March, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
111 
States. The importations have con- 
sisted chiefly of rams which have been 
mated with ewes to determine what 
class of ewes will produce lambs having 
good skins. Flocks owned in Texas. 
Kansas and New York now comprise 
over 1,000 head of sheep having one- 
third, or three-quarters Karakul blood. 
Besides these grades there are 60 rams 
and ewes that are either imported or 
descended from imported stock: 
“The fur commonly known as Per- 
sian lamb is taken from the young Kar- 
akul lambs. The Persian lamb used in 
the United States is produced chiefly 
in Central Asia, in Bokhara. The fu- 
ture of the industry in this country de- 
pends on the results of mating Karakul 
rams with our ewes. 
“The furs, known as. Persian 
lamb, Astrakhan and Broadtail skins, 
are all black in color, but vary in the 
character of the curl. Persians have 
the most pronounced, most uniform and 
tightest curl and the greatest value. 
Astrakhans have longer hair, the curl 
is more open and usually has less lus- 
tre or gloss than the Persians. The 
Moiree Astrakhan is a very soft, light 
skin, having straight hair, but a very 
satiny lustre. Broadtails are taken 
from lambs prematurely born. Skins 
of this class are soft and pliable, as 
well as light in weight. Their' hair 
is shorter than in Persian skins and 
instead of being tightly curled, exhibits 
a very attractive wavy pattern. Krim- 
mer is a gray fur produced mainly in 
the Crimean peninsula. 
“Between 1895 and 1913, prices have 
increased 180 per cent.” 
Since the Agricultural Department 
made this report, prices have again ad- 
vanced, largely because of the shortage 
of supplies owing to the War. 
“The sheep takes its name from Kar- 
a-Kul — the black lake — a village in 
Bokhara. The elevation of the area is 
about 8,000 feet. The summers are 
very hot and dry. The best feed occurs 
from the middle of March to the mid- 
dle of May, then vegetation dries up. 
The number of sheep in the territory is 
estimated at from three to fouV mil- 
lions, and the annual export of lamb 
skins runs at about 1,500,000. The 
skins are collected by traders and re- 
sold at the annual summer fair at Nij- 
ni Novgorod in Russia, 272 miles by 
rail East from Moscow. About 166 
skins are packed in a bale; and become 
the property largely of Germans from 
Leipzig. In Leipzig, the skins are sort- 
ed for export and some dyed, though 
usually the dyeing is not done until the 
skins reach the firm by which they are 
made into wearing apparel. 
“The foundation of the present fur- 
bearing sheep was the early native 
Arabi. The blood of the Arabi in com- 
bination with the black Danabar pro- 
duced the sheep kept at Karakul. With 
the rapid rise of values, the size of the 
flocks increased. The Karakul is a 
sheep of medium size, with black face 
and legs, and a long coarse fleece of 
some shades of gray. The rams are 
horned and the ewes polled. The body 
of the Karakul has not a close resem- 
blance to any breeds in America. It 
has the narrow back and flat sides com- 
mon to sheep not bred for meat. A 
very distinctive feature is the shape and 
size of the tail. It is described as 
Broadtail. Being quite short and very 
broad next to the body; fat accumu- 
lates and forms a triangular develop- 
ment that may weigh 5 to 6 pounds, ex- 
tending towards the hocks. 
“In some specimens of the breed, 
there is a noticeable amount of finer 
and softer wool near the skin. This 
undercoat is not desired, as it is stated 
that the lambs having the best curl 
and lustre come from parents having 
the least fine wool. Karakul fleeces are 
commonly sold as carpet wool. 
“The Karakul is adapted to areas of 
extreme temperatures and limited rain- 
fall. Reports from Texas state that 
the Karakuls were better able to re- 
sist cold storms than sheep of other 
breeds. The conformation of the Kara- 
down to the board and thoroughly dried 
before shipping. The skin should not 
be sun dried. In packing a number of 
skins the first one should be laid with 
the flesh side downward. The second 
should have the fur side downward. 
The next should be placed like the first, 
and so on. This prevents the flesh sides 
from lying in contact with the fur.” 
I T is well, perhaps, to add to this Re- 
port, an official Report issued by 
Dr. Young, himself, who has trans- 
ferred his sheep farm to Kerman, Fres- 
no Co., California, especially as Dr. 
Young’s later experiments do not agree 
with the Agricultural Report in some 
details as to mutton values. 
“The Karakul Desert Sheep will pro- 
duce ‘Persian Lamb’ and ‘Astrakhan 
Fur’ in the first cross with domestic 
coarse-wool breeds. The skins of the 
lambs when two or three days old being 
The original fur sheep of Turkestan called Danabar (Ovis dolychura) 
kul does not commend him as a mut- 
ton producer. The use of a Karakul 
to impress upon a flock bred for mnt 
ton would sacrifice a good deal and not 
be c^sirable. 
“Only three lots of Karakul sheep 
have reached this country. These were 
all imported by Dr. C. C. Young. A 
number of descendants have been sold 
to Prince Edward Island, Canada, to 
Texas, Kansas and New York.” 
I have considerably condensed the De- 
partment’s Report, which closes with 
these admonitions on skinning: 
“Cut a straight line down the belly 
and also cut down on the inside of the 
legs to meet the centre line. Do not 
cut off any part of the skin; leave on 
the' ears, nose and tail to the tip. Be 
careful not to make unnecessary cuts. 
Stretch the skin evenly on a board, fur 
side down, and dry in a cool place. Do 
not salt the skin or double it up for 
shipment purposes. The principal ob- 
ject is to avoid cracking the skin. See 
that it is properly shaped when nailed 
used for that purpose. This kind of 
fur is used for coats, collars, caps and 
muffs by the most fashionable set of 
society, and according to the United 
States Department of Agriculture, we 
require $14,000,000 worth of fur annu- 
ally. 
According to Armour and Swift. 
Karakul mutton is free from the wool- 
ly taste so often objectionable in our 
domestic breeds, and the lambs mature 
very quickly, in fact, 60 pound lambs in 
two months are not uncommon. 
Karakul ewes compare favorably 
with milk goats and the milk is richer 
in fat than goat’s milk. The fat glo- 
bules are very fine and easily absorbed. 
For ages the Karakul has been the 
cow of the Kara Kum Desert of Cen- 
tral Asia, aird the famous “Brinza” 
cheese possesses the most delicious 
flavor. 
The wool of the mature sheep is 
very coarse and ideally adapted for 
coarse textiles, rugs and felt and 21 
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