266 



subject of the origin and history of the breed bristles with 

 errors and conjectures. The sheep of Asia, the sheep con- 

 tinent, are roughly classed as fat-tails and fat-rumps. 

 ''Persian lamb," "'broad-tail/' "Tibetan lamb," etc., etc., 

 are trade designations, and misleading. The chief character- 

 istics of the true breed are the black colour, the beautiful 

 lustre and the tightness of the curl in the new-born lambs' 

 coat, and the absence of under-down. These seem to come 

 from a strain called the Danadar the "nigger" among fur- 

 bearing sheep. The account of Pallas (eighteenth-century 

 Russian traveller) is still in the main correct. The old story 

 that the ewes were killed for the sake of getting the baby 

 lambs' skin in the best condition is now known to be a fable. 

 The .ewes often drop their young prematurely, from the effects 

 of a peculiar disease called " djut." Fur-lambs are killed 

 when a few days old. 



The Emir of Bokhara, the chief sheep-master in the 

 Khanate, is an excellent trader (netting about 1,000,000 roubles 

 per annum), but gives little or no attention to maintaining 

 purity of breed. To procure pure Karakuls is almost impos- 

 sible ; even those of Thorer, the great German furrier, show 

 signs of commixture. The old idea that the Karakul lost its 

 characteristics when bred abroad is disproved. The breed 

 has been more or less successfully introduced into the Crimea, 

 North Russia, Germany and German South West Africa, the 

 United States (by Dr. C. C. Young, the greatest English- 

 speaking authority on the subject), and quite recently into 

 Scotland. The Scotch experiment is still in the bud, but 

 promises to lead up to not only a remunerative home-grown 

 fur-industry, but a meat trade as well. 



[DISCUSSION.] 



Mr. H. J. ELWES, F.R.S. : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen 

 I think we ought to feel under an obligation to Professor 

 Wallace for having brought forward this subject, which is one 

 of which I think probably less is known in the agricultural 

 world than almost any other. I have no doubt whatever that 

 if we can succeed in getting hold of the right breed, these 

 sheep might probably be introduced into some of our Colonies, 

 South Australia for instance, to great advantage. But there 

 is one point and I am sure Professor Wallace will not be 

 angry if I say this on which I want to make a criticism. I 

 should have liked his paper a great deal better if it had been 

 the result of his own knowledge. I am afraid that in a great 

 part of this paper he has relied upon Dr. Young. I have no 

 personal knowledge of Dr. Young, but after reading various 



