Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-25
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING

With the idea of determining
whether Karakul sheep, from which
are obtained the furs used
Karakul to make the expensive
GU, Persian lamb" fur coats
SeeP' for women, can be pro-
duced profitably in the United States.
the animal husbandry division of the
Department of Agriculture has made
thorough studies and carried on care
full experiments since the first of the
peculiar sheep were brought to this
country in 1909.
The fur of these animals as it en-
tiers the fur trade is tightly curled.
black and 1ustrous. and is known in
different qualities as Persian" Broad
tall and "Astrakhan." Millions of the
sheep are raised in Bokhara, Asiatic
Russia. and about million and half
of the glossy. curly pelts are exported
annually. The choicest of the skins,
after they are dyed, sell for as much
as $50 apiece, though the majority
bring much lower prices.
Since the first Karakuls were brought
to the United States, in 1909, four
In all have been imported. and from
these have sprung more than a thou
sand grade" animals. having various
proportions of Karakul blood These
animals are owned by eight or nine
York. On their native range the Kara
kul sheep are subjected to long dry
periods and in winter to extreme cold.
1t is thought that they will thrive best
southwest and west, where conditions
are comparable. Experiments of the
Department of Agriculture in Maryland.
however. have shown that the climate
has no effect on the characteristic curl
and luster of the fur.
The government experts in animal
husbandry point out that the Persian
lamb industry does not, as many per
sons believe, involve the killing of the
mother sheep to secure pelts of unborn
lambs. The skins of some prematurely
born lambs enter the trade, but for the
most part undersell the best Of the
skins obtained from the young lambs.
The industry does involve, however. the
killing of the young lambs when they
are few days old. when the fleece is
tightly curled. After three days. the
observations show, the curls in many
Of the skins begin to open. and the les
ticeable after five days. In the adult
Karakuls the hair is long, straight, and
of a dirty gray color, fit only for weav-
ing into carpets.
Realizing the impossibility of bring
ing to this country a sufficient number
Of full-blooded Karakuls to start popu
lous herds of the breed here, the gov
eminent animal industry specialists set
out from the first to attempt to produce
lambs with marketable fur by crossing
the Karakuls with some strain of sheep
already present in the United States in
considera BILE numbers. Several differ
ent breeds were used in these expert
ments, and most success was attained
with sheep with long. coarse wool.
While the skins from few of the lambs
from the first cross were of value in the
fur trade, really promising results were
obtained when full blooded rams Were
crossed with half-bred ewes. one or
two of a group of eight pelts bringing
as high as $40 in the raw state.
The next step, the breeding of full
blooded rams to hree-quarter-b blood
ewes. would have yielded high pro-
portion of marketable pelts, it is be-
lieved. but, so far as the government
experts were concerned. this step was
prevented by the burning of the sheep
barns at the experimental farm at
Beltsville. Nd, in the spring of 1915,
and the destruction Of practically all
of the sheep The work was carried
far enough. however, in the opinion Of
the government experts, to give reason
for believing that Karakul fur in
dustry of considerable proportions can
be built up in this country by the
breeding-up of grade Karakuls and
the use with them of full blood Kara
kul rams.