Yellow Rose Fiber Farm -A North Texas Angora goat Farm

<body> <p align="center"><b><font size="5">Yellow Rose Fiber Farm  --Angoras</font></b></p> <h2 style="word-spacing: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 15"> <font color="#008080"><b>What are they?</b></font></h2> <p style="text-indent: 10; word-spacing: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> <font size="2">The Angora Goat is a small variety of the goat family. Its fleece (called Mohair) grows rapidly and is highly valued for making fine clothes. The average goat in the U.S. shears approximately 5.3 pounds of mohair per shearing and are usually sheared twice a year. They produce a fiber with a staple length of between 12 and 15cm.</font></p> <p style="text-indent: 10; word-spacing: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> <font size="2">The mohair is very similar to wool in chemical composition but differs from wool in that it is has a much smoother surface and very thin, smooth scale. Consequently, mohair lacks the felting properties of wool. Mohair is very similar to coarse wool in the size of fiber. It is a strong fiber that is elastic, has considerable luster, and takes dye very well. Mohair has been considered very valuable as an upholstering material for the making of plushes and other covering materials where strength, beauty, and durability are desired.</font></p> <h2 style="word-spacing: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 15"><font color="#008080"><b>A Brief History</b></font></h2> <p style="word-spacing: 0; text-indent: 10; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> <font size="2">The Angora goat originated in the district of Angora in Asia Minor. The Angora dates back prior to early biblical history. Mention is made of the use of mohair at the time of Moses, which would fix the record of the Angora some time between 1571 and 1451 B.C. In order to increase the supply of mohair available for export to the European countries, the Turks crossed the Angora goat with common stock to increase the poundage of salable hair. Probably there was no effort to keep the original Angora separate, and the general increase in size and vigor of the goats in the Angora area was, no doubt, partially the result of this infusion of other blood.</font></p> <p style="word-spacing: 0; text-indent: 10; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> <font size="2">A pair of Angoras was imported to Europe by Charles V about 1554. In 1765 an importation was made by the Spanish government and twenty years later a considerable number were imported into France. None of these importations were successful in establishing mohair production. On the other hand, Angoras were taken to South Africa in 1838 and there they flourished. </font> </p> <p style="word-spacing: 0; text-indent: 10; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> <font size="2">It is generally believed that the first importation of Angora goats into the United States occurred in 1849. The goats originated in Turkey and were brought here by a Dr. J. B. Davis of Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Davis had been rewarded with nine head of Angoras as a gift from the Sultan of Turkey for his work as a cotton and agricultural consultant in Turkey. The breed spread quickly and became especially popular in the arid west. </font></p> <p style="word-spacing: 0; text-indent: 10; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> <font size="2">By about 1880 the government of Turkey banned the export of further Angoras, but the breed had already gained a foothold in both the United States and the Republic of South Africa. By 1900 it was estimated that nearly 900,000 head of Angoras were in the United States with about 250,000 of those in Texas.</font></p> <p style="word-spacing: 0; text-indent: 10; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 6"> </p> <div align="left"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" id="table1" align="left" width="804"> <tr> <td align="center" width="54"><a target="_top" href="../index.html">Home</a></td> <td align="center" width="60"><a target="main" href="AngoraHome.html">Angoras</a></td> <td align="center" width="66"><a target="main" href="Information.html">Information</a></td> <td align="center" width="70"><a target="main" href="OurHerd.html">Our Herd</a></td> <td align="center" width="75"><a target="main" href="Herdsire.html">Herdsires</a></td> <td align="center" width="55"><a target="main" href="Forsale.html">For Sale</a></td> <td align="center" width="86"><a target="main" href="Specials.html">Specials</a></td> </tr> </table> </div> </body>