Angora

an-go'ra, the ancient Ancyra, a mountainous district of Asia Minor, now a province of Turkey in Europe. Its capital is the ancient town of Angora. It is about two hundred and twenty miles from Constantinople. The name is remembered chiefly in connection with the silky, long haired Angora cat and the Angora goat, noted for a long, soft, fine fleece. The history of this region is not without interest. It was once the thoroughfare of a large trade with the East, and was the scene of important military operations. The village now has a few hundred people. The ruins of magnificent marble buildings, dating from the time of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine supremacy, contrast painfully with the mud huts of the present villagers.

Angora Wool or Mohair, the hair or wool of the Angora goat, a native of Asia Minor. In its best condition the fleece of this goat is white, from four inches to one foot in length, strong, fine, and very silky. It hangs in long spiral ringlets that, when ready for shearing, nearly touch the ground. The most important characteristics of mohair are brilliancy, durability, and elasticity. These qualities make the fabric peculiarly adaptable to certain uses, so that as a raw material, mohair is quite as distinct as silk, wool, cotton, or linen. It does not mat or felt like wool, although it is as durable. It is not as soft and flexible as silk, although almost as lustrous. It can be made into a fabric nearly as light in weight as cotton or linen, but much stronger than either, and as capable of shedding dust.

The uses of Angora or mohair are many. It is especially adapted for pile fabrics, such as Utrecht velvet, various kinds of plush, lap robes, and upholsteries. The best mohair plushes are almost indestructible. Such plushes, in use as seat coverings in certain railway cars, have stood constant wear for more than twenty years. Mohair is used also for manufacturing dress goods, braids, trimmings, shawls, rugs, yarns, imitation furs, hosiery, coat linings, and cloakings. The long hair of the old Angora bucks and wethers is used for doll's hair, wigs, and artificial gray hair. It is much in demand for these purposes, selling at from fifty to seventy-five cents a pound.

The word mohair is in common use to describe a special variety of dress goods. It designates a light weight, lustrous textile with warp of cotton and weft of mohair, alpaca, or English luster wool. This fabric is usually plain, although figured mohair is made.

It has been estimated that something like 24,000,000 pounds of Angora wool is produced in the world annually. About half of this is the product of South Africa, 10,000,000 pounds the product of Turkey, and the remainder the product of other countries. The United States furnishes about 800,000 pounds.

See Alpaca; Goat; Plush; Brilliantine