The skin should be carefully removed from the carcass. Goats do not skin
as easily as sheep, and the careless operator is liable to cut the inner
layers of the skin if he is not careful. These cuts are called
"flesh-cuts," and skins badly "flesh-cut" are comparatively valueless,
because "flesh-cuts" can not be removed by the tanner. A sharp knife
should be used, and the operator should avoid cutting the skin.
The skin should be well salted, care being taken to see that the salt
penetrates every portion of the raw surface. The skins can be cured in
the shade without the use of salt, but sun-dried skins are worthless. If
the edges of the skin are allowed to roll, so that raw surfaces come
together, the part so affected will heat and the hair pull out. It is
not necessary to stretch the skins while curing them.
Goats should be killed when their fleece is suitable for robe and rug
purposes. Those carrying a six month's fleece, if it is six inches long,
have about the right kind of skins. There are some Angora skins imported
from Turkey and South Africa.
[Illustration: Prize winners at the Columbian Exposition, Chicago,
1893.]
BY-PRODUCTS OF ANGORA GOATS.
The Angora goat should not be classed with milch animals. As a rule the
does give a sufficient amount of milk to nourish the kid or kids. The
more common blood there is in the goat the better milch animal she is.
However, some Angoras have been milked, and the milk is as rich as that
of the common goat. A quart of milk a day may be considered a fair
average for a fresh milch Angora doe. It has been suggested that because
the milk of the goat contains a heavy percentage of fat, it is a proper
substitute for mothers' milk for babies. This is probably a mistake, as
that part of the milk which is the hardest for the baby to digest is the
protein, and it will be observed that in the following table of analysis
submitted, the percentage of protein in goat's milk and in cow's milk is
about the same, and that it is considerably larger than in mother's
milk. A very desirable feature in goat's milk is that the fat is
distributed throughout the milk, and that it does not readily separate
from the milk. This would assist in the assimilation of the fat by an
infant. Some experiments made with coffee demonstrate that it requires
half the quantity of goat's milk to produce the same effect upon this
beverage which cow's milk produces. This may be partially explained by
the quantity of fat in goat's milk, and partially by the fact that the
fat does not readily separate from the milk. The bottom of the can is as
good as the top.
ANALYSIS OF MILK.
MOTHER'S COW'S GOAT'S
AVERAGE AVERAGE AVERAGE
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