■?8o4. ^ In fhe Bnjps Pyrenees in France, 17 1 



grafs in tlie neighbourhood of Paris was burnt up and Vvlthered, 

 it WRS quite green and full of fap at Cautcnw's. 



The fheep wliich are paftured in that diitri^l- are bred there ; 

 the wedders weigh from 32^: to 53^ pounds each, -.'.ik' the ewe8 

 from 27 Xo 43 pounds. The ewes become pregnant in July, and 

 bring forth one lamb at Chrlllmas ; fcarcely one ewe in fifty has 

 twins, which is lucky, for, when twins happen, they are ImalJ, 

 weakly, and diihcult to rear. 



The flocks are kept in Ihcep-cots, or ftable^, hvt\\t very clofely 

 for the purpofe, from the end of November till the May follow^ 

 ing ; and all the rell of the year they are in the free- air of the 

 mountains, day and night. As the management is -different at 

 tliefe two periods, I fhall endeavour to relate them feparately. 



Wifiter Mcuiat'ement, 



o 



At the time of {hutting up the fheep in the cots, they are very 

 fubje£l to a difeafe, which fliall be deicribed hereafter, occafioned 

 by the fudden change from the open air to aii air wliich \^ toQ 

 hot and too much confined, | jt;-. , ' 



When put into the cots, the ewes which are great with iamb, 

 are kept apart from fuch as are not pregnant, and from the wed- 

 ders. The latter have three pounds of hay allowed them each 

 day, divided into three portions •, in the morning, at midday, and 

 in the evening. The pregnant ewes, and fuch as have dropt their 

 lambs, have a fimiiar allowance, with the addition of one or two 

 pounds of aftermath, or fecond crop hay, which is fuppofed to 

 contribute more tov/ards the produtHon of milk than the other. 

 At this time of the year the ramg are kept along with the preg- 

 nant ewes. The fliepherds are particularly careful that both 

 the hay and aftermath, which are fet apart as winter provifion 

 for the fheep, fliould be produced on high grounds v/hich have 

 not been watered, and that it fliould be cut dov/a when nearly in 

 full flower. It is certair4ly ov/ing to tlie full feeding which the 

 flieep get on the mountains, and becaufe they waile very little of 

 their juices during the conftant confinement, that fo fmali a quan- 

 tity of food, as is mentioned above, fhould fuliice for their win- 

 ter maintenance. The fhepherds fay that the flieep thrive better 

 during winter, in the cots, on this dry food, than on their fum- 

 mer paftures, particularly when they efcape the difeafe to which 

 they are incident when firfl fiiut up. 



The fodder is diilributed in cribs, M-hich arc placed clofe to the 

 ground all round the walls of the cots ; or, if thefe be very large, 

 one or two ranges of cribs are placed down the middle ; the cribs 

 .^re placed thus low, that, being under the licads of the fheep, 



