'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎187] (196/568)

AGKICULTURE AND LAND TENURE
187
di
and is exported chiefly to Great Britain and the Continent. The
numbers of this breed have decreased considerably during periods of
drought and inclement weather. (b) The breed is found chiefly
on the Kurdish hills north and west of Mosul, round Kirkuk, and on
the Persian border. The Karadi sheep are fatter and of a stronger con
stitution than the Arab variety ; the wool has a long coarse and hairy
staple of shiny appearance; it is used for weaving carpets and other
heavy textures. Large quantities of this wool are sent to America
and Europe, (c) The Awassi breed takes its name from a tribe of
nomad Arabs named Aweiz, who frequent the plains between Mosul
and Aleppo. It is probably a cross between the Arabi and the Karadi
breeds which may have occurred accidentally by hill sheep mixing
with those of the Arab variety at the time when the nomad flock-
masters take up their summer quarters at the foot of the hills which
border the northern end of the Mesopotamian plains. In Awassi
wool the characteristics of both Arabi and Karadi wool may be found.
Its staple is coarser than Arabi but finer than Karadi. In recent years
the Arab characteristics are said to predominate, making it difficult
to distinguish an Awassi fleece from one of Arab wool. The demand
for this class of wool has increased considerably in Europe and America
for the making of coarse yarns.
Eat-tailed Caramanian sheep are found in upper Mesopotamia.
(On the export trade in sheep and wool and on the tanning and
export of sheepskins see pp. 223-4, 218-22, 228.)
Goats. —The Kurds of upper Mesopotamia own very large herds of
goats. It is reported that in the Mosul vilayet there are three breeds—
the Syrian, the Angora, and the Kurdish—of which the last two have
long silky hair. Mohair is clipped from Angora goats and probably
from cross-breed animals as well. It is exported, as also are goat
skins, raw or tanned (see pp. 220-1). In Irak, where goats are much
less numerous than in the north, their principal use is to provide goats'
hair from which the black tents of the nomads and semi-nomads are
made.
Cattle. —Cattle-breeding is on the whole of less importance than
sheep-breeding in the plains or goat-breeding in the hills. There
are, however, in the plains of Mesopotamia considerable herds of
cattle owned by the settled or semi-settled Arab tribes in the neigh
bourhood of the Tigris and Euphrates. The nomad Arabs are not
cattle-breeders and regard cattle-owning as typical of the fellahin Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. ,whom
they despise. In Irak the herds of the Beni Lam are said to be the
largest and finest. In the north some of the nomad Kurdish tribes,
as well as the settled agricultural population, possess cattle.
As to breeds of cattle, there is very little information available.