AFFGHAN FAT-TAILED SHEEP. 
thirty and forty pounds, and when melted down, will yield from twenty to thirty pounds 
of pure tallow. So,inordinate is the growth of the fat that the tail becomes almost 
obliterated, and is only perceptible externally as a little round fleshy button. 
Some varieties present a different mode of producing fat, and deposit a large amount 
of fatty matter in the tail. Fat-tailed Sheep are found in every part of the world, and 
are much valued on account of the peculiarity from which they derive their name. 
The Syrian variety is remarkable for the enormous dimensions of the tail, which in 
highly fattened and carefully tended specimens will weigh from seventy to eighty 
pounds. So large, indeed, are the tails, and so weighty are they, that the shepherds are 
forced to protect them from the ground by tying flat pieces of board to their under 
surface. Sometimes they add a pair of little wheels to the end which drags on the 
ground, in order to save the animal the trouble of drawing the bare board over ‘the rough 
earth, The fat which is procured from the tail is highly valued, and is used in lieu “of 
butter, as well as to “lard” meat that would otherwise be unpleasantly dry and tasteless. 
It is also melted down and poured into jars of preserved meat, for the purpose of 
excluding the air. These Sheep are most carefully watched, and are generally fed by 
hand. 
At the Cape of Good Hope a fat-tailed race of Sheep has long been prevalent, and is 
reared in flocks of considerable size, tended by Hottentot herdsmen. This is a very 
valuable animal, for it not only furnishes good mutton, together with great quantities of 
fat, but, when young, supplies its owner with be autifully soft and warm garments. The 
skins of the Cape Sheep are prepared for use by being cleaned, dressed, and sewn 
together ; and are of such excellent quality that they form a warmer coverlet than could 
be obtained from any other material. Their outward show is not at all inferior to their 
quality ; for they are so smooth and soft that few persons would guess that they had 
once formed part of the natural covering of a Sheep. The fat of these animals is mostly 
collected in the tail and hinder quarters,and is peculiarly soft when removed from the 
animal, being in an almost semi-fluid state. It is thought a great delicacy, and is also in 
great request for the manufacture of soap. 
