138 MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



them from drinking at the pools of water lying on the surface, 

 experience having shown that these stagnant and tepid pools are 

 very unwholesome. They generally lamb twice a year, in the early 

 spring, and again in the autumn ; this tends to make the Arab owner 

 careless of his flock; no shelter is provided in severe weather, nor 

 forage to save them from starvation in drought; consequently, in 

 bad seasons they frequently lose half their flock. If reproached for 

 this want of attention they answer quite simply, that the sheep 

 belong to the Almighty, who does with them what he pleases. "Our 

 ewes give us two lambs every year, and next year. our losses will be 

 repaired." 



THE TUNIS SHEEP. 



The Tunis has many good qualities to recommend it, among 

 them being early-lambing, early-maturing and deep-milking. To 

 Charles Rountree of Indiana is due much praise for what he has 

 done for this breed. The following from the American Tunis 

 Record, is a very interesting history of the breed: "Tunis is a 

 country in Northern Africa. In 1799 when Gen. Wm. Eaton was 

 United States Consul at Tunis, he purchased from the Bey of 

 Tunis, and on his farm, ten head of Tunis sheep, which he placed 

 on board the man-of-war Sophia,' bound for the United States. 

 One ram and one ewe only survived the voyage. This pair was 

 placed under the care of Judge Richard Peters, of Belmont, near 

 Philadelphia, who kept and bred them until he had a fine flock of 

 pure blood Tunis sheep. 



"The imported pair, Caramelli and Salina, were both killed 

 by dogs when very old, the ewe raising her last lamb at the age of 

 16 years. During the 20 years or more in which Judge Peters 

 bred the Tunis sheep, several fine flocks were sent to North and 

 South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, where they were successfully 

 bred in large flocks until the beginning of the war in 1861, during 

 which they were nearly all destroyed. 



"Judge Peters offered the free use of his rams to his friends, 

 his pastures were overrun with ewes, brought from far and near. 

 Soon a number of wealthy victualers from Philadelphia, discovering 

 the superiority of the Tunis sheep for mutton over all other breeds 

 both in quality and price, made by a purse and offered Judge Peters 

 any price he chose to fix on his imported ram, but 'he refused to 

 sell. These sheep are hardy, bearing heat or cold and fattening 

 with less food and much quicker than any other sheep. An un- 

 sound sheep of the Tunis breed was unknown. The great demand 

 for lambs for mutton was detrimental to the multiplication of the 

 breed. In 1810 the Merino craze struck this country, with fine 



