MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 44! 



the newly-born lambs is the most important characteristic 

 of the breed, and, with one exception, is the most valu- 

 able commercial product. This fur is misleadingly called 

 "Persian Lamb" in the trade. The name is supposed 

 to have arisen through the fur first finding its way into 

 the Russian market through Persian traders, who, being 

 Mohammedans, could go to Bokhara, where Christians 

 would not have been allowed. Another explanation is 

 that in past times, when travelling in certain Asiatic coun- 

 tries was more difficult or impossible to many, merchants 

 brought the pelts of these sheep to the Nizhni Novgorod 

 fairs, and, in order to keep the sources of their supplies 

 secret, gave the lamb-skins a misleading name. The 

 correct geographical name ought to be " Bokharans," as 

 none of the lamb-skins came from Persia until about 

 twelve or fifteen years ago, when a few of very inferior 

 quality appeared. 



The value of the " Persian Lamb " skin depends (i) on 

 the form and tightness of the long, pipe-shaped curl, the 

 points of the closely knit locks in the finest specimens 

 being turned in so that few ends appear on the surface; 

 (2) on the beauty of the pattern formed by the irregular 

 yet artistic arrangement which, along each side of the 

 back-line, often takes the form of delightful natural 

 unrestrained bars; and (3) on the thinness or fineness 

 and softness of the hair or wool, together with its 

 great brilliancy. Plate IV shows an exceptionally fine 

 " Persian Lamb " fur, while Karakul and cross-bred 

 lambs possessing skins of various qualities may be seen 

 in Plate I, fig. i, and Plate III. 



" Persian Lamb " skins have a length of about 20 in., 

 and come to the market in an air-dried, raw condition, 

 the value of first-grade skins being i los. each, imper- 

 fectly curled skins being very much less, down to a few 

 shillings, or even pence. The best skins are produced by 

 lambs killed within seventy-five to eighty hours after birth. 

 The small size then to some extent counterbalances the 

 money value of the superior quality and tightness of the 

 curl. 



Although the skins can easily be separated into a few 

 lots according to their market value, the individual varia- 



