Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in their selection or evaluation experiments. In the case of
commercial mohair, staple length is mostly adequate (that
is because it is not usually sheared until the staple length
is longer than 10 cm). In the case of cashmere down,
average fi ber length would certainly be estimated and
perhaps occasionally measured by growers and potential
buyers.
Style and Character
In mohair, style refers to the three-dimensional twist or
ringlet structure observed in staples (sometimes referred to
as locks) while character refers to the two-dimensional
waves that are usually easier to observe and measure in the
staple or individual fi ber. When the frequency of the waves
is excessive, mohair is said to have too much crimp, a
condition described as “sheepiness.” In the case of cash-
mere, these terms mean something different and are rela-
tively ill defi ned. Cashmere of good style is said to have
irregular crimp of relatively small magnitude and high
frequency that does not lie in two dimensions but rather
changes directions at irregular intervals along the length
of individual fi bers.
Average Staple Strength, Distribution, and
Position of Break
Mohair is relatively strong and rarely exhibits weak points
or “breaks” in the staple. Consequently, measuring mohair
for strength is not very common in the commercial sector
although instruments developed for wool testing have
been used to provide accurate results for mohair and
cashmere.
FIBER QUALITY
Quality in mohair was described by Hunter and Hunter
(2001) as being a combination of style and character,
freedom from kemp, high luster, desirable handle, minimal
yolk, and uniformity of length and fi neness. A similar
defi nition would be applicable to dehaired cashmere, if we
replace the word “ kemp ” with “ guard hairs ” and the
requirement for “ high luster ” with “ no luster. ”
Color and Dark Fiber Contamination
Though colorimeters and spectrometers are available to
make objective measurements of mohair and cashmere
color (especially whiteness and yellowness), they are
rarely used. A standard method developed for white
wools could be directly applied to mohair and white cash-
mere if in fact anyone required the measurement. Dark
fi ber contamination in mohair could sometimes be the
result of bad breeding or grazing with dark fi ber - shedding
animals. However, the root cause is more likely to be
inadequate skirting causing yellow to dark brown urine-
and fecal - stained fi bers to remain in the white fl eece.
Manual counts enhanced by special lighting and some-
times magnifi cation are used in the industry to quantify
colored and dark fi bers in processed structures such as
mohair sliver. In cashmere, the problem is sometimes more
acute (for example, dark guard hair contaminating white
down fi bers) and may be a result of co-grazing white and
colored animals and/or a poor job of sorting cashmere of
different colors.
Fiber Harvesting
A
NGORA
G
OATS
In extensive Texas operations (Northern Hemisphere),
Angora goats are gathered and shorn in February
and August. Animals are usually drafted into three main
categories, kids (6 and 12 months of age), young goats (for
example, 18 months of age), and adults; and they are
sheared in this order (that is, the most valuable fi ber fi rst)
providing about 20, 20, and 60% respectively by weight
of the total clip. Professional shearers are hired to shear
Angora goats. Shearing facilities range from makeshift
tents with plywood boards and temporary pens to custom-
built shearing sheds replete with hardwood, raised shearing
fl oors and individual catch pens. Shearers use power-
driven shears to fi rst remove mohair from the belly and
legs before tying the legs together. This essentially immo-
bilizes the animal and facilitates removal of the rest of the
fl eece. The shorn mohair is then moved from the shearing
fl oor to another location, depending on the marketing phi-
losophy of the producer. Some owners attempt to add
value to their clip at this point by removing urine- and
fecal-stained portions, as well as inferior mohair (for
example, that which is heavily contaminated with vegeta-
Luster
Numerous attempts have been made to commercialize
an objective measurement of luster that is a primary
distinguishing feature of mohair. These have included
goniophotometric and near-infrared spectroscopic tech-
niques, none of which have reached commercial test
method status to date. It should be observed that the excep-
tionally high level of luster in mohair and the absence of
luster in well-bred cashmere (and also the low levels of
kemp) have been arrived at in present-day populations
primarily as the result of subjective assessments made by
breeders.
