FAT-RUMPED SHEEP 199 



of snow which falls in the Daurian mountains, 

 whereby the sheep can remain in the open through- 

 out the year, doubtless accounts for their great 

 bodily size. This may also be the reason for the 

 finer quality of the wool, and the smaller admixture 

 of hair. 



The fat-rumped sheep of the nomad Kirghiz is 

 so goat-like in general appearance as to have led 

 Fitzinger^ to regard it as a cross between the 

 Tatarian fat-rumped breed and the Tatarian goat, 

 although Pallas considered its peculiarities to be 

 due to the effect of climate and food on the Tatarian 

 fat-rumped sheep. It is exceedingly difificult to say 

 which view is right ; many sheep being exceedingly 

 goat-like, while, on the other hand, some goats 

 closely approximate to sheep. The long head is 

 characterised by a swollen forehead, separated by 

 a depression from the equally convex chaffron ; 

 the lower jaw is frequently longer than the upper ; 

 and the ears, although shorter than the head, are 

 long and narrow, with an expansion near the 

 middle, and a forward and outward direction. 

 Ewes are generally hornless, but rams constantly 

 carry horns, which may be two, four, five, or even 

 six in number. When there is one pair, the horns 

 are small, triangular, obliquely wrinkled on the 

 upper surface, and form a half-circle on the sides 

 of the head. The throat and chest have a 



' op. cit., p. 172. 



