PRACTICAL TESTS IN KARA- 

 KUL SHEEP BREEDING 



C. C. Young 



Denver, Colorado 



THE Karakul sheep is indigenous 

 to the great Kara-Kum Desert of 

 Central Asia, where this wonderful 

 fur producing o\'ine competes with the 

 camel, the burro, and the wild goat — 

 the djiran. While one occasionally 

 encounters zebu cattle and Arab horses 

 along the few streams, it cannot be 

 said that there are any other domestic 

 animals in the desert proper except 

 those mentioned above. 



The Karakul sheep is a descendant 

 of the extinct Danadar, and the 

 natives have for years killed the 

 lambs possessing the best fur quali- 

 ties. In spite of this unbusiness-like 

 method a Government bulletin is 

 authority for the statement that we 

 are still paying a tribute of millions of 

 dollars for the Karakul lamb skins that 

 reach here under such trade names as 

 "Persian Lamb," "Astrakhan," "Babv 

 Lamb," "Unborn Lamb," "Broadtail," 

 "Gray Krimmer," etc. 



During the past twelve years the 

 author has made three importations of 

 Karakul sheep into this country, and 

 although efforts have been made by 

 several other breeders to accomplish 

 the same purpose, none have been 

 successful.^ 



In 1914 Mr. John Agnew of Prince 

 Edward Island, Canada, made an 

 importation of Karakul sheep from 

 European Russia. These were brought 

 to Newfoundland. In a future article 

 the author expects to give the history 

 of his importations and explain why 

 he did not select his Karakuls in Euro- 

 pean Russia, preferring to get them 

 from that section of the Kara-Kum 

 desert which extends into Bokhara, 

 southeastern Transcaucasia, and Nor- 

 thern Afghanistan. 



The misrepresentations made by cer- 

 tain breeders as to the importation of 



Karakuls into this country has lead 

 to a great deal of confusion, and it 

 would be a matter of considerable 

 importance to get this matter definitely 

 cleared up. 



THE KARAKUL A DESERT SHEEP 



Tests made in practically all sec- 

 tions of the United States and Canada 

 have demonstrated that Karakul sheep 

 can easily be acclimated to other than 

 desert conditions, although it must be 

 born in mind that this sheep is essen- 

 tially a desert animal and able to 

 undergo the great hardships incidental 

 to desert life. A test covering a 

 period of several months, made near 

 El Paso, Texas, proved that Karakul 

 sheep were able to accumulate fat 

 on scanty, dry pasture, as rapidly 

 as Merinos fed on alfalfa and milo 

 maize. When several Karakul lambs 

 were slaughtered after this test they 

 were pronounced too fat by the 

 chef of the Paso del Norte Hotel of 

 El Paso. 



The Karakul is able to reach as high 

 as a cow (E. E. Clark, Bureau of 

 Forestry), which enables it to eat 

 the seed-bearing parts of the weeds 

 and brush. It also possesses all the 

 browsing characteristics of the goat, 

 having unusually hard teeth and a very 

 tough mucous membrane of the mouth. 

 These characteristics account for its 

 rapid accumulation of fat when forced 

 to maintain itself on dry feed. The 

 author does not mean to imply that 

 the Karakul sheep refuses to eat the 

 grasses relished by domestic sheep, 

 although it cannot be said that they 

 are as fond of succulent feed as is the 

 case with some of the British breeds, 

 as was proved by Professor Wallace at 

 Edinburgh. 



' Yearbook, United States Department of Agriculture, 1915. 



229 



