the north and east, the great centre of distribution being Aleppo. Goats also are kept in large numbers. and the Angora goat occurs occasionally in northern Syria. A few pigs are found in Christian villages. Trustworthy statistics of the numbers of these various animals in the whole country are not to be had. Figures for 1914-15 gave, for the vilayets of Aleppo and Damascus, 190,130 horses, mules, and donkeys; 299,325 cattle, including buffaloes; 3,614,976 sheep and goats; and 150,402 camels. On the basis of these returns and of incomplete semi-official statistics for 1909-10, the total number in 1914 of horses, mules, and donkeys may be put roughly at 270,000; of cattle at 500,000; of sheep and goats at 4,800,000; of camels at 200,000; with a combined value of about 265,000,000 frs. These numbers, however, have certainly been much reduced during the war, which has made especially heavy demands on transport animals.
In the vilayet of Damascus and the Lebanon, where fodder is plentiful, milk and its products are obtained chiefly from cows, elsewhere from sheep and goats, which are the source of the large quantities of native butter (ghi orsemn) brought by the nomadic tribes of the desert to Aleppo, Hama, and Homs. An extension of cow-keeping is hindered by the lack of fodder, the poverty of the fellahin, and their inability to co-operate or arrange for the disposal of their milk. Of sheep's wool there is a large production and a considerable export, to which the desert tribes make important contributions. Shearing takes place usually in May or June, the yield per sheep being about 3 kg. Lambskins are also exported, but other skins and hides are mostly absorbed by the home market. According to official statistics for 1914-15, the production in the vilayets of Aleppo and Damascus of milk, butter, and cheese was 62,536,493 okes (79,160 tons); of wool and goats'-hair, 1,826,994 okes (2,312 tons); with 447,274 hides and skins. Altogether, including the increment in young, the annual value of the produce of the animals mentioned may be reckoned at about 80,000,000 frs.
