QUESTIONS 187 



to white and not infrequently a wide bar of white hair extends from 

 the nose to the forehead while the remainder of the face is brown 

 (Fig. 129). 



The Tunis has a long, combing wool which is to be criticised for 

 coarseness. As a rule it is white, but in every flock there is to be 

 found a number of gray fleeces. At birth the lambs are either 

 spotted or a reddish brown. Judge Richard Peters, writing of the 

 Tunis in 1810, said that the lambs were white, red, tawny, bluish, 

 and black and that all except the black lambs grew to be white in 

 general color of fleece, though most commonly they were colored 

 in spots, and around the cheeks and shoulders either tawny or black 

 wool appeared. The fleeces average from eight to ten pounds in 

 weight. 



Properties. Hardiness, prolificacy, early maturity, and good 

 quality of mutton are the properties which Tunis breeders emphasize 

 as characteristic of their sheep. Professor Wilson also shows that the 

 Tunis sheep more than any other breed except the Merino remain 

 in a compact band while feeding on the range. In their North 

 African home, the Tunis breeds twice a year, and American breeders 

 maintain that this property has been retained. The lambs are 

 strong at birth and the ewes are good nurses; hence, the Tunis 

 ewe has, to a certain extent, met with favor in America as a producer 

 of winter lambs (Fig. 130). 



QUESTIONS 



1. Locate the country of Tunis. 



2. Give the favorable qualities of the Tunis as advocated by Tunis breeders. 



3. Criticise the Tunis. 



