth stomach; if the sheep was placed on its haunches, the fluid passed in part into the fourth stomach and in part into the first (the paunch) ; if the sheep was placed directly on its back (3), or if a steer was placed on its side (4) with head down, almost the entire dose passed into the first stomach (the paunch). If the animal, even when standing (1), struggled to a considerable degree, a portion of the fluid passed into the paunch. "It will be immediately apparent that these facts are of prac- tical importance in closing. If, for instance, gasoline, turpentine, or creosote is used, better results may be expected, if the sheep is closed standing (1). PREVENTIVE MEASURES. "First. Every ranch should have a hospital pasture situated on high, dry ground, well drained, and without any pools or ponds. This should be supplied with raised troughs for watering and feeding, and the water supply should come from a well. This pasture should not drain into any pasture in which healthy stock are feeding. "Second. As soon as any sick animal is noticed in the large pasture it should be immediately separated from the healthy stock and taken to the hospital pasture. To allow sick animals to run at large with healthy stock means to deliberately permit the spread of infection in the pastures and thus endanger the unin- fected animals. "Third. Proper watering places should be supplied in the large pastures by digging wells and erecting windmills to pump the water into tanks. These tanks should be raised above the ground so that thev can not become contaminated with the ani- mal's droppings being washed into them by rains and floods. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 157 "Fourth. Select high sloping ground for pasture when this is possible. Low pastures should be properly drained. "Fifth. When practicable, burn the pastures regularly, thor- oughly, and systematically. The heat from the burning grass will kill many of the eggs and young worms on the grass, ground, and in the droppings. "Sixth. As parasites are more fatal to young animals than to old, a liberal supply of oats or some similar food will aid in giving to young animals strength which will enable them to with- stand the infection. A daily allowance, say, half a pound of oats per lamb, ought to reduce the mortality. At first they may not be inclined to eat it, but they will soon become accustomed to it. This simple precaution is reported as very effectual in New Zea- land. "Seventh. Keep plenty of salt accessible to the animals. Some men add slaked lime to the salt; others add 1 part of sulphate of iron to 100 parts of salt. As a matter of experience, salt kills many young worms.'*' In the Southwest the goats are sometimes affected with grub in the head. These outbreaks are usually due to local causes and have not been difficult to overcome. The treatment followed is the same as for sheep. The treatment recommended for the screw worm is as follows : Add to any one of the carbolic sheep dips 10 per cent of chloro- form. Apply this mixture, after thoroughly cleaning the wound, with a wad of cotton. The chloroform immediately destroys the larvas and the carbolic dip prevents the- further blowing of the wound. The stomach worm (Strongylus contortus) is the same form as found in sheep, cattle, and deer. The treatment in all cases is the same as for sheep. In this connection it is proper to state that there are proprietary worm powders on the market for stomach worms which are used in enormous quantities with sheep and goats, and they have given quite general satisfaction. The toxaline treatment, which is well known to readers of sheep journals, has many strong advocates among those who have used it. These facts are given because the goat breeder, no less than the sheep breeder, is entitled to all infor- mation that has in any way proved valuable. Goats have at least three kinds of scab parasites peculiar to their species, but apparently only two kinds of scab develop. Psoroptic scab of sheep does not develop disease upon them, though it can undoubted] v sustain life for a while. 158 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Tapeworms of the genus Moiiiezia are found in goats. In the intestines are also found five round worms, namely, Strongylus fiUcollis, Aesophagostoma venulcsum, Sclerostoma hypostomum, Uncinaria cernua, and Trickocephalus affinis. Verminous pneumonia of sheep also occurs in goats. Tuberculosis is sp rare in goats that it may he said that they are practically immune from this widespread and insidious dis- ease. Takosis in Goats. — A disease of goats which appears to be prevalent among the flocks in certain sections of this country was investigated by the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1902, and described in the Nineteenth Annual Report under the name of Takosis, by Dr. Jno. R. Mohler. This term is used to designate a progressive debilitative, but none the less highly fatal, infectious disease, the symptoms and lesions of which are entirely unlike any of the known diseases which affect this species of animals. Eeports have been received from goat owners in Oregon, Missouri, Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Massachusetts, all describing the affection as an incurable, weakening, and wasting disease, usually accompanied by uncontrollable diarrhea and occa- sional cough. That this disease is not of recent origin appears evident from an article in the Country Gentleman of April, 1876, which states that, despite the friendly warning of a naturalist against taking- Tibet goats into Georgia, the writer in 1854 consummated a pur- chase and encountered some thoroughly discouraging experiences. Later in recounting these experiences he wrote that all the Tibet goats, pure and grades, in his flock died in a few years after the purchase from a disease of the lungs combined with dysentery. A writer in the Country Gentleman of February 4, 1875, also reports serious losses in a flock placed in his care. Although no specific symptoms are recorded the description is highly suggestive of takosis. Pegler (1885), in his description of a disease peculiar to goats, has mentioned the symptoms which might in most particulars very well be applied to a flock affected with this disease. Not- withstanding takosis appears to have been known to some individ- ual breeders for a long time, it seems to have remained in a smoldering condition and not until the affection became so wide- spread during the past year was its economic importance brought to the attention of the Bureau of Animal Industry and the char- acter and causation of the disease elucidated. Takosis of goats is undoubtedly contagious and the recent ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 159 investigations have proven conclusively that it is caused by a specific organism the Micrococcus caprinus, which need not be described here. In order to demonstrate the pathogenic properties of this micrococcus and establish its etiological significance to the disease in question, inoculation experiments were conducted upon white mice, white and brown rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, dogs, sheep, and goats. Of these animals, dogs and rats have appeared totally immune. The only noticeable effect of inoculation upon sheep was a temporary rise of temperature. The disease presents many of the symptoms usually accompany- ing a parasitic invasion of diarrhea and pneumonia. In the early stages of the affection there is usually little to indicate that any- thing is seriously amiss with the animal. The first observable symptom manifested is the listless and languid demeanor of the animal evidenced by its lagging behind the flock and is usually accompanied by a drooping of the ears and a drowsy appearance of the eyes. The pulse is slow and feeble and the temperature is elevated slightly at first, but becomes subnormal a few days before death. The highest temperature observed in the natural disease was 104.1° and the lowest, in a prostrated animal a few hours before death, registered 99.7° F. Snuffing of the nose, as in a case of coryza, and occasionally coughing is sometimes in evidence. They would move about in a desultory manner, with back arched, neck drawn clown toward the sternum, and with a staggering gait. Elimination is seldom impaired. The appetite, while not so vigorous, is still present, though capricious, and the affected animals show plainly that the ravages of the disease are rapidly overcoming the restorative elements derived from the food. The fleece usually presents a surprisingly thrifty appearance when the condition of the animal is taken into consideration. All the exposed mucous membranes are pale and the respirations are accel- erated and labored. The goats become so weak that they are readily knocked down and trampled upon by their fellows. If picked up they move off slowly and eat a little, but within a few hours are down again, and in this way linger for several days, shrinking to about half their natural weight, and occasionally bleating or groaning with head bent around on the side or drawn down to the sternum. A fluid discharge from the bowels of a very offensive odor is usually observed in the last few days of life, but this symptom is not constant. This disease may assume an acute or chronic type, the animal usually dying of inanition in from eight days to six or eight weeks. 160 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. Several owners have reported deaths after only two or three days of illness, but the goats doubtless had been affected for a longer period, although not noticed on account of their mingling in; the flock. It is the consensus of opinion among the breeders inter- viewed that many of the animals succeeded in living for weeks, but they gradually became weaker and more debilitated and finally died in a comatose condition. In no instance has the natural recovery of an animal been observed after once the symptoms of takosis were noted. The younger goats seem to be the most susceptible to the disease, although the old animals are by no means immune. The does, wethers, and bucks all become affected, but probably as a result of the usual preponderance of does in a flock the latter appear to be the most susceptible. As already indicated the general appearance of the carcass simulates that produced by a wasting disease. The visible mucous membranes are pale and anemic, while the fleece, which appears dry and lusterless, furnishes a shroud for the extreme emaciated condi- tion that is perceptible on skinning. Tins masking quality of the hair prevents an accurate estimate of the condition of the animal by the eye alone and necessitates handling of the individual cases to appreciate to the full extent the inroads made by the affection. The same anemic condition of the subcutaneous and muscular tissues is observed in deluding the carcasses. The lungs in most cases are the seat of a peculiar diversified inflammation, never of a remarkable extent. The external appearance of these organs is at times mottled, caused by a few congested areas, several patches of an iron-gray color similar to areas of pneumonia during the process of absorption and normal tissues. The liver is usually normal, but necrotic areas were observed in one case, clue probably to parasitic invasion. The kidneys are anemic and softened. The intestines may contain normal fecal matter or semifluid feces of disagreeable odor. The effects of internal parasites upon goats are very similar in many of their outward manifestations to the symptoms of takosis, but the infectious nature of the latter when compared with the enzootic course of a parasitic invasion will justify one in making a definite diagnosis. In attacks of takosis symptoms of pneumonia will be frequently noted, especially labored breathing or rapid respiration. These symptoms are not cliagnositic of parasitism. The edamatous lump under the jaw so frequently present in cases of parasitism fails in takosis. The luster of the fleece is less affected in takosis, while diarrhea is more frequently noted. Finally in parasitism a careful postmortem examination will quickly dis- close the presence of the offending parasites. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 161 In goats anemia is very rare and when it does occur it is usually secondary to some previously existing disease as chronic pneumonia, peritonitis, or to poor food and starvation. It does not assume an infectious character and may be differentiated from the anemic condition accompanying takosis by the absence of the specific organism on microscopic examination. Watery cachsia or hydremia usually results from poor feeding, innutritious food, and pasturing in low lands. The natural goat pasture is high, dry lands. The animal is weak, readily exhausted, breathes rapidly and heart palpitates. The mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth are pale and swollen. The edema which is present about the head and neck and abdomen will serve to dif- ferentiate this disease from takosis. This edema of the head dis- appears when the animal lies down. Icterus may accompany the disease when the discoloration of the mucous membrane easily establishes the nature of the affection. A change of pasture and a more nutritious diet are accompanied by a return of health to the flock. In the study of takosis, four points have been brought promi- nently into view which may properly be grouped together when considering measures for the prevention of the disease. Sudden climatic changes should be avoided so far as possible, and when shipments of goats for breeding purposes are to be made, which necessitate their transportation northward over considerable dis- tances, the changes should be made during the months of summer or late spring, and not in the fall or winter, when the contrast of temperature will be so much greater. The' second precautionary measure is closely allied to the first, namely, Angora goats should be provided with stables that are thoroughly dry, not alone in their ability to shed rain, but they should be placed upon ground that has perfect natural drainage, and these should be accessible by them at all times, as the effect of rains upon the general health and strength of these animals has been frequently proven to be very disastrous. So great is their natural aversion to a wetting that they will seldom get caught out in a shower if shelter is within their reach, but will leave their browsing and march under cover before the downpour. As a third measure of prevention may be mentioned careful feeding. No animal is as well fortified against the attack of an infection when reduced by lack of nourishment as it is when in a vigorous, thriving condition. Among the predispos- ing causes of disease, usually enumerated by general pathologists, will be found debility due to insufficient or unsuitable food, and although the reason for this mav not be established bevond the 162 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. reach of argument, it is pretty generally conceded that the con- tinued lack of proper nourishment establishes in the blood of an animal an abnormal degree of alkalinity which grants an increased susceptibility to the inroads of pathogenic organisms. The last preventive measure to be mentioned is one that is applicable only after the disease has made its appearance in the flock. The segrega- tion, or isolation, of all affected animals as soon as they evince any symptoms of the disease, will be found a most valuable means of protection for those that remain unaffected, and a strict quarantine over all of the diseased members of the flock should be maintained so long as the disease remains upon the premises. The. sheds, yards, and corrals Avhere the animals have been kept should be disinfected with a five per cent solution of creolin or carbolic acid. The most pleasing results that have been derived from the use of drugs have followed the administration of calomel given alone in .10 gram doses twice daily for two days, to be followed by powders composed of arsenic, quinine, and iron as follows: Arsenious acid, 1.40 grams; iron, reduced, 12 grams; quinine sulphate, 6 grams. Mix and make into twenty powders, giving one to each adult goat morning and evening, at the conclusion of the administration of calomel. After an interval of two days this treatment is repeated. Experiments are at present under way with a view of procuring a vaccine for the preventive inoculation of exposed goats, but the results thus far obtained are not uniform, and further investigation must be made before any definite statements will be hazarded. Goats are apt to have foot rot, but a cure is easily effected by the use of sulphate of copper (blue vitrol). It is usually applied by driving goats through a trough containing a solution of strong blue vitrol. The solution should be about an inch in depth. Oscar Tom, a breeder of much experience, says : "Butter of antimony applied with a stiff feather will cure it, or mix 1 ounce of sul- phuric acid with 2 ounces of vinegar and apply as above. Go over the whole band. Generally one application cures if well done. Change the range at the same time if you can." All goats become infested with lice if they do not receive proper attention. It is not a difficult matter, as all men agree, to rid goats of this annoyance by dipping them, as sheep are dipped, in any of the common sheep-dip preparations. The ani- mals can not thrive to best advantage when they are carrying a fleece full of lice ; oftentimes the lice become so numerous as to cause the goat to lose much flesh and finally to fail to produce a ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 163 good quality of mohair, or even to produce a kid, if the infested animal is a doe. Goat raisers should know that an animal which is badly infested with lice in the winter always requires an extra amount of feed; in other words, if lice are to be raised they must be fed. The better practice is to dip goats twice a year — in the spring just after shearing and again in the fall. One of the principal enemies of the Angoras is the wolf. The best guard against wolves is a good wire fence. Sometimes the wolves dig under the fence, and then it becomes necessary to trap them. This is practiced by H. T. Fuchs, who says : "Three steel traps are fastened to each other, but to nothing else, and catch the wolves. If the trap is made fast the wolf will break loose, but the weight of three traps fastened together simply tires the wolf out, and it rarely drags them more than 200 or 300 yards." In many localities the wildcats are especially troublesome. Their prey is the kids. CHAPTER XIII. THE SKINS AND THEIR USES. Their Use as Rugs, Robes, and Trimmings. The skins of the Angoras, if taken when the hair is about 4 inches long, make very handsome rugs. The hair retains its origi- nal luster, and may be used in the natural white or dyed any color desired. The pure white ones are more generally preferred. There is a demand for Angora rugs in the United States ..which so far has not been supplied by domestic production. These rugs can be purchased at prices ranging from $4 to $8. Another article of manufacture from the skins is the carriage robe, rivaling in beauty and durability the buffalo robe, which is no longer a factor in the market. They are not expensive when the demand for skins is considered, and may be purchased for about $20. Tbe smaller skins of the does and wethers and the kid skins find an extensive use in baby carriages, and are exceedingly attractive in their brilliant whiteness. These skins are used largely in the manufacture of children's muffs and as trimmings for coats and capes. The finest kid fleeces adorn the collar and border of the ladies' most handsome opera cloaks. In tbe stores they are sold often under some peculiar name which does not inform the purchased that they are orna- mented with the hair of tbe Angora goat, and so thousands of such articles are worn by people who are unaware of the true name of their "furs/"' Their Use as Leather. While the skin should always be taken as an item of salvage, it is not at all probable that it will ever be profitable to produce them for leather. The skin should be removed from the carcass very soon after death, else decomposition in its most incipient stage will cause the hair to "slip." If the skin happens to con- tain a fleece of sufficient length, it might be converted into a rug or robe; if not, it can be tanned and used for binding books or manufactured into gloves of excellent quality. The skin of the Angora is of a more delicate texture than that of the common goat and so is not suitable for shoe leather. This feature will ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 165 forever preclude the possibility of its becoming a competitor of the goatskins, which are now imported for shoe leather. Angora skins for leather will not bring as good a price in the market as those of the common goat. A prominent New York dealer in skins says: "Domestic skins are worth from 50 cents for kids up to $2 each for large full-fleeced pelts. The low, crossbred com- mon skins and short pelts not suitable to dress are used by mo- rocco and glove leather manufacturers, and are worth from 15 to 18 cents a pound for large sizes down to 10 and 11 cents for small ones and kids." Tanning and Dressing the Skins. There are many recipes in various books for tanning and dress- ing skins; but the sale of Angora rugs and robes at good prices depends so much upon their excellent appearance that it is rec- ommended that the work be placed in the hands of a professional tanner. Even then it is well to be certain of the character of his work, for goat men have frequent cause of complaint that their skins have not been well manipulated. Tanners who have done good work with Angora skins should advertise in those papers which devote space to Angora goat discussion. They will help themselves and at the same time aid a feature of the industry that is to be ever present. Importations of Angora Goatskins. While there is a duty of 12 cents a pound on mohair and a varying schedule applying to mohair manufactures, skins having fleeces attached are admitted duty free. Importations are without doubt very considerable, as large numbers are in use, and we know that the domestic production is yet Very limited. The two tables herewith will give some idea of the extent of importations at Boston and Philadelphia. The importations at New York must be much greater, but the reports previous to 1902 are not readilv available. IMPORTATION OF ANGORA GOATSKINS INTO THE PORT OF BOSTON FROM DECEMBER 15, 1901 Date of Entry. 1898. July 1,800 5,388 $574 August 750 2,292 244 1901. April 2,378 6 942 705 July 2,585 8,308 914 August 400 2,247 239 October 750 2,196 245 November 900 2,898 319 December 15 1,500 4,306 480 Number of skins. Weight. Pounds. 1,800 5,388 750 2,292 2,378 6 942 2,585 8,308 400 2,247 750 2,196 900 2,898 1,500 4,306 166 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. IMPORTATIONS OF ANGORA GOATSKINS INTO THE PORT OF PHILADELPHIA FROM 1896 TO 1901. Date of Entry. Pounds. Value. 1896 706.571 716,343 19 540 1,113.974 790,782 430,458 $ 76,378 1897 86 841 1898 2 754 1899 152 601 1900 144 577 1901 62 707 iiim#fL| -kjfc-.-fr,, '^jfc -y 1/ 1 AFRICAN GOATS. CHAPTER XIV. MINOR FEATURES OF IMPORTANCE. Enrichment of tlie Land. In the chapter dealing with goats as brush exterminators ref- erence is made to the enrichment of the land by their droppings. This benefit is decidedly noticeable on land where they are kept a year or more. This is a factor of no small importance, not only where the goats have been employed to destroy brushwood, but on cleared land which may have grown up to weeds which the goats eat greedily. The sheds where the goats are kept at night should be cleaned out frequently and the manure preserved in bins where it can be kept dry. This manure may afterward be put upon the land in accordance with the farmer's plans. Goat manure was applied to the corn crop on a worn-out farm in Maryland with wonderful results. Land which ordinarily would not yield over fifteen bush- els to the acre gave forty bushels after the goat manure was ap- plied. Owing to the scarcity of the manure, much of it was ap- plied by the handful at a time in the hill as the corn was planted. This is the practice with commercial fertilizers and is getting the most out of little. Manure is considered as one of the resources in the best system of modern farming, and it should be taken into account by any one who is keeping goats or is contemplating doing so. There is no better fertilizer for fruit trees and lawns than goat manure, and none equal to it for this purpose except sheep ma- nure. The droppings of goats and sheep are about equal in fer- tilizing value. It has been estimated that the value per ton of the manure produced by a sheep is $3.30, and it is certain that the goat produces as much and probably more than the sheep. Protection for Sheep. The statement that an Angora buck running with a flock of sheep will protect them from the attack of clogs has received wide publicity. Much that has been published is without foundation, yet much also is correct. Some breeders state positively that the goats are as cowardly as sheep and just as liable to be attacked by 168 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. dogs, while others cite instances where dogs have actually been driven off. No doubt both statements represent the experiences of the respective breeders. It is a fact that one or two bucks will serve to protect a flock of sheep if they are trained to attack clogs. Very little effort is required to train them, for they are fighters naturally, and their pugnacious disposition is easily developed. Indeed, the most docile doe may be trained to clo the same service. Some pertinent remarks along this line are made by H. T. Fuchs, of Marble Falls, Tex., a well-known breeder of Angoras. He says : "It is quite amusing to see the courage of a doe when she protects her young kid from a dog, or hog, or fleck of buzzards. Two of my neighbors' dogs got in the habit of killing my kids, and one doe protected her kid quite a while from the two large vicious dogs until the neighbor caught one of the dogs and gave him a good whipping, when the goat assisted in this work by butting the dog with all her might. You should train the goats to be brave by taking your clogs into the goat pen with you, and, in case the dog refuses to run from a brave goat, scold the dog to make the goat think that she whipped him. If you had a tame wolf trained in that way you could train your goats to fight Avolves." Because of their inclination to fight dogs, bucks have been em- ployed in small numbers — say from one to three — to run with sheep. A few will remain with sheep for their company, but a considerable number are apt to separate to themselves and remain away from the flock. There is very little complaint regarding the ravages of dogs by breeders of Angora goats, while the sheep raiser has them us his foe always. Ordinarily an Angora buck will vanquish a dog and it is not likely that the goat industry will suffer from the ravages of dogs. Notwithstanding all this, the owner of Angoras will be wise if he keeps a close watch upon them until they demonstrate their ability to care for themselves in a contest. It might be well to send a few bucks to the kind of school mentioned by Mr. Fuchs. Disposition of tlie Angora. The remarkable intelligence of these little animals has already been mentioned; but a question often asked is "Are they ugly?" Yes, if they are made so by teasing, just as dogs, cats, horses, or pet roosters are made ugly. In flocks they are as docile as sheep and very soon learn to regard man as their friend. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 169 Their Use as Pets. The highbred Angoras are very graceful, and their beautifully shaped bodies and fine silky hair make them very attractive. There is no animal, except possibly the horse, that is more beautiful than these goats, and no animal is more cleanly in his habits. As pets for children they are very popular, if they can be kept where they will be harmless to vegetation and anything made of cloth. They have all the propensities of the common goat for destroying fruit trees and chewing any kind of cloth and of climbing upon roofs. All kinds of goats are mischievous in the extreme. The Angoras are tractible and are often harnessed to carts, as are common goats, and their beauty makes them more desirable for this purpose. They are remarkably intelligent and are easily trained. The high- grade Angoras are free from the "goat odor" so objectionable in the common breed, and this is a very good reason why they are preferred as pets even if their beauty is not considered. It is true, however, that the average high-grade Angora is a smaller and more delicate animal than the common breed and must not be expected to draw heavy loads. Wliere to Buy Angora Goats. In this industry, as in every other, the public is informed that there are breeders of good goats, breeders of poor goats, brokers in all kinds of goats, and a host of unscrupulous dealers who are taking advantage of the great interest manifested at this time and have no reputation to lose. Most people who purchase ex- press a desire to see the animals they buy. This is natural and affords some satisfaction ; but the fact is that, unless such a buyer is familiar with goats, he will know very little about them after seeing them. There would be no difficulty in imposing upon him. If one is not familiar with the points of an Angora, he would himself be liable to choose the poorest animals out of a flock. Be- cause an animal is large, lively, and strong is not an evidence that it is worth the cost of expressage to the next town. In this industry, as in all others, the purchaser must depend largely upon the reputation of breeders. There are very many en- tirely reliable breeders, and it is not a very difficult matter to ascertain the standing and practice of any one who offers goats for sale. Prospective purchasers should consult the advertise- ments of goat breeders, and, if any question arises in the mind, ask such breeders for references. And, too, let such a man, if he orders goats, to be paid for on delivery, furnish references as to his own reliability. If he writes to some one not directly interested, 170 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. let him inclose a stamp for reply. A stamp is a small matter, it is true, but the postage bill of some breeders amounts to several dollars per month. / How to Handle Angora Goats. The best way to catch and hold an Angora is by the horns. It will struggle but little after it finds that its horn is in a secure grasp. To catch hold of it any other way gives it an opportunity to show all its strength, which is not a little in a healthy goat. Sheep are often caught by the wool and held without giving pain apparently, but it is painful to a goat to be caught thus. Many who are not familiar with the Angora seize it by the fleece at once, without a thought of the pain they give. This is not only painful for the animal but it is difficult to hold it when caught in this way. If it is desired to place the animal on its haunches, take its right horn with the right hand, if standing on the right side of the goat, and seize the left front leg with the left hand, and then lift it up, at the same time pulling it backward over the feet or knee. This is easily done and clone without injury. To place the animal on his back or side, reach both arms over its back, seizing a front leg and a hind one and then lift it up onto your knees quickly. It can then be placed in any position desired. Will Angoras Cross with Sheep? They will not cross with sheep, for the reason that goats and sheep are not of the same genus. This statement is made upon the authority of leading naturalists in this country and with full knowledge of the reports of the existence of such crosses, but they are, like the petrified human being, "somewhere else." There is a peculiar animal in New Mexico called the '"cabrito" (male) or "^brita" (female), Spanish words for the young of the goat. It is commonly but incorrectly spelled "cabretta." This animal, especially when young, resembles the young of the goat very much, and from this fact it probably receives its name. It is nothing else than a lamb, the offspring of the Navajo ram upon a ewe of a common and better developed breed of sheep. There is no goat blood in it. The Navajo sheep, especially the ram, is said to be a coarse-wooled, leggy, upstanding creature, with horns extending backward like those of the goat, and might, upon casual observa- tion, easily be taken for a goat. It is the wool of this sheep that is made into the well-known Navajo Indian blankets. Schreiner cites several records of hybrids of the goat and the ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 171 sheep, and says he had himself seen four animals "represented as being the hybrid progeny of such a cross." The facts which confront us in discussing this question are that Angoras and sheep have been running together in this country for the last fifty years, and yet no one of scientific standing has ven- tured to say that he has seen a hybrid from them. From the practical standpoint of the breeder it is entirely safe to say that the goat and sheep will not interbreed. Colonel Peters, in the American Agriculturist, November, 1876, says : "Trior to the year 1860 I tried many experiments, in hopes of obtaining a cross between the goat and sheep, and failed in every instance. Extensive correspondence with other breeders has convinced me that the cross can not be obtained. Dr. John Bach- man, the celebrated naturalist of Charleston, S. C, wiio was in correspondence with the most distinguished naturalists of Europe, informed me that he had no faith in the theory, and did not be- lieve the cross obtainable. He stated, however, that Cuvier, the renowned French naturalist, claimed to have examined a speci- men of such a hybrid, but Dr. Bachman himself believed that Cuvier had been deceived, or had made a mistake. How to Designate the Sexes. The proper designation for the male goat is "buck" and for the female "doe." Previous to the issuance of the Government bulletins, the buck was indiscriminately referred to as male, sire, buck, ram, and billy; and the female was known as doe, ewe, and nanny. The terms "buck" and "doe" used in the publications re- ferred to are generally adopted at this time, and are given official sanction by their use in the catalogues and premium lists of the American Angora Goat Breeders' Association. The castrated goat is designated as a "wether," as with sheep. In Cape Colony he is called a "kapater," and the sheep r wether is there called a "hamel ;" but these are foreign words which mean no more than our own American words, and there is no reason why they should be adopted by us. The young is called "kid,"" and there appears to be absolute unanimity in this designation. What to Call the Flesh. The flesh of the Angora goat has not yet been found in many markets, and there is yet no general accepted term for it. Some speak of it as "Angora mutton" and others as "Angora venison." It is claimed that if an animal has had a liberal diet of leaves and twigs while beina; fattened its flesh has the game flavor of 172 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. venison, and people who are familiar with this kind of feeding, call the meat Angora venison. If an Angora is fattened largely on forage and grain, its flesh will have a taste very much like mutton fattened under similar conditions. Those who have eaten of this kind of Angora flesh call it Angora mutton. Since it is entirely probable that most Angoras that will go into the market for meat will be finished off on grain, and so resemble mutton, it is better that the flesh be called Angora mutton. The term is just as good as "Angora venison," and it has a domestic sound. By-Products Not Elsewhere Mentioned. In the modern methods of economic production and manufac- ture nothing is permitted to go to waste. Whoever it was that said facetiously that the packers saved every portion of a hog but his squeal spoke the truth. The same truth applies as well to the carcass of any food animal. In the case of goats the horns find many uses, and the fat is said to be the best tallow known for the manufacture of candles. Any part of the carcass not useful in any other way is converted into fertilizer. Registration Association. The American Angora Goat Breeders' Association was organized in 1900 at Kansas City, Mo. Previous to that time there was in existence the National Angora Eecord Association, with headquar- ters at Salem, Oreg., but its members generally entered the first mentioned and the latter went out of existence. As it is not known that there exists anywhere a purebred An- gora goat, it was manifestly impossible to base registration upon pure blood. Tbe association created a force of inspectors whose duty it was to inspect goats for registration upon application and recommend to the secretary. Any goat fulfilling the standard re- quirements was registered. The number thus registered was 4-0,000. The registration books were closed against all such inspections on December 31, 1901. Since then only the offspring of regis- tered parents are eligible for registry. The Tariff. The act approved July 21, 1897, places a duty of 12 cents per pound upon mohair. Mohair cloth for buttons is taxed 10 per cent ad valorem. These rates are subject to increase under certain conditions of shipments. Angora skins with mohair attached are admitted free of duty. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. 173 The Province ot a Goat Paper. The purpose of this manual is to touch upon all points of the Angora goat industry, yet the author is conscious of the fact that a thousand questions will grow out of the experience of the next few years. No one could prelend to assume to know what they will be and to answer Ihem at this time. While a manual of goat raising is invaluable and ought to be in the hands of every goat raiser, and its contents thoroughly familiar to him, it can not take the place of the journal which devotes space to the industry. Every day little matters of perplexity will arise and every week they find answer in the goat columns. The horse, cattle, sheep, and hog industries are represented by scores of volumes, yet no breeder of any one of these animals would try to succeed without a paper devoted to the subject; so goat raisers will do well if they decide at once to take a paper which is alive to their interests. A Few Words About Common Goats. While this volume does not deal with the subject of common goats, there are innumerable questions continually arising about them. No effort will be made here to answer all these questions, but it is deemed advisable to touch upon a few of the leading ones. There are about a million common goats in the United States, according to the Twelfth Census. They are widely disseminated, but there are very few flocks of any considerable size. Where they are most numerous they are not kept for any special purpose and no particular attention is paid to them. Like Topsy, they "just grow." The kids are sometimes used for meat, and are nice, and occasionally a doe is milked for family use. They are not raised in this country for their skins, as they are found not to he profit- able. The effort to do so has been made under very favorable circumstances, and the result was that the gross income averaged but 80 cents per head. The domestic supply of skins, therefore, is nothing. We depend altogether upon imports for our goatskin manufactures. The table herewith, from Treasury reports, shows that we import goatskins, morocco leather, and gloves in very large quantities ; 174 ANGORA GOAT RAISING. QUANTITY AND VALUE OF IMPORTS OP GOATSKINS, MOROCCO SKINS, AND GLOVES FOR THE YEARS 1896 TO 1901. Goat Skins. Morocco leather. Gloves.* Quantity. Value. Value. Value. 1896 Pounds. 38.882,234 59,177,556 65.546,570 80,064,583 69.104,372 88,043,928 Dollars. 8,803,609 13,802,504 16,854,430 20.992,949 19.008,097 25,265,670 Dollars. 2,808.322 3.748,341 2,452,655 2,831,035 2,940.949 2,399,603 Dollars. 5,618,311 1897 6,337,410 1898 5,686,464 1899 5,544,871 1900 6 433 941 1901 5,060,224 Will Sheep Destroy Brushwood. The statement is frequently made through the press that sheep will destroy brushwood just as effectually as goats, and the ques- tion Avhether they will or not is often asked by those who con- template the purchase of either goats or sheep to clear their land. The sheep is naturally a grazer, but it will browse a little occa- sionally, while the goat is naturally a browser and will graze occa- sionally. Sheep will not long thrive or even subsist upon a brush- wood diet. Neither will they completely annihilate brushwood as the goats do. Where goats do this an equal number of sheep would hardly make an impression. The sheep has its uses — and great they are — but the extermination of brushwood is not one of them. The Rocky Mountain Goat. The Eocky Mountain goat is a large strong animal, with a dense fleece of mohair and coarse hair, about equally divided as to quantity, and about equal in length. Samples which have been examined by the author show the mohair to be of good quality so far as fineness and luster are concerned, but whether it could ever be produced in quantity sufficient to be of any economic use is doubted. The goats are exceedingly rare, and it is not probable that they would thrive well outside their present high altitude — that of the higher Eocky Mountains. The hair is of two colors — white and black. The white would bring from 12 to 15 cents per pound, and the black about 5 cents, at the mills. It would be serviceable in the manufacture of carpets. Several writers have suggested the possibility of producing a stronger Angora bv crossing with the Eocky Mountain goat. The * Imported chiefly from Germany and France, and from other Europe in smaller quantities. ANGORA GOAT RAISING. I75 writer is not inclined to think well of the suggestion. There is already too much foreign blood in our Angoras, and the future success of the mohair industry depends upon our ability to get rid of it. CHAPTER XV. MILCH GOATS. The Milch Goat Situation. Milch goats are a familiar feature of the live stock industry of Europe. They are especially prominent in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, and the Island of Malta. Many may also be found in Egypt, Kussia, and Norway. They are, by their habits of life, peculiarly adapted to the needs and surround- ings of the peasantry, or poorer classes, of these countries. There is, indeed, nothing truer or apter than the homely saying that "the goat is the poor man's cow." This is so because milk, which is food and drink to all mankind, is furnished by the goat in its cheapest form; because its quality is superior to cow's milk for all purposes; and also because the proportionate yield is much greater than that of a cow. It is frequently said that the feed required for one milch cow is sufficient for eight milch goats. In the old countries goats hold a respectable place in the live stock industry. There they are not the subject of every one's effort at jesting, as they have always been here. The Angora goat industry in this country has developed to such proportions that it is now looked up to with dignity, even by the jesters, and is sharing its respectability with the milch goats. The implied slur at the milch goat which occurs in a published remark concerning a certain small breed of dairy cattle that "they might do for a man who is too poor to own a cow and ashamed to own a goat," is no longer in order. It is true that a milch goat is not handsome; neither is the best milch cow handsome. II must be confessed that it is de- structive in its habits and tendencies if not restrained; so also are cattle and hogs and chickens. Everybody knows that it is mischievous, oftentimes to an exasperating degree, but this same charge applies to your neighbor's boys as well. Eemember this, that the waste from the kitchen will keep a hog or two, the waste grains and other food about the yards will feed a few chickens, and the weeds and twigs and waste vegetables will, with the addition of onlv a small amount of hay and grain, keep a goat or two. The MILCH GOATS. 177 cow must have her regular meals of a particular menu; she is not allowed to convert waste of any sort into meat or milk. There are no statistics at hand showing the number of goats in any of the European countries except Germany. The number in that empire for several years are given herewith: 1873 2,320,000 1883 2.641,000 1885 2,640,994 1892 3,091,287 Dettweiler gives some statistics of interest with reference to the annual value of the goats in Germany. His estimates follow: Marks. Value of goats 50,000,000 ($11,900,000) Value of milk produced 150.000,000 (35,700,000) Value of kids slaughtered 7.500,000 (1,785.000) Value of goats slaughtered 6,500,000 (1,547,000) These statistics show that the milch goat industry of Germany is one of importance. The same general situation obtains in the other European countries mentioned. The milch goat situation in the United States is at the present time practically confined to an awakening interest. There is an insistent demand for information on the subject. Physicians who know of the healthful qualities of goat's milk are considering the advisability and possibility of obtaining a supply for the needs of their patients. People in moderate circumstances in the suburbs of our large cities are asking whether they can not do better by keeping goats. The poorer classes of these suburbs, to whom milk is a lux- ury, are wondering if they can not find a blessing in a milch goat. It is more than probable that the miners in the coal districts would find in the goat a profitable friend. The author would reel that something of value, especially in the way of suggestion to persons of wealth, would be lost if he failed to mention the work undertaken by Mrs. Edward Eoby, of Chicago. She is well known throughout the country, being- a member of the Daughters of the American devolution, Daughter of 1812, member of the Woman's Federation and the Woman's Press Clubs, and numerous other well-known patriotic organiza- tions. She is also the founder and president of the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Eepublic, and at her home is serving her thirteenth year as president of the Woman's South Side Study Club. This much is said with the reluctant consent of Mrs. Roby, in the hope that her work with milch goats for the benefit of the poorer classes will afford suggestions to others. It shows that any work which has for its object the benefit of these classes is dignified by the support of such people. MRS. EDWARD ROBY. MILCH GOATS. 179 Mrs. Roby has been purchasing common goats which are giving a fair amount of milk, and has a few head which she personally selected on the Bermuda Islands. With these and such others as she ma} r be able to obtain, she proposes to do all she can toward the development of the American goat. As fast as she has good milch goats to spare she purposes selling them at low rates and on time, if necessary, to the heads of such households as are most greatly in need of them, in order that the children may be better nourished and be relieved from the danger of disease that lurks in much of the cow's milk that finds its way to such households. Besides, if such a family possesses a milk-giving goat, it will save many dollars to the owner during many months of the year, and the problem of obtaining a livelihood will not be so difficult of solution. It is everywhere acknowledged that the best way to help people who need assistance is to help them to help themselves. To intro- duce the milch goat into communities such as the suburbs of our large cities or into the coal-mining districts, will almost certainly work out wonderfully in economic results. German writers say boldly that the milch goat in its later development has done great service to the state, in that it supplies a want which before caused great unrest among the peasantry. The real demand for milch goats will not cease. The need will always be present so long as there are mothers who can not or who will not nurse their infants — so long as there is tubercu- lous cow's milk— so long as there are children that need more nourishing food than is supplied to them — so long as there are people who can afford to own a goat but not a cow. The Milk of the Goat. Its various uses. — The various uses of the milk in its natural state (butter, cheese, and whey not considered) are these: (1) Food for the poor; (2) food for the invalid; (3) food for infants; (4) medicine for certain diseases. As a rule the goat is the only useful domestic animal of the poorer people of Germany, especially of the day laborer, and it plays an important part in his household. Of necessity, it plays the part that the cow does in the households of the better classes. Says Dettweiler: "It furnishes to its owner without doubt the best milk for nourishing infants, for the household, for the cook- ing of food, and for coffee, besides butter and cheese. When one considers that it very often depends solelv on the milk production of the goat whether the nutrition of the child and the whole family is bad or good, and the nutrition from infancy on has a bearing on 180 MILCH GOATS. the ability to a greater or a comparatively small amount of work in later life, then one will believe me when I say that, the goat is in a position to wield a great influence in sustaining life." Petersen, having the peasantry of Germany in mind, sums up the value of the goats in this wise: (1) The possibility of pro- curing a goat is generally within the reach of the poorest families ; (2) the risk and the insurance premium are disproportionately much less in the case of the goat; (3) the goat utilizes its food better than the cow, and gives considerably more milk in propor- tion to its body weight; (4) the goat is satisfied with little feed, and with feed of any sort, which is to be had at much less cost; (5) by keeping two goats instead of a cow, the family of the working man may be provided during the entire year with milk by the proper regulation of the time of the birth of the kid; (6) the goat gives a more wholesome milk than the cow and the milk is richer in fats." Hilpert, in discussing the keeping of goats from a patriotic and social standpoint, comments as follows: "As to the question of human nourishment, the goat occupies an important position. It yields a wholesome nourishment for the family, serves as a use- ful and agreeable occupation for wife and children, and awakens in its owner a desire for industry and a spirit of frugality. So long as the workingman is glad in the possession of a business, has a small bit of ground to call his own, and has a profitable domestic animal, just so long will he be an opponent of social strife, a careful provider for the family, and an adherent of some recognized creed." Hoffman says that in 75 per cent of the households of Ger- many where goats are kept they play an important role, not alone with the poorer classes, but with the more prosperous middle classes as well. The following from Dettweiler shows something of the use of goat's milk for the food of the family in Saxony: "The cattle owners who keep goats in addition to one or two cows, number 13,409, with 17,439 goats. If this number be included Avith the one above, it is evident that with 60,974 goats owners keeping 80,048 goats, or about 75 per cent of all the goat owners in Saxony, the goat plays an important role as the source of the milk of the household; likewise that the homes that are here under considera- tion belong to that class of people who are without much means. Especially in the industrial districts of the mountains, with a preponderance of the smaller manufactories, the goat is the sup- porter of the family — in a broad sense, of the people among which 182 MILCH GOATS. it finds its manifold uses. In this way it comes about that goat's milk is such a universally established food material and one of which the people have become so fond that they will pay the same price (or in many places even a pfennig higher price) for it than for cow's milk, which latter serves to help out when there is a scarcity of goat's milk. The reason for this may be found in the higher nutritive value of goat's milk, and the assertion is often made here that anyone who has become accustomed to the use of goat's milk for coffee feels it a degradation if he is compelled to be content with cow's milk in its stead, which is not so good tasted and is poorer in fat than goat's milk. But the goat is beginning to rise in prominence and gain in numbers in highly developed, thickly settled districts where the people are more prosperous." It may have already occurred to the reader that cow's milk is the universal milk of mankind and is, withal, a very good product, and is rendered free from tubercle bacilli by boiling. The advo- cates of goat's milk assert that boiling transforms the casein into a condition in which it is very difficult of digestion. Dr. Schwartz, medical counsellor for Cologne, holds this opinion and says that "it has come about that very often the boiling of milk is dis- pensed with." He also states that it is very difficult to accomplish complete sterilization of milk. While discussing this feature, let us quote Eenesse: "At the present time the effort is made to sterilize the milk by long con- tinued cooking and to make it free of all germs, and for this pur- pose the most complicated apparatuses have been put upon the market. But it has been scientifically demonstrated that impor- tant substances are destroyed in the milk simultaneously with the long continued cooking, which are of great value in the feeding of suckling babes, especially in the development of the bony frame- work, and so it transpires that these so-callecl 'bottle babies' develop a picture of illness similar to rhachitis, in spite of the greatest care on the part of the parents. Furthermore, it turns out that the washing of the apparatus requires so much vigilance and time that the question of the use of it can not be entertained in the case of the incredulous working man who has quite a number of children and where the mother takes the entire care of the house." Goat's milk is said to be especially desirable for use in tea and coffee and for pastry ; and that Avhoever becomes accustomed to using it thus prefers it to any other kind. They like its taste and recognize its wholesomeness. It is recommended that, if one pur- poses to use goat's milk instead of that of the coav, two goats be MILCH GOATS. 183 employed, one of which should become "fresh" in the spring and the other in the fall. By this means a constant supply is possible, whereas with one animal it would not be possible. While we are discussing the use of this milk as food for the family, it will be interesting to read what was recently written to the American Sheep Breeder by J. R. Chisholm, of North Queens- land, Australia, who said : "We had a terrible season last year and most of us lost heavily in sheep, but the goats kept us going in milk all the time, and it was in that dry time I overcame my COMMON MILCH GOAT OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. prejudice and ate and relished goat meat, or, as you would call it 'venison/ The goats served us well until the rains came. I've just asked my girls about the Hock, and they tell me they milk eighteen nannies and make four or five pounds of butter weekly from them and have, besides, an abundance of milk for our house- hold of seven and a hired man. We think of selling our cattle." As food for invalids the milk of the goat is almost universally endorsed. This is not only so because of its apparent medicinal qualities, which are discussed a little further along, but because of its high content of solids, which average a little over 14 per cent, and also because of its easy digestibility. This latter characteristic is due to the fact that the globules of goat's milk are much smaller 184 MILCH GOATS. than those of cow's milk, and therefore the fat remains longer as an emulsion. Goat's milk creams very slowly and usually very unsatisfactorily, owing to the smallness of the fat globules. The tables of analyses given show the fat of goat's milk averages about 4.5 per cent. A recent writer in the Rural World says it would be accurate to say that goat's milk contains about twice as much fat as that of the average Shorthorn cow and is far superior to that yielded by the best Jerseys. The same writer (Sirgar) says: "Individual instances, though they do not, of course, prove the average, may be quoted to show its extraordinary richness. The milk of an Angora goat which was analyzed by F. S. Lloyd, analyst to the British Farmers' Association, contained no less than 8.69 per cent of butter fat, and 9.85 per cent of casein and milk sugar, the water amounting to only 80.53 per cent; the water in the average cow's milk would be about 87 per cent. A crossbred Toggenburger and Nubian goat gave 8.11 per cent of fat, and we have seen no Jersey records that have reached these figures." This from Hilpert is direct: "That it serves as a means of preserving health, witness the cures with goat's milk in the moun- tain sanitaria, especially for pulmonary diseases." It is certainly the best kind of argument that whatever acts as a curative agent should be the very best preventive agent as well. A strong argument is made by Renesse for the use of goat's milk as a preventive of tuberculosis. In his paper he states that in Germany 100,000 people die annually from tuberculosis and the number of those who are sick with the disease is estimated at ten times as many; and they are, as a rule, persons in the prime of life. And this is not all — these tuberculous persons, through their long period of illness, are ever a menace to those who are not already infected. To counteract these conditions, Renesse advocates goat's milk as a curative and preventive agent. In connection with the consideration of goat's milk as a food for invalids, one should read what is said further on regarding the relationship of goat's milk to tuberculosis. The use of this milk for infants — say, babes under a year old — has given rise to contrary opinions. Those who have studied the goat's milk as a diet all agree to its beneficial results upon all who are old enough to have a good flow from the salivary glands, but some maintain that it may take the place of human milk from the birth of a child. For instance, Dettweiler says: "Goat's milk most nearly resembles woman's milk, and, on account of the ease with which it is digested, is attended with happy results in the case of the feeding of the sick and children." Hoffman says: MILCH GOATS. 185 "Goat's milk more nearly resembles mother's milk than cow's milk when it comes to infant feeding." He also states that in Germany many children take the milk direct from the udder "as the kid does" and thus escapes any chance of milk infection. Zurn men- tions the same practice and also says that goats will consent to suckle other young animals, such as colts and little pigs. "Goats should prove to he very valuable as nurses. Professor Magne makes note in regard to this fact in his 'Handbook of Agri- cultural Cattle Breeding.' Goats are good mothers and readily adopt infants, calves, lambs, etc. The use of goats for suckling infants is familiar enough (in Germany, I do not know so much about it). In this regard they are of great value. The goats con- ceive a liking for the life which they nourish, since they conduct themselves with extraordinary ready willingness toward the one who takes their milk in the matter of gratifying the whims of the suckling or of the person who milks them. With lambs, they will lie down entirely when these can not easily reach the udder, and with infants they will submit to being brought indoors that they may be placed upon the cradle (bed)." (B. R. Haddrup.) A contrary opinion as to the value of this milk for babes is ex- pressed by a few who state that the greatest objection to the use of goat's milk is its indigestibility, not only for the new-born but also for adults. The Mikh-Zeitung (vol. 25, p. 716) says: "Most of the authors who are assured of the complete digestibility of goat's milk and who recommend its use above all others base their opinions on results obtained from feeding children several months old. * * * Ought not the great richness of casein which goat's milk possesses, as compared with woman's milk, make the milk harder to digest?" This paper points out the function of saliva in the process of digestion, and says that, in the case of the new-born infant, the role of saliva is almost nothing. The chemist of the Philadelphia board of health has published two analyses of human milk, one when the glands were probably nearly empty and the other when full. The average of the two are given herewith and Hoffman's analysis of goat's milk and cow's milk added to the table for use in comparison. All are in per- centages : Element. Human. Goat. Cow. Albumin and casein 1.885 4.440 5.850 3.68 4.73 4.50 4.00 Fat 3.50 4.50 1£6 MILCH GOATS. It will be noted that in the matter of albumin and casein human milk falls far short of the goat, and the goat shows a con- siderably lower percentage than the cow's milk. There is not much difference between the fat' content of human milk and goat's milk. Human milk is much richer in milk sugar than that of the goat. This phase of the subject is so important that it will bear a somewhat lengthy quotation from Dr. 0. G. Place, of Boulder, Colo., whose fields of observation have been New York City, Chi- cago, London, and Paris among the larger cities, and many of the cities of Italy, Arabia, India, China, and Japan. He says in a recent letter: "Anyone who will take the trouble to look up the data will readily see that in those countries where the goat is do- mesticated and its milk is used in the family there is very little tuberculosis, almost no scrofulous glands, and the infant mortality is decidedly less for those children which use the milk. "There is certainly no danger in infection from either the milk or the meat of the goat. The following table will help us to draw conclusions along this line. This shows the infant mortality in the several countries named per 1,000: United States, approximately 200 England 197 Asiatic countries (European children) 150 to 170 Italy 134 Norway 44 "The Asiatic countries do not have the sanitary enlightenment that is boasted of in this country and in England, and yet we find to-day not only the death rate lower in infants, but we also find markedly less tuberculosis among the adults. Asia is a goat country. "Italy is a country noted for its unsanitary customs, and yet we find the infant mortality 66 per cent less than in our own country; and here, too, tuberculosis is seldom found. Italy is decidedly a goat country, and there the feeding bottle is scarcely heard of. Children that are not so fortunate as to be nursed by their mother find in the little Italian goat their next best friend. It is not an uncommon sight there to see an infant or small child drawing its dinner direct from the little goat, which has been brought onto the steps or into the house for the purpose. "In Norway, which is a colder climate, and where people no doubt live more in harmony with sanitary laws than any other countrv in the world, we get the low death rate of 44 per 1,000. Here if a mother does not have nourishment for her child, some other mother nurses it for her as a rule ; but where no mother is HORNLESS BUCK. From Hilpert. STARKENBURGER BUCK. From Hilpert. 188 MILCH GOATS. at hand the milk of the goat is the universal food, and this is fed direct from the little bowl into which the goat is milked. Feeding bottles are unknown in this country/' What has been said in the preceding pages concerning the rela- tionship of goat's milk to health has its application in the use of the milk more as a preventive than as a curative agent. The use of the milk and also the whey as a medicine, or curative agent, are considered at some length in a brochure issued by C. F. Keuss in Leipzig in 1763. He states that in the days of Hippocrates the milk cure was ordered to be taught in the medical schools as a curative of almost all breast affections and consumption; and he gives a long list of old physicians who used the cure, naming the disease treated by each. Some of the diseases mentioned are arthritis, nephritis, goat, whooping cough, scurvy, jaundice, diar- rhea, worms, and inflammation of the liver. Eeuss states that these old physicians ascribed the curative properties of the milk to the kinds of herbs which the goats ate. He also says: "It is well known to the medical profession that the marked laxative quality and the characteristic smell of goat milk depends to a large extent upon the food which they get. And likewise it is easy to reach the conclusion that the efficacy and qualities of other drugs (than the laxatives) easily pass over into the milk. And right here also belongs the further statement that the goats give a rather large amount of milk, the whole spring, throughout the summer, and a part of the fall, to say nothing of the fact that the goats are much stronger and digest their food better than sheep do." So much for the milk cure as a matter of history. While milk- may not now be generally considered a medicine, it forms an im- portant part of the sick-room diet. The relationship between milk and medicine is very close indeed. This is especially true of the milk of the goat. Quantity. — Question: How much milk will a goat give? An- swer: How long is a string? With goats, as with cows, so much depends upon individuality, breed, feed, and care that it is not possible to say how much milk goats will give. We may, however, arrive at an approximate conclusion if we study the animal with the above elements in mind. A goat which gives less than a quart a day is not to be con- sidered a good milch animal ; if it yields 2 quarts it is a good ani- mal, provided the period of lactation (which is discussed else- where) is not brief. In the European countries the goats which yield from 3 to 5 quarts a day are numerous and the period of lactation is a long one. MILCH GOATS. 189 Indeed, it is stated in the German, literature on this subject that many goats yield ten times their body weight of milk annu- ally and exceptional animals as much as eighteen times their weight. This is very much greater than the yield of cows pro- portionately. On this point Petersen says: "In its form the goat exhibits, as it were, the complete type of a milch animal and by demonstration gives annually ten to sixteen times its own weight in milk and considerably more even, whereas, in the case of the cow, we must be well satisfied, with five times its weight." This from Zurn : "The milk reaches ordinarily ten to twelve times the body weight, exceptionally eighteen times this weight, in each year. In the case of very good goats, 4 to 5 liters 1 can be produced for each kilogram 2 of body weight, or, at the least estimate, double what a good milch cow can show for each kilogram of her weight." It is a good goat of any breed that will give 2 quarts of milk a day for seven or eight months of the year. One that will give more than this is specially desirable. The Angora goat, which is not considered a good milch animal, owing to the uncertain quan- tity and its covering of long hair, gives from 2 to 3 liters of very rich milk. The Nubian produces from 5 to 12 liters. The yield of the best goats of Switzerland is, on an average, about 4 liters per day. This amount is not produced without proper care and feed. To show how the yield varies, Dettweiler is quoted with reference to the annual yield per head of 24 goats in the vicinity of Alten- burg, Geising, and Lauenstein: 9 gave 600 to 700 liters. 7 gave 700 to 800 liters. 4 gave 800 to 900 liters. 1 gave 900 to 1.000 liters. 3 gave over 1,000 liters. Ten animals in the city of Sebnitz were also reported upon, and their production annually was as here given : 2 gave 600 to 700 liters. 2 gave 700 to 800 liters. 3 gave 800 to 900 liters. 1 gave 900 to 1,000 liters. 1 gave 1,100 to 1,200 liters. 1 gave over 1,200 liters. These goats were not of any particular breed, but they had been bred from selected parents, as are all the goats in Germany. This illustrates what may be clone in our own country with the goats we now have if we handle them properly. Petersen records the statement that one Langensalzaer goat gave 1,800 liters in one year. He also says that this breed has given a maximum daily yield of 10 liters. Analysis. — It is not probable that any two analyses of the milk of any animal would agree; indeed, analyses of the milk taken at 1 A liter is 1.0567 quarts. 2 A kilogram is approximately 2.20 pounds. 190 MILCH GOATS. different times of the day seldom agree exactly. The ingredients of milk are governed, first, by the species of animal, and then by the kind of feed it consumes, the time of day when the milk is taken, and by the part of a particular milking, whether the first part or the last, and other minor causes. Therefore' an analysis of milk is only a general guide to its composition, and any varia- tion between analyses does not prove that either or anyone of them is wrong. The analyses which are here quoted from several dif- ferent authorities are not from individual goats, or from one milk- ing, but are the averages of a number of analyses and are, there- fore, a very good basis from which to form conclusions. The following is from Eenesse, and shows a comparison in percentages between goat's milk and cow's milk: Element. Goat. Cow. Water '85 50 5.00 4.80 4.00 .70 87 25 3 90 Fat 3.30 4 60 Ash .75 We find in the Oesterreichisehes landwirthschaftliches wochen- blatt another comparison in percentages between the milk of the goat and that of the cow: Element. Goat. Cow. 85.6 .7 3.5 1.3 4.6 4.3 87.5 3.5 .5 Fat _ 3.5 4.3 Professor Hoffman gives the following percentages in com- paring goat's milk and cow's milk: Element. Goat. Cow. 86.19 3 68 4.73 4.50 .90 87.50 4.00 Fat 3.50 4.50 Salts .50 The above three analyses are all of foreign goats. The total solids shown by them are, respectively, 14.50, 14.-10, and 13.81 per cent. The two analyses of foreign cow's milk show, respect- ively, 12.50 and 12.50 per cent. The difference in favor of goat's SCHWARZENBURG-GUGGISBERGER DOE. Prom Hilpert. HINTERW ALDER DOE. From Dettweiler. 192 MILCH GOATS. milk is one that is maintained in general in all analyses. An American analysis of goat's milk — one reported in 1896 by the chemist of the board of health of Philadelphia — shows the total solids to be 16.33 per cent. This indicates a very rich milk. The same analysis shows a percentage of 5.11 for sugar and of 5.85 for fat. This analysis, it should be stated, is of the milk of one goat and in all probability does not represent the quality of the American goats, as a whole. Who would not wish that it were so? Quality. — The element of quality is shown in detail in the para- graphs under the head of "Analyses." This entire chapter has to deal with quality, but the reader is referred especially to the re- marks under the head of "Its various uses/' Period of lactation. — This is a feature which, at first glance, would not seem to be appropriate under the head of milk ; but the period of lactation is so intimately connected with the quantity which may be produced that it must be discussed here in order to best elucidate the subject. The period of lactation, as in the case of the quantity, depends almost wholly upon the individuality of the goat, its ancestry, and upon the feed and care which it may receive. Ln a general sense it may be said that the period of lactation is about 7 months. Many give milk 8 and 9 months, even 10, and some would continue throughout the year if permitted ; but it is not well to permit the milk to flow up to the time of the birth of a new kid, as it works injury both to the does and the kid. On this point, we quote from a correspondent of the Landwirthschaft- liche Zeitung: "A doe giving milk continuously during 9 to 10 months can be made to do so during 11 months and even for the entire year through by generous feeding and good feed in winter." A goat that is compelled to find most of its food, and if such as it gets is not very suitable for milk production, the yield will be low and the duration of lactation about 3 or 4 months. If there is a milch goat industry built up in this country, it will be established to a large extent among the poorer people, who are unable to own and feed a cow ; and these people will have need of a supply of milk throughout the year. Every such family should have at least two goats, and matters should be so arranged as to have them become fresh alternately six months apart. Thus each doe would drop kids but once a year, and they ought to be of such breeding and have such feeding as would insure a constant supply of milk. Flavor. — People are inclined to believe many things that are not true, and one of them is that there is an inherent ill flavor in MILCH GOATS. 193 the milk of the goat. Therefore, without parley, they decide that they have no use for either the milk or the animal. Briefly, it may be said that this is erroneous. However, in order to under- stand the matter, an explanation is necessary. If the goats are allowed to roam about and eat weeds and twigs and all kinds of vegetation at will while they are giving milk, the milk is apt to be strong, or of ill flavor. The tendency of the goat is to eat these very things at all times, and so it is but natural always to expect to note their influence upon the quality of the milk. On the con- trary, if the animal is fed properly, with the purpose in view of obtaining palatable milk, no ill flavor is noticed. Switzerland is one of the greatest of milch goat countries, and travelers there, always observe that the milk of the goat possesses a strong flavor. Bryan Hook, as well as some of the German writers, state that the animals there are not fed, but find it necessary to gather their subsistence from between the rocks on the mountain sides, where much of the vegetation is made up of aromatic plants. Hook further says: "The milk from goats fed Upon what an English meadow or roadside yields has no flavor to distinguish it from cow's milk, except, perhaps, its extra sweetness and creaminess; in short, it is only distinguishable by its superiority." Felix Hilpert, a well-known German writer on milch goats, says that milk with good taste may be obtained if the following points are scrupulously observed : ( 1 ) Good stable, dry stall, clean hands and bucket at milking time; (2) daily cleansing of the skin and washing off of the udder with warm water before milk- ing; (3) the feeding of wholesome, pure, and "good tasting" (not strong tasting) food; (4) attention to fresh air in the stall, and, if possible, allowing the goats to exercise in the open air. The Milch-Zeitung (vol. xxv., p. 699) says: "An after-taste of goat's milk, according to statements of veterinarians, should not exist, and, if any rich taste or smell should exist it must be traced to unclean stables or bad feed. Even cow's milk very fre- quently smells badly under these conditions." Dettweiler says: "It [the milk] possesses a singular but not unpleasant sharp taste, the strength of which varies with the feed- ing and keeping. The better the feed, the cleaner the bedding, the better ventilated the stall, and the more painstaking the care, just so much more pleasing will be the taste of the milk. The goatish taste is always to be attributed to the lack of attention to one or more of these points." Kloepfer says: "A scrupulous care of the skin itself is abso- lutely necessary even with the best conditions of bedding. If the 194 MILCH GOATS. pores of the skin, which partly serve to bring air into the body and partly to emit exerementitous materials [such as perspira- tion] from it become filled with dirt and stopped up, on the one hand, metabolism suffers and, on the other, these materials remain in the body, the proper excretion of which is interfered with. Thus the rather unpleasant after-taste of goat milk, for the most part, is to be traced to the fact that the gaseous and liquid exerementi- tous materials can not pass from the body because of the occlusion of the pores of the skin and they therefore impart to the milk their unpleasant taste. The milk of healthy and cleanly goats has the same good wholesome taste that cow's milk has and excels it in the amount of fat and albumin contained. For these reasons it is imperative carefully to observe the following points: (1) To clean with a brush and comb the hair, first upward, then lightly down- ward, each day; (2) to wash the goats with soda water or soap suds on still sunny clays in the spring before turning them out to pasture and in the fall before housing them, repeating the opera- tion a few days later in each season. By this means all vermin is destroyed and many skin diseases prevented; (3) to look carefully after the cleanliness of the udder by washing it frequently and with great care and pains." These opinions of writers of prominence and men of experi- ence are given to point out the source of unpalatable milk and also the way it may be avoided. If a goat is fed all sorts of vegetable rubbish, it must not be expected to yield milk of the best flavor. Onions, garlic, aromatic plants, and all varieties of twigs and bark alone are not the best for good milk. We should not forget the philosophy of the old saw that "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." If the same sanitary practices obtain in the goat dairy that are now followed by the best cattle dairies there need be no fear of unpalatable milk. However, goat's milk has a characteristic taste which, it is said, is always distinguishable in some degree, but not so pronounced in the fresh state. This may be so far eradicated by good feeding, good care and cleanli- ness that it may be almost imperceptible. The taste can not be observed when the milk is used in coffee or in cooking. The milk of ihe goat is nearly always pure white — very seldom having a yellowish tinge— and it is so thick as to lead one not familiar with it to doubt its purity and wholesomeness. Odor. — Besides the flavor of the milk, which is discussed above, there is often a disagreeable odor. This may be clue to one or more of the various causes, but it is not a natural characteristic and therefore, as in the matter of ill flavor, may be avoided by proper care. Dr. M. Aiken of the London Agricultural Gazette says that 196 MILCH GOATS. the slight odor which the milk sometimes possesses is not a char- acteristic of the milk, but is peculiar to the skin of the goat and is imparted to the milk externally. Zurn mentions the cause of the odor and tells how it may be prevented. He says: "It is admitted that goat's milk sometimes has the smell of the buck. Much can be done toward lessening this and toward its ultimate entire re- moval by furnishing a dry, sweet stall, bedded with lots of clean straw, by good care of the skin and by permitting the continuance as long a time as possible in the open air." A German agricultural paper says that in consequence of un- cleanliness and the lack of proper action of the skin there is a strong smell of a decomposition product — namely, caporic acid. The article continues : "With a view to the greatest possible diminution of the goatish smell of the milk, there are here given the following directions for good stable goats: (1) Short hair; (2) uniformity of color; and (3) goats without horns. The argument in favor of short hair is that the skin may be the better cared for. With reference to the color, it is claimed by some that the purer the breeds the freer they are from the disagreeable odor, and that a pure bred goat is of solid color. Most of the German writers state that goats without horns are the better milch animals. Why so the writer is unable to say. The paper referred to above intimates that goats with horns are more active, thus causing perspiration, and this gives rise to the ill odor. Hilpert says that hornless goats should give milk less strong to the taste than other goats, but does not give a reason for his opinion. He makes a point with reference to the odor of the milk, however, which breed- ers should note — namely, that "at times an individual character- istic is responsible for this, and from such animals offspring should not be obtained." He also says that if the goat's milk savors of the buck or of manure it is seldom the fault of the goat, but gen- erally that of the owner. Knowing, as we do now, the cause of the ill odor and how to prevent it, there is no reason why this characteristic should be quoted as an objection to the goat. Concerning tuberculosis. — The question of the milk of goats being the carrier of the germs of tuberculosis will be discussed under another head, as it is one that concerns the animal's body as well as the milk. Cost of production. — All estimates of the cost of producing milk are confined to German experiments. Of course, they can not be applied literally to the conditions in the United States, yet they indicate what may be expected. Dettweiler states that a goat which, under ordinary dairy conditions, yields 500 MILCH GOATS. 197 liters annually does so at a cost of 12 pfennigs 1 per liter. - If the yield is 600 liters the cost is reduced to 8.3 pfennigs ; a yield of 700 liters costs 7.1 pfennigs, and 800 liters costs 6.25 pfennigs each. He continues: "According to Dr. Lobe, a goat weighing 30 kilograms 2 needs a supply of hay weighing 1.05 kilograms, and gives on an average of 1.72 liters of milk at 12 pfennigs per liter; thus the goat converts 50 kilograms of hay, by means of the milk given, into a value of 9.80 marks; an evidence of the fact that the goat is a good utilizer of food. In the same way a cow weighing 300 kilograms, with a daily food supply of 10.5 kilograms, must give nearly 17 liters if she would utilize the food as well as the goat. Under very many circum- stances the keeping of two or three goats will be more profitable than that of one cow, for with the feed that a cow requires one can keep eight goats at quite an additional profit and at compara- tively less risk of loss." Description of a Good Milch Goat. The points of this description are those which are considered important in Europe. There seems to be no reason why the best milch goat here should not answer in all respects to the best type there. The goat should be hornless, short haired and of solid color. Long hair is an objection only as it is a nuisance at milk- ing time and makes the work of keeping the animal clean very difficult. The animal should usually present a lanky appearance, with broad muzzle, clean-cut head, graceful neck, deep in the stomach rather than broad. The chest should be broad and deep. The udder is hard rather than soft and fat. The size of the udder will depend upon the number of years the animal has given milk. In some of the old does, especially of the short-legged Maltese, the teats sometimes touch the ground. A very excellent, description and one full of suggestions is thai; of Hilpert and is given herewith : "In a good milch goat the following points are to be described : A long body, growing larger at the hinder parts and beneath, neatly rounded form, a deep and broad breast, short legs, broad buttocks, wide but filled out 'hungry hole' (the depression in front of the hip bone), a neck that is not too long nor too thick, a light, broad head, wide mouth and good udder. The udder should be of considerable size. Only those goats can give plenty of milk which have a bulky, well-developed milk gland ; that is, a large udder. But it is not always the case that a capacious udder signifies a high milk yield. The amount of glandular tissue in the 1 A pfennig is one-fourth of a cent. 2 A kilogram equals, approximately, 2.20 pounds. 198 MILCH GOATS. udder can be augmented by the surrounding flesh and fat, and then the udder is spoken of as a fleshy or fatty udder. A large udder is, then, a favorable sign of an abundance of milk when it is a genuine udder. A fatty udder feels soft and full; its skin is generally somewhat thicker, sparsely covered with long, coarse hair ; does not wrinkle after milking and diminishes only slightly in circumference. A genuine milk udder feels tight and as having kernels in its upper portion ; its skin is thin and tender, covered with short, fine hair, and forms very perceptible folds and wrinkles, which fall together after the milking is done, if the condition of the udder is not too tense. Moreover, the blood vessels course along very noticeably on account of the thin skin when the udder is filled — a condition not present in the case of a fatty udder. A good milch goat should have a fine, thin skin, which is best examined over the ribs, and it should be covered with fine (not bristly), smooth, glistening hair. That the absence of horns possesses an alleged influence in making the milk mild in taste has been spoken of before. When all these characteristics coincide it is certain that one is dealing with a good milch goat." In the matter of selection one should buy only well-bred stock. Goats designed for breeding should be descended only from such animals as gave an abundance of milk. In this connection it is well to remember that the milk yield is a quality which is inherited not only through the mother goat, but through the buck also, and handed down to the young. If both the males and females be descended from milch-giving animals, then it is of the utmost probability that the offspring will be blest with an abundance of milk later on. An American Mich Goat Suggested. Having in view the great difficulty that will be encountered in efforts to import foreign breeds of milch goats, it occurs to the writer that the people of the United States who are interested in the question may find it necessary to develop a strain of milch goats from the stock already available. Everybody calls this stock "common goats," as, indeed, they are. Mrs. Eoby has patriotically suggested that the term "common goats" be discontinued and "American goats" be substituted. But a change in name will not change the animal, and it will still remain a common animal, not only in the United States, but everywhere. Let us, rather, adopt a further suggestion of Mrs. Eoby and by the use of our common goats as foundation stock develop an animal that shall produce a good quality of milk ; and, so soon as some breeding characteristics are fixed, call the new animal the "American goat." MALTESE GOAT. Raised in Tunis. NUBIAN GOAT. Photo by Wm. G de Ooligny 200 MILCH GOATS. Such an outcome is not an impossibility by any means. En- glish breeders soon learned that the purebred milch goats from the continent and the Island of Malta would not thrive in their cli- mate ; so they began crossing with their common goats, with the result that they now have a very good milch animal which they name the English milch goat. In our own country Daniel F. Tompkins of Jersey City, N. J., has met with very good success in efforts to develop such an animal as suggested here. Mrs. Eoby, who has already been mentioned, is making efforts without regard to cost in the same direction. Breeding and Kidding. Milch goats as a rule are very prolific animals. They seldom drop fewer than two kids, and some breeds drop as many as four at a time. The Nubian, one of the best milch goats known, has had as many as eleven kids in a year. It is well known that An- gora goats will breed but once a year, but other goats breed very soon after kidding; and, as the period of gestation is only from 155 to 157 days, their increase may be quite rapid. Tlie bitch. — First, the buck should be from a milk strain and himself have the characteristics of a milch animal. He should have a pedigree showing ancestors of milk propensities ; even then, if upon trial he fails to transmit the milk characteristics, he should be dispensed with. He should be killed for the good of the indus- try. The Question of Feeding. The thought will no doubt come to many people at once that the best and cheapest manner to feed milch goats is to turn them upon brushwood and Aveeds, where they can feed as Angoras do. While this will prove to be a feed very much relished by the goaf and at the same time prove an effective means of destroying the brush and weeds, it will be observed that the milk supply will dimin- ish in quantity and the palatability will be greatly affected. Such a location will not answer for a goat dairy. The goat is a single- purpose animal ; she can not produce good milk and destroy brush and weeds at the same time. She must be regarded as a milk- producing machine and feci such things and in such manner as will enable her to do the best at the pail. In a general way it may be stated that eight goats can subsist and yield a good flow of milk upon the amount of feed that is required for one cow. It is proved by experiments in Europe that the goat makes much better use of its feed in producing milk than MILCH GOATS. 201 does a cow. Considering its proportionate weight, the goat is the greatest milk producer of all domestic animals. Some writers state that the average amount of hay required annually for a milch goat is about 300 pounds ; but in an examina- tion of experiments where large milk production was the object in view it is shown that some goats will consume as much as 700 pounds. Let us be generous and allow our goats 500 pounds to eat ; if we are not careful we shall waste that much or more and charge it against the goat. For the milch goat hay is indispensable, winter and summer. Without hay goat keeping is scarcely possi- ble, because it can not be displaced by any other food. Of course, an abundance of dry fodders will answer the same purposes as the hay. Kioepfer says: "From my experiments, which I have con- ducted in the past two years upon my experimental animals, one must figure on at least 3 cwt. of hay yearly for each mature animal. If one can obtain more of course it is so much the better. As a means of saving the hay it is suggested that it be cut up and fed in a narrow rack and mixed with straw. By this means the animals will be prevented from tramping the feed under foot. It is best in the morning to feed half of the clay's ration of hay, mixed with equal amount of straw, and after this to give water which in severe weather has been allowed to stand in a warm room or in the kitchen. The offal from the kitchen serves as the usual noon meal, which should be given not with, but without, a large amount of liquid." Good hay, especially clover hay, exercises a stimulating influ- ence upon the digestive organs and serves as an active element in the production of milk. Fresh hay, which has not yet undergone the sweat, is difficult of digestion and easily induces bloating. Old, dusty hay which has lain more than a year is tasteless and pro- vokes shortness of breath. The best food for goats is found in the pasture "where nature has spread the table"; but before they go out and after they return from the pasture hay should be given them. Bran is an excellent feed; its use will depend upon its cost. The daily ration may vary between one-half and three-quarters of a pound. Dampen the bran with a little salt water. The morn- ing and evening portions may contain the solid materials from the kitchen slops, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips and bread crusts. Malt is recommended where it can be had regularly and at rea- sonable cost. It is an excellent milk-producing feed. It should not be fed when sour. Dry malt (which has been preserved for a vear) is also sood for milk. 202 MILCH GOATS. Oats and barley are good. Green oats are especially good for kids at weaning time. Linseed cake meal may be fed in amount from 50 to 75 grams daily as an auxiliary feed. Its influence upon digestion and nour- ishment is excellent. Kloepfer says: "It is absolutely invaluable before delivery. When, on account of its digestibility and ready assimilation, it is a prophylactic against milk fever." A breeder of many years' experience declares that out of 100 cases of milk fever, 50 of which used to be fatal, now his herd is almost free from it because of feeding with linseed cake. This precautionary method is so simple and reasonable in price that all ought to be able to employ it. If, by reason of drouth, soiling is necessary, leaves, vegetable refuse, peelings of the apple or potato, bread crusts or stale bread, if they are sweet and clean, will be all the feed that is needed. All goats, however, will not eat the same food, and the feeder will have to study the appetites of the indi- vidual animal. Frequent feeding and a variety of food in winter will be found beneficial. Fencing and Housing. The fences and houses required for milch goats are very much the same as those required for dairy cattle. While the goat does not jump, except when trained to do so, it will climb and creep just where one would not expect it. Goats should not be tempted with a poor fence or one that offers any opportunity for climbing. If such opportunities are offered, the garden, shrubbery, and fruit trees are sure to suffer in consequence. The plan of a very convenient house is shown in Hook's excellent little English work, "Milch Goats and Their Manage- ment." The stalls are very convenient; the rack above for the hay is easily accessible to the animal, and yet permits of no waste ; the slatted floor favors cleanliness ; if for any reason the goat should not be tied — at the lime of kidding, for instance — the box stalls are available; a loft immediately over the stalls holds the forage, which may be fed directly to the rack below; a hopper is provided for grain or soft feed. Any goat house should be ventilat- ed, for goats must have an abundance of fresh air. A goat house must be comfortable in winter, as all short-haired breeds suffer much from the cold. It must not leak rain at any time. There should be a yard in connection with the goat house where animals may exercise on warm days in winter season. 204 MILCH GOATS Tlie Operation of Milking. The act of milking by the milk vender in European countries and also in our insular possessions is usually done on the street at all hours of the morning or evening. The vendor drives his goats from door to door, and at each one draws the amount of milk de- sired. The better way, as our own people will at once recognize, is to have a place near the goat house for milking, just as we have an established place for milking the cow. Under no circumstances should milking be done in the stalls or in that part of the house where the stalls are located. The act of milking is done from the rear, as is shown in the illustration of the Maltese goat. All authorities agree that goats should be milked three times a day. This must be done regularly as to days and hours, if the goat is to be kept in milk — "in profit," as they say in England. This is an important point; a disregard of it is apt to render futile all other efforts in the way of breeding, feeding, and care. Kindness and gentleness is now a recognized necessity in the best cattle dairies. These characteristics are even more necessary with goats. On this point Yon L. Albrect is quoted : "Milch goats will be particularly gentle and of kind disposition when handled and cared for, so far as possible, by the same person. To this end the milking must be clone with regard to gentleness and regularity, and with the closed hand so far as possible. The strokes and tugs must be performed with care. The milking is done best by a stroke directed from above downward."' Some excellent advice is given by Eenesse as f ollows : "Before beginning to milk the two teats are to be washed off with luke- warm water and then dried off with a soft cloth, also the udder is to be stripped a few times from above downward. It is advisable that the animal be milked by one and the same individual with clean hands at regular and definite times. The milk pail is to be entirely sweet and clean. Milking must not be clone in the stall. Tuberculous persons must not be allowed either to expectorate in the stable or, much less, to milk. That the milk may not depre- ciate in taste it should be put away in a suitable place. A state- ment of the amount of milk given daily should be kept in a book by dates, in liters, in order to have an accurate account as to the profit." niilcli Goat Dairies. Since there is almost universal indorsement of goat's milk for infants and invalids, and since the cost of keeping is so much less than the keeping of cows, it would seem that a goat dairy would prove a success, especially if it is in proximity to the large cities. MILCH GOATS. 205 Instances are known where the milk has been sold in limited quantities at prices ranging from 12^2 cents to 25 cents a pint. It may not be that such prices would be maintained, but there can not be a doubt that a much better price could be obtained than can be had for cow's milk. After a milch goat industry shall have been established in this country other matters in connection with it will arise for attention. The matter of condensed milk will be one of the first. Thousands of infants are now compelled to live during their first few months on condensed milk of cows, and it is not the best food for some stomachs. Tlie Cheese. The cheese that is made from goat's milk is considered very choice and always brings good prices. Some of the varieties quite well known in the United States are the Roquefort, Rieotto, Schweitzer and Altenburger. It is stated that on an estate near Lyons, France, 12,000 goats are kept in flocks of 40 to 60 for the purpose of cheese manufacture. The goat cheese made in the vicinity of Mount d'Or enjoys a worldwide demand, and there are employed at this place about 15,000 goats. We are informed that the annual production of cheese there is valued at 1,500,000 francs -($289,500). The French goat cheeses worthy of special mention are Fromage de St. Marcellin, St. Claude, Cheveretin, Gratairon. The first one is a combination of the milk of the goat and the sheep. The strong taste and odor of goat cheese are qualities very pleasing to many. In Norway a goat cheese called Hoitcost is quite a favorite. On this account the French as well as the Ger- man, especially the Dutch and Swiss, dairymen have been in the habit of making cheese of an especially pronounced odor and flavor, and, in pursuit of this habit, some of them have used the milk of the goat in part with that of the sheep and the cow in the making of cheese. But while in some instances the milk of the sheep is used wholly as the basis of a special kind of cheese, that of the goat is only used when mixed with the ewe's or cow's milk, simply for the purpose of securing the special flavor of it. And as the special kinds of cheese thus made find a market in our large cities to considerable extent, it is quite probable that the making of this kind of cheese may become an established and quite profitable industry. And, in fact, in view of the great enterprise and engenuity of the American citizen in all the busi- ness of life, it may easily become so to an enlarged extent when goat's milk cheese shall be offered in our markets. 206 MILCH GOATS. With reference to the manufacture of goat's cheese, Kenesse gives the following: "The milk is treated in a kettle, warmed to 25° to 26° K., and, while being stirred evenly, is brought to coagu- lation by the addition of rennet. By this means the socalled curd is separated out of the whey. The curd is then manipulated with a strainer and the whey allowed to run off. When the curd after several hours has become dry, salt and caraway seed are intimately mixed with it and it is made into small cheeses. These little cheeses are to be placed on racks in the cellar to dry and are turned daily. After about fourteen days they are ripe and ready for use. The cheese takes on an especially fine taste and sweet odor if, after a long period of ripening, it be laid in the dried leaves of the sweet-scented woodroof. As a rule, 1 kilogram of cheese can be obtained from 10 liters of milk." Tlie Butter. There is nothing about goat's milk to recommend it for butter making, although in those countries where milch goats are com- mon it is made frequently, but not extensively. There are several reasons why it is not satisfactory, and these will be mentioned here, but not discussed to any extent. Goat's milk is very slow to cream, a condition due to the fact that the fat globules are very small and consequently held much longer in emulsion. Owing to this condition the ordinary method of sep- arating the cream by skimming after the milk has been set is not successful, as only a portion of the cream will have separated in the time allowed. According to Zurn, 50 kilograms of milk, when skimmed in the ordinary way, yield only 1.5 to 2 kilograms of butter. Good goat's butter is usually white, rarely of a yellowish tinge, tastes sweet, and is very fat; because of the last characteristic it is softer than cow's butter. If it is used in its fresh state the taste is pleasant, particularly if it is freed by much washing of the peculiar taste which ordinarily clings to it, but which in a degree is pleasant to some. This taste returns again, however, if the but- ter is set aside for several days. Goat's butter becomes rancid very soon and very easily. It can be used as cooking butter only in a fresh state. The Milch-Zeitung (TS93, p. 756) published an analysis of goat's butter, which is reproduced here : Per cent. Water 8.2 Fat 86. 5 Salts and ash 3.7 Proteids 0.9 Carbohydrates 0.7 100 SAANEN BUCK. From Wilsdorf. ... . . .._ .. mm,^ K .* V