Welcome to You Ask Andy

Wayne Hower, age 14, of Allentown Penna., for his question:

 How does angora grow?

Maybe you have a pair of fuzzy angora mittens that look like balls of fur. Maybe you have a sweater of wool yarn mixed with angora. Five to 25 percent angora with wool makes a luxury fabric. The long, silken angora threads grow on the angora rabbit. This cuddly bunny is kept for his wonderful coat. The soft hairs may be five to eight inches long. Once a year he is shorn. A big fellow may yield 12 ounces or wool each year. The splendid fur grows back year after year.

The lovely threads are washed, combed and spun into yarn. Sometimes the yarn is pure angora, sometimes a mixture of wool and angora. Some may be pressed into felt. Men's hats are made mostly from rabbit fur. And angora fur makes the best felt of all.

The word angora has an interesting history and angora fabric was not always made from rabbit fur. Angora is an old name for Ankara, the capital of Turkey. The angora goat is a prize animal who has been cultivated in Turkey since ancient days.

This handsome animal has a splendid coat of long, silky, curly hair. These threads are woven into a smooth sturdy fabric called mohair. The angora goat is also known as the mohair goat.

He became so famous that other long haired animals were also called angoras. We had an angora cat, very like a Persian cat, and of course, the angora rabbit. Angora fabric, however, is made only from the goat and the rabbit.

The angora goat is a handsome fellow and he knows it. A prize Turkish animal looks like a perky poodle dog. His thick soft coat is a mass of snow white curls, Mr. Angora wears a pair of long slender horns that arch back like a pair of gulls in flight. His forehead is a mass of snowy curls and he has a beard that Santa would envy.

Mrs. Angora has a coat as fine as her husband's. Her long slim horns bend back and down in simple arches. The splendid coat is clipped once each year.

For a long time, their Turkish owners refused to sell their mohair goats for any price. All the world's mohair was grown in Turkey. But finally some of the prize goats found their way to Australia, South Africa and the United States. Those in South Africa were soon producing more hair than their relatives in Turkey.

Angora goats have made themselves at home in America. Most of the mohair is produced in Texas where the animals seem to be very happy. There are also herds up in Oregon.

The angora rabbit is no problem to keep. He sits eating and growing long hair for fine fabrics. The angora goat can be a handful. Being a goat he is a smart and independent animal. He loves to roam and fences are a challenge to him. It is not a good idea to keep him near farmlands. However, he loves to eat brushwood ‑ stems, twigs, leaves and all. The ranchers often put him to work clearing brush land while his long silky coat grows for another clipping.

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