The first cross, or half-blood Angora, will have a covering of short coarse common hair and a thin covering of mohair, which does not grow very long. If the animal were to be shorn, possibly a half pound of hair of a very inferior grade might be yielded. If this hair were to be offered to a manufacturer, he would class it as noil, and refer it to a carpet manufacturer, who would possibly pay ten or twelve cents a pound for it. The skin of the animal will be a little fluffy, and not suitable for fine goat skin trade. It will not take a good polish after tanning, and it is not desirable for shoe leather. It will be worth about half as much as common goat skin. The meat of the animal will be a little better than that of the common goat, but it will be inferior to Angora venison. The animal will still be as prolific as the common goat. Twins and triplets will be a common occurrence. The kids will also be hardy. If one were to stop at this stage in breeding, he would have decreased the value of the skin of his goat without increasing the value of the animal.
The second cross, or the three-quarter blood Angora, will have a covering of short coarse common hair, especially noticeable on the back, belly, neck and hips. The mohair will now be fairly thickly set upon the sides of the animal, and of medium length, about seven inches long for a year's growth. If the animal were to be examined by a novice, he would be called an Angora from his general appearance. If shorn, he will yield about one, or one and a half pounds of hair, and the mohair manufacturer will pay about twelve or fifteen cents a pound for the material. The skin is valueless for rug, robe or trimming purposes, because of the coarse back and the scanty covering of mohair. It is fit for glove leather after tanning, but its value for this purpose is less than that of the common goat. The meat is more like Angora venison, and can be sold on the market as mutton. The animal is still prolific. From the second cross on, the grade goat rapidly assumes the characteristic of the Angora goat, but if for any reason poor bucks are used (an occasional animal without apparent reason retrogrades), the animal as rapidly resumes the characteristic of the common goat. Quite a percentage of colored kids will be dropped by does which are themselves white.
The third cross, or seven-eighths blood Angora, will still have the coarse back, a partially bare belly, coarse hips, and the neck will be insufficiently covered. The sides will be covered with good quality, long staple mohair, comparatively free from the coarse, dead underhair, or kemp. The animal will shear about two or three pounds of fair mohair, which will be worth from twenty to thirty cents a pound. This mohair will be fit to run through the combs, and the "top," or long mohair, free from kemp, will be used in the manufacture of plushes, braids, etc. The skin will have some value for rug, robe and trimming purposes. The meat will be juicy, palatable and salable as mutton.
The fourth cross, or fifteen-sixteenths blood Angora, will be hardly distinguishable from the average thoroughbred Angora. The coarse back will persist to some extent, and the hip will be plentifully covered with kemp. A good many of this grade will be poorly covered on the belly, and an occasional bare necked or off colored animal will be dropped. The animal will shear from two and a half to five pounds of mohair of good quality, which will be worth from twenty-five to thirty-five cents a pound. It will be from eight to twelve inches long at a year's growth, and it will be combed at the mill. It is fit for manufacturing into any of the goods for which mohair is used. The meat of the animal is rich, juicy, and free from the disagreeable qualities so often noticeable in mutton. If the animal be fed upon browse, the meat will have the flavor of venison. The tendency of the mothers to drop twins will be lessened, and it will be rather the exception for twins to be born. The kids will be rather delicate when dropped.
Subsequent crosses will tend to reduce the amount of kemp upon the animal and to improve the back. The question will now resolve itself into one of breeding for points. Bucks must be selected which cover the points the does need most, and by careful selection the grade flock will soon be indistinguishable from the thoroughbreds.
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.