MOHAIR, the hair of a variety of goat originally inhabiting the regions of Asiatic Turkey of which Angora is the centre, whence the animal is known as the Angora goat.
The typical mohair fibre is 7 to 8in. long, very lustrous owing to its physical structure (which although akin to wool is different in that the wool scales are only indicated instead of being fully developed, while the fibre is always solid), to to of an inch in diameter, of a soft elastic handle, and usually of a clear white transparent colour. The staples of which the fleece is formed should be uniform in length and clearly defined, naturally lending themselves to a good "spin"—a difficult attainment in the case of mohair (see WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE). There are many varieties of mohair, and in Constantinople, the centre of the Turkish mohair trade, a large variety of fleece is recognized.
Owing to the demand for raw material exceeding the supply, from 182o onwards there has been a great deal of crossing of the well bred Angora with the common kind of goat : in fact, it has been said that by 1863 the original Angora had practically disap peared. The growing demand for mohair further resulted in at tempts on a commercial scale to introduce the goat into South Africa—where it was crossed with the native goat—the United States, Australia, and later still New Zealand. Perhaps the intro duction of the Angora into Australia and New Zealand may in part be due to its value as a scrub and blackberry browser.
The manufacture of fabrics from mohair—as in the case of alpaca and cashmere—was in the first instance due to the genius of the rearers of the goat. It would, indeed, be interesting to know if the present day mohair goods—often styled "alpacas"— really had their origin in the earlier products of Asia Minor. That fabrics of mohair were in use in England early in the 18th century is obvious from Pope's allusion : "And, when she sees her friend in deep despair, Observes how much a chintz exceeds mohair."
Raw mohair was first exported from Turkey to England about 182o, and from that date onwards marked strides were made in its manufacture into useful yarns and fabrics. England has always had, and still maintains, supremacy in this manufacture. The larger part of both the Turkish and Cape clips is at least converted into yarn in Yorkshire mills. Quantities of these yarns are also woven into dress goods, dust cloakings, pile fabrics, imitation furs, etc., in Yorkshire, but even greater quantities of mohair yarn are ex ported to Russia, Germany, Austria, etc., to be converted into astrakhans, ordinary braids, brush braids, etc. In the first decade of the loth century the mohair braid trade received a blow from the introduction of artificial silk.
The history of the introduction of the Angora goat from Asia Minor into the other countries mentioned is as follows. In 1838 pure-bred Angoras were introduced into Cape Colony. These pure bred goats crossed with the common goat laid the basis of the Cape flocks. In 1856-57 other importations of pure-bred goats were made. From 1868 to 1897 further importations were made, but these were not of the pure-bred goat. The introduction of Angoras into the United States took place in 1849. Other importa tions of goats from Asia Minor were made between 1857 and 1880, and interchanges of blood also took place between the United States and Cape Colony. Between 1856 and 1875 some 30o goats were introduced into Australia. It seems that Australia may yet find the Angora goat an important asset.