CHAPTER LXII 



THE KARAKUL 



The native home of Karakul sheep is Bokhara and the neigh- 

 boring districts in Turkestan, Russia, in the region between the 

 Caspian Sea and northern Afghanistan. Bokhara is in about 

 latitude 40° N., between 60° and 70° east longitude, and about 

 1700 miles east of Constantinople. Western Bokhara comprises 

 much desert land, while the eastern part is very mountainous. 

 The summers are hot and dry, the winters cold and with much 

 snow. Agriculture is the chief occupation of the country. Horses, 

 cattle, sheep, goats, and camels are raised in considerable num- 

 bers. From three to four million sheep are found in this region. 

 It has been stated 1 that the name is derived from Kara-Kul 

 (black lake), a village in eastern Bokhara. 



The origin of Karakul sheep is one of obscurity. Dr. C. C. Young 

 of Texas, who, in 1909, visited Bokhara, believes that long-tailed 

 black sheep of Danadar were the original fur-bearing stock of 

 Central Asia, and when crossed on the white fine-wooled sheep 

 of Afghanistan produced the gray Danadar. These gray sheep 

 eventually were crossed with a fat-rumped breed, resulting in what 

 is known as the Arabi, from which the Karakul is descended. 

 Another type of fur-bearing sheep, the Duzbai, is also said to be 

 derived from a cross of the black Danadar and fat-rumped sheep. 

 Undoubtedly the sheep of this region are more or less mixed in 

 blood lines if one can judge from specimens imported to America. 



The introduction of Karakul sheep into America first took place 

 in December, 1909, when Dr. C. C. Young of Belen, Texas, im- 

 ported 1 5 head — 3 rams and 1 2 ewes. Other importations were 

 made by Young in 191 3 and 19 14 — a total of -31 rams and 

 23 ewes in the three importations. What have beeri-^kndwn as Per- 

 sian sheep were imported in June, 1892, byTruxton Beale, United 



1 F. R. Marshall, L. L. Heller, and V. O. McWhorter, Karakul Sheep. Year- 

 book of the United States Department of Agriculture (1915), p. 249. 



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