72 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



rather heavy. The form is much like other mutton 

 sheep except that the legs are usually long and the 

 neck the same. The fleece is soft, fine, fairly abun- 

 dant, and varies much in color; it may be white, or 

 brown, or reddish, or the colors may be intermixed. 

 In the Persian the same characteristics are noted, 

 with a likelihood of black predominating. 



The distinguishing feature of the Tunis is the 

 fat tail. This seems to have been originally planned 

 as a store-house to tide the animal over periods of 

 drought and bad pasturage. When tails are not 

 docked they are moderately long and the fleshy part 

 hangs down about six or eight inches. This is so 

 inconvenient at the breeding season that ewes 

 usually have their tails docked, besides there is in 

 the United States no popular clamor for fat tails, 

 which are in African and Asiatic regions considered 

 very delicious and are used in place of butter. 



When the tails are docked there is yet an accu- 

 mulation of fat across the top of the rump. 



Tunis sheep fatten very readily and their lambs 

 are especially quick to become plump and ready for 

 the fancy hothouse lamb trade. It is for this pur- 

 pose that they are mostly used, though the Tunis 

 rams crossed upon almost any breed of ewes get 

 good lambs. 



The Persian sheep were introduced into the 

 United States in 1891 and bred in California, Ne- 

 vada and other western states. They are very 

 large, very active, good feeders on the range, and 

 when crossed on Merinos the lambs prove to be very 



