FRIDAY, JUNE 26. AFTERNOON SESSION, 



The Karakul Sheep. 



Chairman: SIR H. HESKETH BELL, K.C.M.G., Governor of the 

 Leeward Islands. 



THE CHAIRMAN : Gentlemen We are now to have the 

 pleasure and advantage of hearing a paper on the Karakul 

 fur-bearing sheep of Bokhara by Professor Wallace. It is 

 almost unnecessary to introduce Professor Wallace, because 

 he is so well known. He has for thirty years occupied the 

 Chair of Agriculture at Edinburgh, and his life's work has 

 been mainly devoted to tne study of stock, principally in 

 Great Britain, but also in the Colonies, and in tropical 

 countries. Professor Wallace is going to tell us in his paper 

 about those most interesting animals, the Karakul sheep, 

 which, as you all know, give us the Astrachan fur of com- 

 merce, about which, I understand, very little has hitherto been 

 published. Nothing of much moment is actually known with 

 regard to these sheep; consequently, I am sure we shall listen 

 with the greatest interest and advantage to the paper which 

 I will now ask Professor Wallace to read. 



THE KARAKUL SHEEP THE PRODUCER OF " PERSIAN 

 LAMB " AND OTHER FURS OF OVINE ORIGIN. 



By Professor R. WALLACE, F.R.S.E., 



Professor of Agriculture and Rural Economy, University of 



Edinburgh. 



[ABSTRACT.] 



The most important fat-tail, fur-bearing breed of sheep 'in 

 the world is known as the Karakul, a name applied by Russian 

 dealers to all fur-sheep obtained at the Karakul market. The 

 town of Karakul, so called from the V black lake " (Sart Kara 

 Kul), lies not far from Old Bokhara city, the capital of the 

 Khanate, now included in Russian Turkestan. The whole 



