Young- : Asiatic Breeds of Sheep 



425 



wmsm^mmmm 



FATRUMP AFGHAN SHEEP 



Figure 27. These sheep were photographed just after shearing, by an EngHsh engineer, 

 A. C. Jewett, who entered Afghanistan in 1912, some months before the author. 



was entirely due to Karakul admixture 

 and the same thing must be said of the 

 breeds above mentioned. 



The Karakul owes its iur bearing- 

 qualities to the Danadar. Both breeds 

 are indigenous to West Turkestan, 

 Northern Persia and Afghanistan. The 

 black Danadar, the original fur sheep 

 of Central Asia, has become practically 

 extinct in the past ninety years and 

 outside of the small flock discovered 

 by the Dragoman PetrofT, of New 

 Bokhara, and myself at Kedjumek, 

 Bokhara, I cannot say that I have ever 

 seen another herd, although it is possi- 

 ble to view occasionally a Karakul with 

 the typical characteristics of the 

 Danadar, the result of atavism. 



I have the l:)est of reasons to believe 

 that had I l^een enabled to explore the 



territory on both the Bokhara and 

 Afghan sides of the Upper Piandge I 

 probably would have found a few 

 more Danadars, but an expedition 

 through that country is a stupendous 

 task. In fact it was impossible for a 

 foreigner to penetrate that country be- 

 fore the war on account of the fanati- 

 cal, hostile natives and the dangerous 

 wild animals, and moreover the laws 

 of Russia prohibited foreigners from 

 entering that country. There is little 

 doubt in my mind that the black Gadir 

 of Afghanistan is in reality the black 

 Danadar, who has lost all his fur 

 qualities on account of fine wool ad- 

 mixture of the white fine-wool Afghan 

 sheep. The Look Nakbo of Thibet is 

 another close relative of the Danadar 

 and the same applies to the Osetin and 



