CIHM Microfiche Series (IMonograplis) ICIUIH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Institute for Historical Microraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the t)est originai copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming are checked below. D D D n Coloured covers / Couverture de couleur Covers damaged / Couverture endommagte Covers restored and/or laminated / Couverture restaurte et/ou pellicula Cover title missing / Le titre de couverture manque Cotoured maps / Cartes g^raphiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black) / Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations / Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur r^ Bound with other material / D Relid avec d'autres documents Only edition available / Seule Edition disponible D Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin / La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge intdrieure. Blank leaves added during restoratk>ns may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming / II se peut que certaines pages Blanches ajoutdes tors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6\6 film^s. Additional comments / Commentaires suppldmentaires: This Ham Is fllmsd at ttM rsduetion ratio chscksd bslow / Cs doeumant sst fllm« au taux da rMuetion ktOUvti ei-<lassoua. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 616 possible de se procurer. Les d^ails de cet exem- plaire qui sont peut-«tre unkjues du point de vue bibli- ographique qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une nfK)difk»tion dans la metho- ds nonmale de filmage sont indk^ute ci-dessous. I I Cotoured pages/ Pages de couleur I I Pages damaged / Pages endommagdes □ Pages restored and/or laminated / Pages restaur6es et/ou pelltoul^s r~l^ Pages discotoured, stained or foxed / Ls^ Pages ddcolor^es, tachetdes ou piques I I Pages detached / Pages d^tach^es \y\ Showthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print varies / Quality in^gale de I'impresston Includes supplementary material / Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refitmed to ensure the best possible image / Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'enata, une pelure, etc., ont 6X6 filmtes k nouveau de fapon k obtenir la meilleure image possible. Opposing pages with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twice to ensure the best possible image / Les pages s'opposant ayant des colorations variables ou des decolorations sont film^s deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleure image possible. n D lOx 14x 18x 22x 26x 30x J 12X Ita 20x 24x 28x 32x Th« copy filmtd h«r« hat b««n raproductd thanks to tha ganarotity of: Library Agricuhurt Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaalbia conaidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apacificationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illustratad impras- aion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copiaa ara filmad baginning on tha firat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraa- aion, and anding on tha last paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraaaion. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microflcha ahail contain tha aymbol -^ (maaning "CON* TINUED"). or tha aymbol V (maaning "END"), whichavar appliaa. Mapa. platas. charts, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raductlon ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antlraly includad in ono axposura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand cornar, laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama illustrata tha method: 1 2 3 1 2 4 5 L'txcmplair* filmi fut reproduit grlce h la gAnArosiU d«: Bibliothiqufl Agriculturt Canada Lm images tuivantas ont ixi reproduitat avac la plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da rexamplaira fllmA. at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couvartura an papiar ast imprimta sont filmte an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras axamplairas originaux sont fiimis an comman9ant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustration at an tarminant par la darniira paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Un das symbolas sulvants apparaTtra sur ia darniira imaga da chaqua microficha. salon la cas: la symbola — ► signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbola V signifia "FIN". Las cartas, planehas, tableaux, ate, pauvant Atra filmte i das taux da reduction diffirants. Lorsqua la document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film4 i partir da I'angie sup<rieur gauche, de gauche k droite, et de haut en baa, en prenant la nombra d'imagas n<cessaire. Lea diagrammes suivants illustrant ia mithode. - 2 3 5 6 matoam moumoN tbt chait (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) Li|2£ IM 11.25 iU ■ zo 11.8 1.6 ^ ^ APPLIED IM^-CaE Inc ^653 East Main StrMi Roch#»ttr, New York 14609 USA (716; 482 - O300-Phor>« (716) 288- MSg -fox -*'1f. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE LIVE STOCK BRANCH OTTAWA CANADA Karakule Sheep AND Persian Lamb Fur Production ft i Karaktile Ram. PAMPHLET No. 15 SHEEP AND GOAT DIVISION Published by authority of Hon T A Cr»pT u^^ 38704—] ^'*'"'^' »*'"i«t«r of Agri icuituro, Ottawa, Ont. Til -heep ; native has bet which ^ipparer BOMlVZOir DEPAmTMZVT OV AOmZOULTUKB. Ohltf, Wimp and 0«at Dlvhim. VAMTHLBT Ho. 15. KARAKULE SHEEP AND PERSIAN LAMB FUR PRODUCTION. By O. Eble O'BnxH. »h« Ihiia^*^ ^t importation of Karakule sheep was brought into America with P«£"l.mb %t^Z ""^'L "t"' ^ *•»*' "»>•» "^owSVtrtrade « fiS hi? 'ten^!!'' „'i'^;f •*"''^'" ^T- .'^'' «"* importation consisted of followed in 1918 .^ iQ,i^ -t T*' °*^" importations to the United SUtes KaSSes were fm^ii i ""'^ ^^^ T"!* '}"' •^""'« »»«• ti™ '^^ «ty.fou^ thtTral wkhX^' .^ "^["."ty °f ''hich were rams, the purpose being to mate Sd StSt^tLt t>. 7? V "t'*," '\^- ^* *" '«"» *»»«• importations to the inZltS^^^^lf'^.fr'i^r^^' "'r^'^Ji'^"* '" ^"•^« -«" obtained when Island ThL foHowin^ ! flocks we^ established in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward ar« between fiTrandShunZlJ^^i'v •?''/>»r»«- ^^ ^^e present time there Karakule ra-SlVith « ttSe ClrJ-ji^'roi" ?""* ^^^''^ "^ --«"« In C;nTdr«'rtL rniU sE^^T^*^^^^^^^ product from Karakule sheep. Both "lied mostly from A."aJ?i^«"? " "^T ^"'^f'"^ '" *^" '"• '''>'«'' i« b""!? sheep. This Kan^r^h TlT^ """J^l *'"' '"«*««'«'»' of thwe same Karakule n few dav^ oM at tW ?u**"!l^ ^ ''"""•^ ^^^ y"""* ^""l^le l«mb when o,.ly >.nt rather loose and v^ fr^n itraThln^'"^ r °°' Possess the regular tight curl, These three classes of f^. P^^^^ian 2 taVtln '^T*^^ '^"^* "' '«*« '''»''"' when taken from the TounrC™v!^^» J^ • ' I" ** ^'*"''^'"' »" '"^"""^^^ "sunlly incIudTwith the abov^blrt * /'^ "' ^T'*'' " '""'^•' '^"^ ''^''<'^ » very similar Tt^l A ♦ tu "^ ^ *"' *"*'*' """^'y- trimmer fur. This clasa is Peninsula. So faV as is known „„.! *'^',?."*^^^ ^J"^^'^ »»inly in the Crimean Karakules in Canada ' °^ *^" °^'"' "^ ^"' ^"^ »>««" P'o^^ce^ Hv the The Origin of the Kanknle. on ■.li..-,.-l,r,,.linK. «m f «vli.>in 1,mv,. vi.it.,| nml ,tii.li..l il„. ,l„.,.|, i„ II..M..irH ,.r. of th.->pmioM thiit th..rp i^ no wh.v ,.f knowiiw l."w Knr.ikul,., oriKiiiof-d. It i.'..ii.l th.t thr fl™.|.. of KHrHkul.. Hi,...,. i„ Hoklu.r.. pn-.-ut ., „mtl,^- ,,i..tun. of di.t,„.l «roui,» „f Ka-Hkul... hitAo. Ar..l.i. M.ir.,;, .,„d AfKhnu. «i(l. K.,rnkMl.. r.u. „r.. Uoiiiiiuitiiitf 11... num.- Ar.il.i oft,.,, us., I i„ ,.o„,„.,.ti„„ „ith K„r.,kul,. .h.v,. con,. r>ri«;« ono of tl,,.*,. ktouih., u„,i it in ,.rol..,l>|,. th„t th.. fou,i,latio„ of t|„. pr. <,„t fu, iH-ariiiK ,1...... w..« fh.. ..nriy n.,tiv.. An.l.i. i„ ,.oi,j„„..tiou with tl,.. »n,<.ll l,l.„Hc |)„„u,l„r «hei.p. now almoHt ..xtimt. Th,. K„r.,kul,. tnk.'s it, i,«n,.. fro„, Kur.,-kul (l.lH.k h.k. . « viIluK." in th.. ,.„Ht..r., pnrf of tj,.. provi,,,-,. „f U.,kh„ra. al-.ut whi-h th.r,. ar,. laru- flork« of th..«. .h....p. Ph.. „r,a of Ilokhara \n alu-ut s.-,,,hh» „|„ar.. .nil,... ,„„| th.. ,un. H-r of »h....p i« ,*t„nat,.,l hi from .•!..mnmhn> to 4,(»IN,.(HMt. wl,i|,. th,. .,v..ratt,. oxp. rf „' l«n,h.k„,. av,.ra«,.H alK.n. ;..VHMHK.. Th,. .kinn ar 11... t.-J i,v ,!..„!,.r, a„.l tr ■, .....I P»..k,.,l into ImliH for .xiM.rt a„,i ar,- «,rt,,l a, r.li,,^ to .|ualitv an.l u„iforn.if> ».v the .l..ali'r,.. K.irakulf iwe and yijung Jamlt. During nwnt y.-ars P,.r<iMn iM.ni, fur ha. h..,.o,„,. v,.,..v popuh,r, .ausing. « .U-.ul. ._,ual.t.v .S..I1 at from *12 t„ *2(. ,.»,.!,. whil,. for th,. low..r ,|unliti... pri,.c,s ran^.. lr„n ... rvnts to ifU It .s SM..I that tlx. «v..ra,L',. wl,oh..aU. pri,.,. of all ^k,ns sol.l at \\v Aovgor,,,! ,„ Ku.su, th. ,. .ntr,. f„r tia. .al,. . f IJ:,l<ha,-a .kins), in I'.i]:; w:,. *.i.o.-. Iho turm Karakul.. «p,.]ied to this hreed is us.hI in « ^^.,„.ral M.ns... -i .. i, h ttlroady hoc, n,,t,.d that thm- ur,. a nun,h..r of >:roups n.akin^^ up th,. l,r,-...| i„ ,1„ , nat.ye hon.,- H,,khara. Fhos,. .h,.,.p, how..v,.r, that hav. h,^.,, hrouRht into Ci,,,;,.! , toRethrr with th,.,r ,lc^,...n,lants ,.onform v,.ry w,.!l to a distir.ot typ... an.l n,„v i> dosor.bod as follows: ' Tln-y an- n„.diun, siz,.. with hlar-k fa.-,, and Ic^. Tho wo,',! : maturity ,s ^^rey and v,.ry lonjr a„,l .-oars... At Kirth th.. lamhs an- almost invnri.i black. w,tl, ,.. t,^htly-..url,..l fur. whi..h is th,. .I.sirahl,. f,.atnr,.: as voarii,,.- ■ «ool ,s st.ll 1,1a..-.. l,u, w,th Irownish tint. th,. following y,.ar tnr„i„,. to shad,.s of .„ I he rams hav.^ la,',.,, horns ..urvinjf outw.,r.l>. whil.> th.. ..«•..< ar,. p..ll,.d althouRh hn.ej.thr ..tt.r .rr ul«, horned. Th.. fm-,. :» „urr„w. tl,.- .-v.. full »...| hrmht. ,.,,„. <\rruM\y Roman, tho vnr* *m,x\\ .liwi iH.n.l..l..u.. t!..,.. hi.t t«o f,.«tur... h,.inK vrrv rln.rm-trn.t.c of th- K„rBk Th,. .•„„form..ti..,. of th.. Kurukuh- .l.«. , ^rv.. "'" '"'; "'"";'!' I'"'!--''*, th,. hH,.k Jm-Imk niirrow „ith H..i .i.h.. ..n.l th,. r..,n,, .Ir.mp- M,«. Ihp tuti i» th.- mo«t .lUtin.tivo rhnrH..t..ri.ti... un.l U ,l....rih,sl ... " hr..,.d.ti.iU..r' It I...I.W v.-ry hnrnd ,„.xf th- Ih«1,. ,H.rh,„m ..ight to t.-,. iu-'h..- thi.-k un.t ..InMit thr -mil,' h'l.flrth. ui.i.iilly iiidimr ii, ,, »hiir|i ■ i.rv... I.. m«kinK MhM.ii....^ if ,hn,.l,i Ih. i,. ,,l th..t Hm. w,.,| i,. th.- H...-,. in v, rv obj... fwMuhh.. «hil.. (h<. hair .>n tlu- t; ni..l h-w, -houhl b.. H\'>»*y hUu-k. Climatio Condition!. Th.. Kunikule in it.* imtiv,. honif. link hum, tuiiM withht.in.l ...xtr.ni.. t.n.iMratur.... . .»! vory dry ......sonH. -.,„.,. (h,. .ii.,rt wi.it.rs th.r.. i.rc v..ry «.v.r... whil.. (1... ..........rs -r. v.ry w,.tra with f ..|,....,t ,„.id .torn... Th.- ^ruxin^ ....ndition* of ih,s. ,!„.,.,, ,.n ..Uo H..I.I to ho rathor unf,.vour..bh., a* it i« only in th.. >.prii.w of th.. v....r that th.. |i.i,tur..» aro ..ov.r.Kl with |fr...Mi v..Ki.tatioi.. At thi' ..X|.irati..n of this short i«.rio,l. In-tiiiK from th,. nii.hlh' of Mar.-h until May. th.. uruss l«vins to dry up v.ry .|ui«.k1y with only Miinll i.at.htM «f vogi-tation ri-niainiiiK h-r,. an.l thirc. Th.. sh..,-,, n.'t ''■■-^^J^'l^'^v'?^.^--'^. 7 . tiir n-iiit Of . will! Kiir; (ir.v with »"iil nii-i llitin ticul: •tiif.i far I lii.i fat III Karakule laml>!<. hcirn In Canaila. ii«h the summor som. '.ow and ..ontinu,. to work hard for th.ir living dnrmi- vr, siiK-t. only in rcrpiit yours hav,. owners niado any provisi.ni f..f wint.r fi.^i ni.rso thor,. aro ofton h.N.vy loss,.s of sh.-op duo to tho oold oliniati ...diti.,, rr and to tho In.-k of suffi<.iont food, hut it must h, nolud.-d that natiimllv .knio shiH.p IS a vory hardy a.iiinal al.l,. to withstand oxtron... t..n.p..rMtur, - „.. -nis„ns. furth.'r. tho housing of sh.vp is not pra<.tis..,l in Hokhan,. I,, fa,-. tho -ustomury nn^frations „f tho flo,.ks who,, out in soar..h of fn-sh pastur,. it ho alir.ost imiK.ss.hlo t,. i.rovido any hut natural sh<.ltors. P'or th,. su,.,.o,-f..l '■-' of Karakulo sho,.p it is no,.ossary to pay oonsid,.rahl.. att,...ition to tiio co.i- .yj.idor wh.oh for oot.turios thoy hav,. h»-u roarod i.i othor ro..ntri,.s and par ir y ,s th.s tr,.o whon <.ha.,pinjr from a dry to a wot olimato. Alrradv it has boon I that tho ol.mnto of R„khan. is oxc^otlingly dry and ott,... tho flooks must trav.l tl soaroh of ,.ntor. Tt should, how,n-,.r. ho ,«,i„t,.d o..t that tho s,.m,. wator. th,. , Tk i! ""'r^." '"'f" «"•« "^ tho Kha.iito i„to .1 ,h.,.J stoppo. bo..onu-« to tho sheep when it is over abundant. Ravinff bceom* ■cmMtointd throuRh a leriai of fanarationa to auch a dry olim«t» thay raaet ttrontly when lippliMl with an abundanea of water. It wonld appaar thu- thia would aeocunt for mbm of the dliJculty which Saa bean «xparianead with tin foeka of Kara: ub i.luop in Einte n Canada, and one wlnVh, when rcaliaed, should b<- rary aaay to oTercome, in that ^ry paaturca are obuinable and water may be fiTen u Men it. Naturally a chance of food in itaelf alio afleeU the condition of theae thftp The habitual feeding on the dry pMtures in Aaia also aplaina the fact that Ksrs- knlea, when transported to other countries, will seek the hichest and dryeat plaow for feeling rnthrr than damp or swampy land. They will, howerer, adapt themirlvn to a change nf food rather quickly and readily, while with an abundance of moiaturr there is a tendency that the sheep will not thrire well. One hslf-blood Karaku!e lamb from KarskuU-LlncoIn cross. Attention in Other Conntriei. During recent years much attention has been given by breeders in other coui\tries to these fur-producing Karakule sheep and a fair number of sheep have, with much difficulty, been brought out of Bokhara, thus showing that it is generally believed that the production of Persian lamb fur is both profitable and possible in other lands besides Russian TurkesUn. The industry is certainly profitable to the nativ. s of Bokhara and it ia claimed that the fear of outside competition in the world's w: rkcts for Persian lamb is the reason why such rigid restrictions are placed on the • xport of Karakules. Regardless, howcTer, of these restrictions considerable numbers ha« been brought into other '•ountries. It has been estimated that during the years 1907 to 1910 there were sent into Asiatic Russia 6,307 head, to Russia 1,673 h< .1, to western countries 882, a total of 8,862 or on an average for each year of 1,67T head to Asiatic Russia, 418 to Russia and 261 to the west. Xarakule flecks have ols been established in Scotland, British South Africa, Canada, United Statek, Arg. itini. Germany, Austria and Hungary. There is little infomation as yet on record pertaining to results obtained from the sheep in these couriries, except that very satisfactory skins have been proiluMd, not only from the Kprakules themselves, but also from the crossing of Karakule rams with British biig-wooliHi »heep. such ai the Lincoln, Cotfiwi.UI. Uici.tir. and Iliuh- land Bk-k Faoud. Up to tlie pr.'tfiit th« work hw li^n Urfely th« uaturn of an upariir nt, io an endoTour to datarmiua thoa« breed* ( ihoep that ;rill xt-'e beat rctttlU whan oroaaad with Karakulea, to breed up tta dard flocki, i a.<r<ing tru* to type, with the inherent character of producing fairly uniform J'eri-' ..• 'mub. Prodw tiMi and Taltu of Skiu. Th« flnt aim of the breeders of Karakule sheep in Canada i« the succettfu! pro- duction of fint quality I'enian lambskins, working tuwarda this end by c-ossing Karakule rams • ith such breeds as th«' Lin.-oln, Cotuwold and LcircBtcr. It was at first thought f' su;h crosaea would produce some of the best lanibskitis, but it has iinoe been pr r that the more Karakule blood there i.- in the ram. the more Talue there ia to th- .in from a fur standpoint. Hr-o-c;, by crossing the Karakule with our long-wool .hite sheep it may be possible " ew yea;-s to breed up ewes that will, when bred with Karakule rams, gire birth ♦. . i . ., the skins of which are very satis- factory when placed on the market. / 1 Partlaii Lamb produced rrom Karakule-Llneoln croucs. In work carried on with Karakule sheep in Nova Scotia, Karaku'o rams were crossed with Lincoln, C tswold and Leicester ewes, with the result that all the lambs were black and had, to a greater or leos ejtent, the desired curl. The skins of the spring lambs that died at birth or a few days after, were removed and sent to a prorainent Canadian fur-house for dyeing, and to have values affixed. These skins sccording to the values placed upon them, ranged in price from r) cents to $4.60. Ihe foUowing year twen^-six skins were sent to the same firm a I values of these raiiKed from 76 cents to $6, or an average of about $4 each, wholesa' A valuable asset to the Karr .ale industry is that of being able to realize fair monetary returns from isnibs lost at birth, since the skins can be removed and sold. Skins produced by crossing with the tliree breeds I incoiii, Cotswold and Leicester •waned to have little difference in the average qualities, which would go to show that m one of these bre.ds is as suitable ps the other for crossing with the Karakule liL. Ihe seoond cross, between the half-blood Knrakule ewe. and Korakule rams produoo, a better quality and more valuable skin, and it is reawmable to exiw that a Hoek of ewes well grad«l up w.th Karakule bWd, will produee marketable skins. An Ameriea„ «.th L.ncoln ewes Twenty skins from lambs of half and three-quarter Karakule blood were valued by a Xew York firm at an average of U.2o. one bein^ valued at «7 ambs that d ed at birth or could not be reared. This lot averaged $;i.25 each on the bas.s o the m, market, fiv^ of the lot bein^ each worth «5 or^.ver all thrle bel': im. «ver:;ii"';;;.re!r;h^ '^"'" *"^ --'-' --- -■»'«• - -•- ^-" =<> cents to Cr„sses with iwrs of the medium or fine-wooled breeds have produced unsnti.- fac ory n^lts. In ex.H-riments carried on in the l-nited States, cVoss"rKarak le rams on Mer.no and Shropshire ewes, inferior skins were produced matted ackf lustre .mivrfcct ,.url. and valueless from a fur standpoint. ' Half-blood Karakulo rams when cross.-d with the lon^-wooled breeds will not produce sk.ns with .,ny value for fur pur,.,ses, although the lambs nearlv alw"y wi a r'Tf .;»•;""'■' TT'" ""'T^^'" '""^•'''•"«' i^'"-''"''- -"• <-""i<i '•.' -o^ wi w ler, i ' t " ,*^■"7'^^"'• P'odu-tion is in imparting Karakul., blood to the fl, k «herc It .s the ultimate intention to use full-blooded rams. Removal and Treatment of Skim. n uJ'i" "!'!"'"*'"• J:*^* ^^'"^ ♦•>'• >■"»"" '«"'•>« must be killed at least before they ore " w.ck old. Only tr.m. experience can one know the best time to take the skin t„r .on... cases he curl will unprove during the first two or thr.* days while in othc. he sku, >s at Its best shonl, after birth. In prematurdy-born Inmks, th.. skin ha.', i t'^Lw *;> :""f, ■■'"'""" T" k' ''"-^ "•'• ''""^"''^' ^'"^■'- " ^"'"'' '"-'^•'' *'"■» """ "o ■ sKin tiiken (roiii the young Iamb. dow,!'ll,'"r'-'i""' ''T '"J"^''* "'*'"• « ■^♦''>'^'l't '"'f' '^t'ouW »«e cut down the bellv and dou , the „Mdc of the lc,rs to meet the centre line. Xo part of the skin is cut .,tf X."'lr "".'T'' "T"' ""'JJ'"';" *'"' t'". "'akinK no unnecessary cuts. The sk^," IS then stretched evenly on a board with the fur si.le down, in a cool place thor u^h v drie.1 and shipped without salting, care beinir taken not to crack the skin. For Wool and Mutton. Th,> wool of the Karakule and its .-rosses varies in colour from light grev to bla.k d..pendei,t upon the age of the sheep, is long an.l coars.- and would be classed J cnrpet wool. The t|,.,H.o is naturally very dry and light in shrinkage Ibc general contorination of the Karakule does not Inul itself rcadilv to mutt,,,, purposes although the texture of the nuitton i- very tin,, and of go,^l £vou T ambs nr<. quuk maturing and ,ip to three months of age will average higher i"i vcig .h,n, the nui ton sheep; after that age, howev.-r, they do not seenf to do s^wd ^, 3 grow much less rapully. As already poinf^d ont, ,1,.. first aim in raising Karak„lu sl,c,.p IS the production of marketable fur, and under or.linary conditions of feed ,„.d .nanagcnient ,t would not be advisable to „se Karakules in ..rossing with t he mut ,, .rc,.ds tor mutton purposes. 0„ the range, or in parts subje.. t<f extr'ne tern"" : ' ttires and dry chmates. the use of Karakul,, bloo.l may prov,. „{ advantage in in. „„t- ,ng h.,r.I,.,..s to the mutton rto,.ks. Wh..re the mortality o, lambs at bir i v rv ugh. the nse of Karakule rams might be su....essful in that the skins of su.-l Ian, . would be of son,,, value especially after the first f,.w cro.<s,.s t,.U Jl'" '''"'■"''"''^ ","^"«*V '" <'"""'^" "-^ >■'■* i^ ""!>■ '" Hie 'experimental stage. JIi<. takes have b,...n inad,. and doubtless will be made, but from results alreadv ol t.^in, ,1 in he production of coinnier,.ial f,ir th.r,. s.vins to be no good reason why Por