INDIAN BREEDS 



LIVE STOCK 



the universal beast of burden on the higher snowy ranges is docile and nure- 

 f noted. Hodgson compares thin with the great wild sheep 



>t endure the rank pasture or high temperature of the Sub 

 .Mutton ami tteeoe are both excellent. 



((>) X'lintfia or Siting sheep or Peluk of the Eastern Himalaya. According 

 L'-.'ii, the SUing country corresponds to the Strica regio of the nlnsslns 

 1 !- animal is smaller than the Hunid. In colour it is white tinged with i.. 



(c) Bdrual or Barwal is a Cis-Himalayan breed and the ordinary sheep of the 

 r nr ni.rthern regions of the Sub-Himalaya between the Jumla and the 

 . Hodgson, in fact, says this breed practically extends from Kumaon to 

 Sikkim. It is the great fighting ram of the hill tribes. It is remarkable for its 

 massive horns entirely covering the top of the head. The flesh and the fleece are 

 li'ith abundant but coarse. By far the largest number of the rdhrit or coarse 

 lilankets and serges manufactured in these hills, and which are extensively ex- 

 ported therefrom, are made of bdrual wool. Coarse as this wool is, it is, however, 

 toff to the wool of the plains. 



('/) Cagia This is the characteristic breed of the central region of the Sub- 

 Himalaya. It is reared rather by householders than shepherds, and for its flesh 

 rather than its wool. It is a handsome animal, but its head is too large, though 

 the legs are short. 



(e) The Tcrai Sheep. This is practically identical with the sheep of the plains. 



It may in conclusion be pointed out that Hodgson's Trans- Himalayan sheep 

 (the hunid and the silingia) are, like his Trans-Himalayan goats (chdngrd and 

 chdpii), far superior to his Cis-Himalayan breeds. If, therefore, India cannot 

 : < limatise and develop new breeds on the southern slopes of the Himalaya, 

 attention should be given to increased facilities of transport and more friendly 

 intercourse with the Trans-frontier tribes for increased supplies of superior 

 wool. 



11. Hira and Dumba Sheep. Some at least of the breed are natives of 

 Afghanistan and Persia, and others of Africa. They are frequently imported 

 into India, and are large sheep characterised by the immense development of 

 masses of fat placed on either side of the tail, forming stores of nourishment 

 which are drawn upon during the winter months, when fodder is scanty. 

 Hutton tells us that in some parts of the country the tail grows, in fact, to such a 

 size that a small wheeled carriage has often to be constructed to carry its weight. 

 Hodgson calls them puchia (tailed) sheep. The wool is of good quality, and on 

 that account they have often been crossed with Indian plains sheep. Mollison 

 says dumba sheep have proved exceptionally suitable for crossing with the Deccani 

 stock. The wool of these half-breeds, like that of the pure dumba, is of fine 

 quality and long. The mutton is said tc be coarse, though the tail is sometimes 

 spoken of as of great value. 



.-Elian (Dc Nat. Hist. Anim., 250 A.D., iv., 32) speaks of the tails of the Indian 

 sheep reaching to their feet and as being cut open by the shepherds, the tallow 

 removed, and the tails sewn up again. Marco Polo, in the 13th century, and 

 Varthema, in the 16th, describe the dumba or Ethiopian sheep as seen by them on 

 the east coast of Africa. Marco Polo says the tail often weighs 30 lb., but Var- 

 thema puts it at a lower figure, 15 to 16 lb. Terry ( Voy. E. 2nd., 1622 (ed. 1777), 

 90) observes that " their sheep differ from ours by their great fleshy bob- tails 

 which severed from their bodies are very ponderous. Their wool is generally 

 coarse but their flesh is not so." There would thus seem no doubt that this 

 particular sheep has existed in India from fairly remote times. The head and 

 neck are quite black and the body otherwise white. In the Cairo Museum, 

 among the ornaments found in the mummy-pits, there is a little figure of one of 

 these sheep, so that it may safely be said they have been known from ancient 

 times and beyond the limits of India. [Cf. Cordemoy, Le Prod. Colon. d'Origine 

 Animate, Paris, 1903, 126-38.] 



///. HORSES, ASSES, AND MULES OF INDIA. 



The horse has been a domesticated animal since prehistoric times. 

 ^Elian, compiling doubtless from Megasthenes, 300 B.C. (De Nat. Hist. 

 Anim., xvi., 2-22), says, " In India there are herds of wild horses and also 

 of wild asses." No aboriginal or truly wild horse is known to exist to-day, 

 though wild representatives of the ass are well known. [Cf. Blanford, 

 Fa. Br. Ind. (Mammalia), 470-1.] There seems, however, little doubt that 



749 



BUnkt. 



Improved 



Tail Carriage. 



Ethiopian. 



D.E.P., 

 iv., 289-90. 

 Horses, 

 Asses, etc. 



