THE TSCHERKESSIAN SHEEP. 171 



a commerce of the lamb skins. The attempt, we be- 

 lieve, has not since been heard of.* 



The Tscherkessian Sheep of the Russians and 

 Tartars, mentioned by Pallas, as the Ovis Dolichura, 

 is also very extensively used for the same purpose. 

 It is a handsome animal resembling some of the Spa- 

 nish and English breeds. The rams are horned, the 

 wool is coarse in the adult state, and the tail, which 

 contains twenty vertebrae, is covered with fine long 

 wool, which trails on the ground, so as to efface the 

 prints made by the animal's feet. It is reared in all 

 the European regions situated on this side of the 

 river Occa, by the pastoral people of Mount Caucasus. 

 They are commonly of a white colour. There is 

 also more art resorted to here in the preparing of the 

 lamb skins. As soon as the lamb is dropped, it is 

 sewed up in a sort of coarse linen shirt, so as to keep 

 up a gentle pressure on the wool, pouring warm 

 water over it every day to make it soft and sleek, 

 only letting out the bandage a little from time to 

 time as the animal increases in size, but still keeping 

 it tight enough to effect their purpose, which is to 

 lay the wool in beautiful glossy ringlets, and thereby 

 produce a delicate species of fur, in great request for 

 lining clothes and morning gowns ; and the animal 

 is killed younger or older, according to the specimens 



* According to Dr Maculloch, the number of lamb skins 

 imported in 1831 and 1832 (chiefly from Italy), amounted 

 to 2,365,635 Dictionary. 



