Although it is a well established fact that the Angora goat will thrive in any country that is not low and damp, with the exception a few pairs of Angoras, that were introduced at the Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas some years ago, the breeding of this variety of goat has never attracted the attention which it deserves. Those of the station, although not located under the ideal conditions which prevail in the mountains, have nevertheless fulfilled the reputation which this animal enjoys in other parts of the world.

The Angora, unlike the sheep, does not lose or drop its beautiful silky fleece when introduced into a warm climate. It is, however, desirable to shear the mohair twice a year instead of once, in order to avoid loss that might come from pushing its way through heavy underbrush in the mountains. In raising or breeding this variety of goat, where the long fine fleece is the chief source of income, provision should be made for rounding up and coralling the herd each night, in order to insure against the possibility of loss from dogs or theft, although the goat himself is an excellent fighter, and stoutly resents the intrusion of any enemy.

Under favorable circumstances the annual increase of kids will amount to 100% of the number of ewes in the flock. The young bucks, of course, when a year old may be sold at a profit, as is the ordinary goat, but since the finest yield of hair comes from the younger animals, it would seem ill advised to dispose of them until at least five or six years old.

The average price of a good angora ewe for breeding purposes is about $15, and the value of the mohair has been increasing steadily for the past ten years. Its price, of course, depends on the length and fineness of the fleece, and varies at the present time from 75¢ to $1 per pound. When it is considered that a good angora will produce five or six pounds of fleece each year, and that the entire expense is practically that of herding and clipping, the profit of the business is apparent. On the basis of a six-pound yield to each goat, and an average price of 83-1/3¢, a revenue of $12,000 would be derived from a herd of 2,400 goats that would cost $36,000; or in other words the net returns would exceed 25% on the capital invested.

Aside from a sufficient amount of land on which to establish night corrals, and the purchase of a few good collie dogs, there need be no other initial expense than that of the purchase of breeding animals themselves. Good herders can be readily secured at a salary of $50 per month and the feeding range is not only free but practically unlimited.

When it is considered that the angora, when living on high lands, with plentiful food and water, is free from disease, and that the capital stock is multiplying at the rate of 50% per year, with an overhead expense that may be considered as almost nothing, and an absolutely assured market at good prices for the mohair, the raising and breeding of angora goats would seem to be a very profitable investment in Cuba.

The deer of Cuba, while resembling in color, general form and configuration of antlers the deer of Florida, is somewhat smaller in size, the average height of the buck at the shoulders being only about three feet. Although hunted considerably during the open season, they are still very plentiful in Cuba, and if not chased by dogs soon become quite tame.

If deer parks or reserves were established in the mountains where these animals could be confined, cared for and bred, a market for venison could undoubtedly be found in the United States, while many city parks and zoological gardens would find them interesting and ornamental as an exhibit of the Cervidae family from Cuba.

CHAPTER XXVII
POULTRY: BEES: SPONGES

NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that several millions a year are expended by the people of the Republic in bringing poultry and eggs to Cuba, no steps were taken towards what might be termed systematic poultry raising until American colonists began experimenting with different breeds brought from the United States during the first Government of Intervention. And even since that time there are very few who have carried on really scientific experiments towards determining what varieties of chickens may give the best results in this country.