El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-06-15
KARAKULEFUR NOW
AMERICAN PRODUCT
Continued From Previous Fage.)

| that is why it must be taken from
/ baby sheep-but when the FUR IS
l taken from the animal and dipped IN
I to a solution of silver nitrate, 1t re-
/ tains permanently its original color
Dipping the skin into the silver III
! tFate converts the chemical into oxide
) of silver-any chemist knows that
[ such animal contact Will bring about
such a cOnversiOn-and the result is
that the black color is fixed for all
time. 1t is not process Of dyeing;
merely a chemical process Of fixing
a color that already exists and max
ing 1t imperviOus TO the action of the
elements. This is the only treatment
to which the furs are subjected at the
beginning and the only treatment that
is required during their life.
First American karakule.
DR.. Young has produced the first Of
these furs IN the United states or
America. they have just been return
ed to him from a New York chemist
who submitted them to the silver nj
trate bath. They are now being exhib-
tied and will then go to the United
States government at Washington;
they viii be forwarded in a few days.
The futs are from some Of the lambs
that did not live after birth. As IN
the ease with any animal, there is al
ways certain percentage of deaths
among the young, but in the case OF
the karakule halfbreeds, the death rate
has been no higher than among Ordi-
nary sheep.
Aside from producing this wonderful
fur, the interbreeding Of the Karakule
and the American sheep is resulting IN
the production Of a much larger animal
and one from which the sleepy taste
IN the meat, as DR.. Young calls it. is
absolutely removed; thus mutton is
produced that does not have the mutton
taste Some Of the meat has been sub
mitted to the Armour Packing COM
pany at Chicago for laboratory tests
and the result has peen to show that II
IS far superior to the ordinary mutton
The animal is also twice as large on
an average as the ordinary sheep.
Sheep Are Bigger.
In producing sheep that will
weigh twice as much as the ordinary
animal, my experiments are alone
worth much to the sheep industry Of
the United States" said the doctor,
but 1 do not count this as anything
compared to the benefits to be con-
ferred upon the sheep men in the mat
ter Of producing fur. The halfbreed
harakule ram readily brings $3.50; so
successful have become my experiments
UnaI can sell more than 1 have been
able to produce. The full blood Kara
kule ram brings $1,000 I have Just
received an order from the University
of Edinburgh, Scotland, for one OF the
IulblOOd rams, after the university In
vestigated conditions in Asia and in the
United States. The SCIENTISTS there
preferred the American ram to the
Aslatic, and the order was placed with
me The United States government
took the same view and secured one
of my rams for its experiments at
Washington. 1t is conducting its ex-
periments to check up the work that I
am doing and 1 have the satisfaction
Of knowing that not one of my asser-
tons has been disputed by the govern
ment experts, but they have confirmed
every statement that 1 have made as to
results and the value of climatic con-
in D inf r=r~ -.H
Asia, the original home of the Kara
kule."
KarakuIe q Noted Sheen.
The Karakule sheep Of Asia are noted
for their valuable furs and there is a
law in Russia that prohibits their ex-
portation- After being engaged in the
industry in Russo for a number OF
years and studying conditions there and
in the United tSates; after realizing
that the common sheep Of that country
with which the Karakules are bred
for producing purposes are not nearly
so valuable as those Of the United
Of the absence OF lustre in the coat,
Dr. Young had to secure a special
ukase from the Russian government TO
import his first 10 sheep. The United
states department of agriculture gave
him assistance in bringing them here
and he located at once in west Texas.
He did not find the conditions so IA
vOrable in the first location he selected. I
DuL ne now DGieNeS LldL ne mas Sc
cured perfect location and, in con-
junction with l. NJ. Crawford, his part
ner they have established their flock
upon the Crawford ranch in the Rio
Grande valley and have taken the first
step towards extensive breeding BY I
making q purchase Of 1000 ewes from
Idaho. They have no idea OF estaD- ]
lihsing fur industry here at this time,
though they will market from time to /
time many skins from the female 1
lambs, although in most cases the males /
and females will be sold in pairs so /
that the progeny viii be full halfbood 1
Karakue- However. Mr. Young says it 1
is not necessary in order to produce a |
fur that viii eclipse that from the I
Asiatic market 10 cOnfine the breeding /
strictly between haIfblOodS A half |
blood ram, bred to the Lincoln sheen /
Of the American range. will produce a 4
FUR in every respect, he says, as good I
as the hest rnarkafad frnnn A sia