When the operation of shearing is to be performed, the legs of the animal are tied, as if it were about to be killed. The shears are the most awkward instruments imaginable, being as long as our garden shears, and shaped like two knives riveted together. The shearers squat on the ground by the side of the sheep, and the more expert among them profess to be able to clip from three to four hundred in a day. On one occasion which fell within my knowledge, three Tatars clipped about two hundred sheep in a space of time not exceeding three hours. They were however waited on and assisted by several others, and no boast could be made of the neatness with which their work was done. Few Spanish sheep are kept in the Crimea, and of these the management is but little understood, as they are generally infested with the scab, which destroys the fine texture ofthe wool, and causes heavy losses among them. I have heard offive hundred lost in the course ofa single season, from flocks consisting of two or three thousand. Poverty of keep throughout the winter is often fatal to great numbers in the spring ; for the Tatars, though they estimate their riches by the quantity of their stock*, are frequently too * A Tatarwho resided in a village adjoining Karagoss, possessed one thousand seven hundred sheep, twelve oxen, thirty cows, and fifteen horses, yet his hut, consisting only of one room, was little superior to an Irish cabin, and worth about ten or fifteen rubles. This man lately divided his property between his wife arid children, and taking with him two thouavaricious, or too idle, to prepare sufficient provender for them against vthe inclement season.
As they have no idea of deriving a yearly revenue from possessions of this nature, they seldom sell any part of their flock, excepting a few lambs in spring, so that, unless required for domestic consumption, a sheep is in little danger ofthe knife. The mutton and beefof the Crimea are bad; but the lamb, which is fed on themountains of the coast, is the best which I have any where tasted.
In speaking of the flocks ofthe Crimea, those from which the grey lambs'-skins are obtained must not be forgotten. These are only to be found at the two extremities of the peninsula, in the neighbourhoods of Kertch, and Kosloff. I have been told that wheresoever else they have been tried, theyare found to degenerate ; but whether this circumstance be owing to peculiarity of soil, or to want ofcare in the preservation ofthe sand five hundred rubles for his journey, set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he arrived in safety, but died at Constantinople on his return. breed, I am unable to say. The lambs are killed very young, when the wool is finest, and their skins are worth, according to their quality, and other circumstances, from five to seven, or even ten rubles each. These skins are all bought up by the merchants, and sent to Moscow and other places in the interior. The carcasses are brought to market, and lamb is at that season so plentiful and cheap, that a large one may be purchased for three or four rubles.
The common price given to a proprietor by those who pasture their sheep on his land, is an ewe and a lamb per hundred, for three or four months. The Tatars have an idea, that if their sheep feed on the stipa pinnata, a plant which grows upon the Stepp, it destroys them, by eating into their livers. Goats are kept in great numbers with the flocks of sheep. They are not handsome of their kind, andas neither the carcass nor skin bear any considerable value, they seem to be very unprofitable stock. A Tatar, however, computes his riches by the number rather than by the intrinsic worth of his possessions.
Some shawl goats were lately brought from Bucharia to the Crimea, and were shipped for France from the port of Kaffa. The fine wool for which theyare so famous, is concealed under a coat oflong coarse hair, and in appearance they are very little superior to the native breed. Every Tatar village is full of dogs, as there is not a house which is not defended by two or three of them. With the exception of a few greyhounds, they are chiefly ofa mongrel breed, and somewhat resemble ourshepherds' dogs. The Tatarsscruple totakethe lives ofthese animals, as well as cats, butsometimes destroy theiroffspring, byconveyingthem to a distance on the Stepp, and there abandoning them to their fate.