EGYPT AND SOUTHERN PALESTINE 283 



is found in the district south of Assiut. The Ebeidi and Saidi 

 are, comparatively speaking, thin-tailed varieties. 



Rahmani Sheep 



A horned breed, said to belong to Syria, from which country 

 it has been introduced to Egypt, and flocks are scattered 

 freely over the waste lands about the Nile deltas, where good 

 grazing (good for Egypt) is available after the subsidence of 

 the annual flood. The wool is long, generally brown, rather 

 coarse and harsh, and inclined to run hairy on the tips. The 

 tail is of tremendous size, and would weigh anything from 

 6 lbs. to 10 lbs. according to the general condition of the 

 ' animal. 



Ooseemi Sheep 



The name is derived from the village of Ooseem, Gizeh. A 

 .general purpose sheep, and the most popular breed in Egypt. 

 The body is white, skin white, but the points are more or less 

 of a brown or reddish colour. The wool is shorter and finer 

 than that of the above-mentioned sheep, and it fetches the 

 highest price of Egyptian wools. The sheep is compact, and 

 stands on fairly short legs, consequently the carcases always 

 look well, and the mutton commands a good price. Rams of 

 this breed are eagerly sought after. The Ooseemi and its 

 crosses are met with throughout Egypt and Palestine and in 

 parts of Sinai. The tail is very broad and very fat, with a 

 short, curly, attenuated appendage. 



Sudani Sheep 



This goat-like sheep is the most interesting. I am acquainted 

 with a stuffed specimen of the ancient Moufflon breed, which 

 is considered by some authorities to be the progenitor of the 

 Spanish Merinos, and indirectly of our Australian Merinos, but 

 the Sudani breed is the real missing link in sheep history as 

 far as appearances would seem to indicate. At the Cairo 

 abattoirs the writer made a close examination of a few speci- 

 mens of this unique breed. They stand higher than any sheep 



1 have seen — 3 ft. to 3 ft. 3 in. on the rump, which is always 



2 or 3 in. higher than the wither ; moreover, this measurement 



