446 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 



Fifty years ago a few Danadars were bought for 

 Turkish, Persian, Russian, and German Royalties, but 

 as the demand increased they were crossed with the white 

 fine-woolled Afghan sheep, and thus was introduced not 

 only fine under-wool, which is the bane of the fur trade, 

 but white pigment, which most probably accounts for such 

 grey-furred sheep as the Grey Danadar, Shiraz, Malitch, 

 and Sokolief. The Danadar, like the Karachaev, is said 

 to possess wonderful mutton qualities. 



As the Karakul-Afghans represent probably 85 per 

 cent, of all the Karakul sheep of Bokhara, it is fortunate 

 that most of the little white fine-wool Afghans show 

 traces of the fat-tail strain, such as a fat tail, thick feet, 

 pendulous ears, concave nose, and coarser wool under- 

 neath the outer fleece. At times the Black Danadar 

 strain in the Karakul-Duzbai is so slight that the animals 

 come reddish-brown, the characteristic sign of the most 

 typical Kurdiuk breeds. Occasionally there is a slight 

 strain of Danadar in the brown fat-tail, and the lambs 

 come with beautiful tight glossy round curls. Without 

 this strain no fat-tail lambs are believed to come with 

 tight curls. The same is true in the case of certain white 

 Kurdiuks that come with curls, although the Danadar 

 strain is so remote that the lambs are white. .Atavism 

 appears now and then to bring back in complex crosses 

 distantly connected colourings ; for example, a brown may 

 be born of black parents. 



The employment of Karakul lamb skins for fur in the 

 Western world is not as old as many suppose. In 1848 

 the firm of Rodiger and Quarch was the first to begin 

 the importation and dyeing of " Persian Lamb " skins, 

 and there was considerable doubt for a time whether the 

 undertaking would become a large special industry. 

 Only at the opening of the sixties M. Brass, of Berlin, 

 began the pioneer work of manufacturing ladies' jackets 

 from Persian, Krimmer (Crimean), and Astrakhan skins, 

 which developed a great demand. At first the skins were 

 edged with fringes of Angora goat hair. 



The decrease in the numbers of the more valuable 

 sorts of wild fur-bearing animals and the high prices of 

 furs, together with the demand for a good wearing fur 



