METHODS USED IN AMERICA TO-DAY.
By gradual steps the original Angoras imported into America have been so improved, and the cross-bloods have been so highly graded that some of the American flocks equal the best Turkish flocks. America has many high-grade flocks, which, if it were not for the remaining coarse hair of the common goat, would be upon a par with the Turkish flocks. There are enough good goats in the country for a foundation stock, and a few years more of the careful, painstaking, selective breeding which is in progress throughout the United States to-day, will bring forth an Angora superior to the Turkish stock. Sections of the country modify the characteristics of the Angora. Probably climatic conditions, varieties of food and water, and certainly mental vigor of the owners is largely responsible for this. One man selects large, well formed, rapidly maturing goats and breeds for this type. It is surprising how soon his flocks assume this type. Another breeder works for fineness of fleece, regardless of size or shape of the animal, and he gets his points.
There has been much vagueness as to what points the breeder should try to produce. Some have claimed that the most profitable animal to raise was one producing heavy ringletty fleece, regardless of the quality of the fleece, except of course that it should be as free from kemp as possible. This day has passed. We know what the mohair is used for, and know how it is prepared for manufacturing. The future may change these uses or methods, but we know what we want now, and we know how to breed our goats to produce the most money per head for the present at least. Fashions vary, and the fashions vary the demand for certain grades of mohair. Coarse fibered, long staple, fine luster mohair possessing a great amount of tensile strength and elasticity will make good braid yarns, but if braid yarns are not in demand, such fiber is not the best for plush or dress yarns. Fine fibered, long staple, pliable, lustrous, easily spun yarn can be used for braid stuff, or at least part of the fleece will be heavy enough for this purpose, and the finer parts have such a variety of uses that they spin yarns which are always in demand. Looking at the question from the manufacturing standpoint, we see that the most staple product is the fine-fibered mohair. But a producer might have animals which would shear two and a half pounds average (the average of the Turkish flocks) of very fine mohair, while another grower might have animals which would shear four or five pounds average of coarse mohair. And even though the value per pound of the coarse mohair may be considerably less than that of the fine mohair, the grower owning the coarse haired heavy shearing Angoras will realize more money per head for his clip. The value also of the carcass and skin of the Angora is of importance. A heavy carcass and a large skin are of more value than a light carcass and a small skin.
If the Angora breeder would produce the animal which will yield the most money per head, he should aim to produce an animal which will shear the heaviest fleece of the most marketable mohair, regardless of fashions, and one which, when put upon the market, will dress the most possible pounds of desirable meat, and yield a readily marketable skin. There are not many such animals on the market to-day, but the time when there will be plenty is coming. We have the fineness of fiber; we have the density of weight of fleece; we have the covering of the animal and the size and stamina of the individual, and we have breeders who are endeavoring to unite combinations to produce the Angora of the future. But while we are without the ideal, one should choose that point which is hardest to attain, most necessary for the best paying animal, and work especially for that. That point is fineness of fiber, always remembering freeness from kemp. There are many large goats, many heavy shearing goats, but there are very few fine fibered comparatively free from kemp goats. One should not make the mistake of neglecting size and weight of fleece. There are few animals which will respond more rapidly to careful crossing than the Angora goat. A buck will usually stamp his individuality upon every kid, hence the necessity of carefully selecting breeding stock.