is 17.] 

 siderably our superiors in the manaj^c- 

 Bient of Merino sheep : (liey are tar be- 

 hind us in tiie construction and aptitude 

 of the implements of Inisbandry. Few 

 of tiieir farms exhibit large stor^ks of cat- 

 tle, or any prominent number of la- 

 bourers, hnman or brute ; and travellers 

 marvel mncli at tiic extensive breadtlis 

 of corn which they behold springing up, 

 t!<e abnndant result of such an apparent 

 small and iriad-jipiate quantum of la- 

 bour; women and boys perform a very 

 considerable and very active part, and, 

 among the beasts of draught, asses take 

 their turn, in company with horses, not 

 greatly their superiors. The farm-horses 

 ill general are of an inferior description, 

 ind, by custom, kept so poorly through- 

 out the winter, as just to prove tii;.'ir 

 existence by the bare ability to move 

 about; their ordinary horse-food is call- 

 ed gTO*/ornfo-e, being a mixture of clo- 

 ver, Inccriie, sainfoin, and other articles, 

 vifh straw. France is the country of 

 abundance and of clieapncss, the pro- 

 iluet of smaller capitals and less skill 

 than in the Netherlands and in England. 



Merino sheep seem not to have ex- 

 tended much to the northern depart- 

 ments of France, where the climate is 

 said not to be favourable to them ; their 

 price, so high previously to the invasion 

 of Spain, has since accommodated itself 

 to the ordinary price of sheep. In the 

 above departments, the sheep are of the 

 long and coarse-woolled breed, are 

 housed every night, and fed upon straw 

 and cut artiticial grasses, green or dry. 

 The mode of shepherding in France, 

 where the whole country is open field, 

 forms a c(nious instance of primitive 

 simplicity and ingenuity, and, perhaps, 

 of the superior docility of t!ie continen- 

 tal dog: sheep are depastured in the 

 lanes and ditches, and upon the parti- 

 lion banks, the (I'>ck being always at- 

 tended by a sliepherd and three or four 

 dogs; the duty to which these dogs have 

 been especially trained is to preyenf the 

 sheep from straying out of their bounds, 

 and trespassing upon the <;orn; to this 

 end, two dogs are statioi!cd,oiie at each 

 extremity of the boundary upon which 

 the sheep feed, the dog.; parading conti- 

 nually at a double quick march be- 

 tween the sheep and the corn, meeting 

 each other half way, iUKJ never failing 

 to si'ize the straying sheep. 



The vicinity of t'ambray is described 

 as the sink of Fiance, at any rate the 

 constant rains of the present year have 

 rendered it such: it is moreover charac- 

 terized as tht laud of blu'jk currants and 



Class of small French Farmers. 485 



grasshoppers. Crops of all kinds bav* 

 received full as much injury as in this 

 country. Potatoes were short, and will 

 be dear, the soldiers, in aid of the far- 

 mers' distress, harvesting great quanti- 

 ties of those roots, without orders. 

 The French beans are so entirely spoiled, 

 that enougii could not be gathered for 

 seed, the haulm appearing quite black, 

 as from the efl'ccl of lire. There is 

 much misery in France, and haggard 

 eyes and famished cheeks too often pre- 

 sent themselves. Bread is both deae 

 and of bad quality, price five sous, or 

 two-pence half-penny per pound, whilst 

 the labourer earns but fiiteen sous, or 

 seven-pence halt-penny per day; thii 

 class seldom tastes lle.sh-meut in France. 

 On the whole, however, living is still 

 cheaper there than in England; as on* 

 proof of which, two pair of pigeons, with 

 the sauce and potatoes, were lately pur- 

 chased in Cambray market for twenty- 

 four sous, or one shilling; and, by an-i 

 other bargain, ten pigeons were bought 

 for as many pence; those birds, however, 

 superabound in that neighbourhood. 



Of cuiiosilies, to v.hieli 1 was before 

 a stranger,! find the following — a breed of 

 tail-less fowls of beaiitiinl plumage, the 

 cocks of which are crowned wiih a large 

 and bright red turban. Another breed 

 of fowls which will not eat corn, and a 

 breed of granivorous dogs. An orphan 

 bitch, rescued from the held of \\ afer- 

 loo, has since produced a litter of milk 

 without puppies; and has, at the sug- 

 gestion of nature, obviated the danger 

 of inllammation, by sucking herself iiigkt 

 and day. 



1 have at lengtli obtained intoUtgence 

 of the viii (le Brie, as pale in colour as 

 white linen, of which I read at sixteen 

 years of age, in (he works of a contir 

 iiciitnl physician, and could never after- 

 wards obtain any tidings until last year, 

 when my correspondent described it — • 

 ' ag while as the table-cloth, and as 

 strong as thunder.' 



By consequ(!nces, the farmers arc iu 

 better cireunislances in the soiithcni 

 and more fertile provinces, where beau- 

 tifully fine linen is in connnun use in 

 their houses, and, in many, considerable 

 quaiilities of plate. Of their disposition 

 anil degree of jntclligeiice, it is by no 

 means, in the present times, an easy 

 matter to form any salisl;i<;.oiy estimate,, 

 from their h^ibiiual reserve towards the 

 I'lngtisii, vv hieh ollen assunics the sem- 

 bl iiiee of churlishness, iint they aro 

 essentially a social, moral, and kiiidr 

 hearted people; and, lo appearance, 



