25 



in that respect more like cows than sheep in our estimate. They are pro- 

 vided with long, thin, rat-like tails that are kept clipped of wool to facilitate 

 milking. 



Such, then, is the sheep met with in the mountains ; in the plains one meets 

 with a large, better developed sheep of similar type, in all probability derived 

 from the former. 



In addition to these purely Greek sheep the fat-tailed Asiatic sheep is 

 also occasionally to be met with. This sheep is a better butcher's beast, 

 but on the whole less hardy and less able to travel and withstand the hard- 

 ships of mountain life. Nor does he yield anything like the same quantity 

 of milk as the usual Greek mountain sheep ; hence pure fat-tailed sheep 

 are rarely met with, although crosses in wh'ch they enter are not infrequent. 



Group of Nomadic Wallachian Shepherds at Lake Kopais. 



I was informed by Mr. Chassiolti that various European breeds of sheep 

 have been tested in Greece, but without success. The Larzac the great 

 French milking breed from the m'lk of which Roquefort cheese is made were 

 found inferior to the native breeds. They were not sufficiently hardy, nor did 

 they yield as much milk in similar conditions. Merinos proved quite useless, 

 because of their inability to yield sufficient milk, and the objection of butchers 

 to their dark, strong-flavored flesh. According to Mr. Chassiolti, rams of 

 English breeds Southdowns, Shropshires had to be set aside, as they were 

 unable to withstand the heat of the country. Knowing as I do how these 

 breeds are able to thrive under still warmer Australian skies, I have difficulty 

 in accepting this statement. The position is, I believe, that probably 

 nowhere else in the world will there be found a breed of sheep capable of 



