SKIN VATS FOR CURING KARAKUL SKINS: BOKHARA 



Salt and barley meal are mixed with water to form the curing bath for the precious 

 lambskins that will later form the fashionable fur collar. It takes two weeks to cure a skin 

 before it can be rinsed and dried. Even after months of use, these sheepskin vats are still 

 soft and pliable. 



retained, the observations and memory of 

 the shepherds must be depended upon for 

 knowledge of the grade of any individual. 



These Kirghiz sheep, fat rumped and 

 tailless, and producing no fur. reach an 

 extraordinary size, some of the largest 

 weighing as much as 400 pounds. Their 

 flesh is of excellent quality and remark- 

 ably free of the often objectionable "mut- 

 tony taste'' of western sheep. An edible 

 fat is the principal component of the huge 

 rump, which weighs many pounds and, 

 when cooked, is used as a substitute for 

 butter. 



Although undoubtedly shepherd boys 

 do have remarkable memories of a kind, 

 which is probably the main stock of their 

 intellectual equipment, and their knowl- 

 edge of the parentage of any particular 

 Karakul is to some extent employed in 

 the selection of breeders, my host stated 

 that the breeding males and, to a less ex- 

 tent, the ewes to be bred are selected al- 

 most exclusively on the appearance of 

 their fur at birth. The retention of an 

 individual in the flock, especially a male, 

 depends upon the value of the pelts of 

 his progeny. 



There does not appear to be any well- 

 defined Karakul breed with precise stand- 

 ards, as among English and American 



sheep. The full-grown animal varies 

 greatly in size, from quite small to me- 

 dium, with black face and legs. The 

 fleece of the adult sheep is long and 

 coarse, the outside usually gray, and those 

 with the least underwool are preferred 

 As a rule, the Karakul is inferior in con- 

 formation to the well-known breeds of 

 English and American sheep. 



The male lambs, except those to be re- 

 served as breeding rams, are killed at 

 birth or soon after and the pelts taken. 

 If the pelts are not secured when the 

 lambs are very young, the hair loses its 

 curl and luster. Most of the ewe lambs 

 of all grades are reserved for breeding 

 purposes. 



Baby Karakul is obtained by the killing 

 of old ewes just prior to the birth of 

 what would probably be their last lambs, 

 and especially if they are believed to 

 carry twins. 



Some of the methods of obtaining 

 lambs just before birth are quite revolt- 

 ing, such as running the ewes, at the 

 proper stage of pregnancy, up and down 

 steep inclines or actually beating them, in 

 order to cause abortion. 



Karakul sheep are found almost ex- 

 clusively in the emirate of Bokhara, Rus- 

 sian Central Asia (Turkestan). 



83 



