1835.—"The shop (dookkán) is a square recess, or cell, generally about 6 or 7 feet high.... Its floor is even with the top of a muśtabah, or raised seat of stone or brick, built against the front."—Lane's Mod. Egyptians, ed. 1836, ii. 9.
DOOMBUR, s. The name commonly given in India to the fat-tailed sheep, breeds of which are spread over West Asia and East Africa. The word is properly Pers. dunba, dumba; dumb, 'tail,' or especially this fat tail. The old story of little carts being attached to the quarters of these sheep to bear their tails is found in many books, but it is difficult to trace any modern evidence of the fact. We quote some passages bearing on it:
c. A.D. 250.—"The tails of the sheep (of India) reach to their feet.... The shepherds ... cut open the tails and take out the tallow, and then sew it up Ìgain...."—Aelian, De Nat. Animal. iv. 32.
1298.—"Then there are sheep here as big as asses; and their tails are so large and fat, that one tail shall weigh some 30 lbs. They are fine fat beasts, and afford capital mutton."—Marco Polo, Bk. i. ch. 18.
1436.—"Their iiijth kinde of beasts are sheepe, which be unreasonable great, longe legged, longe woll, and great tayles, that waie about xijl. a piece. And some such I have seene as have drawen a wheele aftre them, their tailes being holden vp."—Jos. Barbaro, Hak. Soc. 21.
c. 1520.—"These sheep are not different from others, except as regards the tail, which is very large, and the fatter the sheep is the bigger is his tail. Some of them have tails weighing 10 and 20 pounds, and that will happen when they get fat of their own accord. But in Egypt many persons make a business of fattening sheep, and feed them on bran and wheat, and then the tail gets so big that the sheep can't stir. But those who keep them tie the tail on a kind of little cart, and in this way they move about. I saw one sheep's tail of this kind at Asiot, a city of Egypt 150 miles from Cairo, on the Nile, which weighed 80 lbs., and many people asserted that they have seen such tails that weighed 150 lbs."—Leo Africanus, in Ramusio, i. f. 92v.
[c. 1610.—"The tails of rams and ewes are wondrous big and heavy; one we weighed (in the Island of St. Lawrence) turned 28 pounds."—Pyrard de Laval, i. 36.
[1612.—"Goodly Barbary sheep with great rumps."—Danvers, Letters, i. 178.]
1828.—"We had a Doomba ram at Prag. The Doomba sheep are difficult to keep alive in this climate."—Wanderings of a Pilgrim, i. 28.
1846.—"I was informed by a person who possessed large flocks, and who had no reason to deceive me, that sometimes the tail of the Tymunnee doombas increased to such a size, that a cart or small truck on wheels was necessary to support the weight, and that without it the animal could not wander about; he declared also that he had produced tails in his flock which weighed 12 Tabreezi munds, or 48 seers puckah, equal to about 96 lbs."—Captain Hutton, in Jour. As. Soc. Beng. xv. 160.