ANGORAS IN OTHER COUNTRIES.
Even before the arrival of Angora goats in South Africa they had been tried in Holland, France and England. Australia also imported some in 1856, but the industry has not grown to any extent in any of these countries. There have been some Angoras exported to Australia from America since 1900. Canada, Mexico, Alaska, and some of the Pacific Islands, have small flocks of Angora goats at the present time. The start has been obtained largely from California.
hat part of the fleece of the Angora goat, which at a year's growth is composed of long, lustrous, elastic fibers, is called Mohair. It may be more or less curled, but it is readily distinguishable from that part of the fleece of the Angora which is composed of short, stiff fibers, known as kemp.
The word mohair probably has its origin in modern times, as the Turkish word for mohair is tiftick. A theory which is advanced by Mr. George Gatheral of Constantinople, and which is tenable, is that the early Dutch traders who visited Angora, found the native clergy wearing a gown made of mohair. The Turks called the cloth "mahr," and it is possible that the traders applied this word to the raw material. If this be so, the English have corrupted the word into the present term mohair.
The color of mohair varies in different localities and on different individuals. In the vilayet of Koniah, in Asia Minor, is a breed of goats producing a brownish colored mohair. This material is sold upon the market as Koniah mohair. The Koniah goat, however, has been rapidly disappearing, as the herdsmen found that the foreign demand was for white mohair, and they have been crossing the white Angora bucks on the brown Koniah does. There are still over one hundred thousand pounds of Koniah mohair produced each year. In the Angora flocks of Asia Minor one always finds some colored goats. Black, blue, brown or red, usually with an admixture of white, are the common colors. The same thing may be said of the American flocks of Angoras. One may have been breeding white Angoras for years when, without apparent cause, a colored kid is dropped. Then color of the soil may give the mohair a peculiar tinge, but this usually scours out. The kemp in Asia Minor is sometimes a different color from the mohair. The kemp may be red or black and the mohair white. White mohair is what the manufacturer wants. If he wishes to make colored goods, he can dye white whatever color he wishes, but a colored mohair can only be used for certain colored goods.