Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 117 



in three years. Wheat produces ten fold ; in rainy seasons fifteen ; and in some places as 

 much as fifty for one. Near Carthagena the course is wheat, barley, and fallow. For 

 wheat they plough thrice, and sow from the middle of November to the beginning of 

 December ; and in July they reap from ten to one hundred for one as the season happens 

 to be dry or humid. The Huerta, or rich vale, of Alicant, yields a perpetual suc- 

 cession of crops. Barley is sown in September, and reaped in April ; succeeded by 

 maize, reaped in September, and that by a mixed crop of esculents. Wheat is sown 

 in November, and reaped in June ; flax sown in September is pulled in May. In the 

 vale of Valentia, wheat yields from twenty to forty ; barley from eighteen to twenty four 

 fold ; oats from twenty to thirty fold ; maize, one hundred fold ; rice, forty fold. 



713. The live stock of the Spanvth agriculturist consists of oxen, asses, and mules, as 

 beasts of labour ; sometimes, also, horses are used on the farm, but those are chiefly 

 reared for the saddle and the army. During the reign of Philip II. an act was passed 

 forbidding their use even in coaches. The horses of Andalusia are celebrated : they 

 are deep-chested, somewhat short-backed ; rather heavy about the legs, but with a good 

 shoulder. In general their appearance is magnificent when accoutred for the field. 

 But for the last half century their numbers have been diminishing. The mules and 

 asses are large, and carry heavy loads. The Spanish cows are an esteemed breed, re- 

 sembling those of Devonshire. They are used chiefly for breeding, there being little 

 use made of cows' milk in most parts of Spain : they are sometimes also put into the 

 plough and cart. Goats are common about most towns, and furnish the milk used in 

 cookery. 



714. The sheep of Spain have long been celebrated. Pliny relates, that in his time 

 Spanish clothes were of an excellent texture, and much used in Rome. For many 

 centuries the wool has been transported to Flanders, for the supply of the Flemish 

 manufactories, and afterwards to England, when the same manufacture was introduced 

 there. By far the greater part of Spanish sheep are migratory, and belong to what is called 

 the mesta or Merino corporation ; but there are also stationary flocks belonging to 

 private individuals in Andalusia, whose wool is of equal fineness and value. The carcase 

 of the sheep in Spain is held in no estimation, and only used by the shepherds and poor. 



715. The term mesta, (meslin, Eng.) in general signifies a mixture of grain ; but in a 

 restricted sense an union of flocks. This collection is formed by an association of pro- 

 prietors of lands, and originated in the time of the plague in 1350. The few persons 

 who survived that destructive outrage, took possession of the lands which had been 

 vacated by the death of their former occupiers ; united them with their own ; converted 

 nearly the whole to pasturage ; and confined their attention principally to the care and 

 increase of their flocks. Hence, the immense pastures of Estramadura, Leon, and other 

 provinces; and the prodigious quantity of uncultivated lands throughout the kingdom. 

 Hence, also, the singular circumstance of many proprietors possessing extensive estate 

 without any titles to them. 



716. The Jlocks which form the mesta usually consist of about 10,000 sheep. 

 Each flock is under the care of a directing officer, fifty shepherds, and fifty dogs. The 

 whole flocks composing the mesta, consist of about five millions of sheep, and employ 

 about 45 or 50,000 persons, and nearly as many dogs. The flocks are put in motion the 

 latter end of April, or beginning of May, leaving the plains of Estramadura, Andalusia, 

 Leon, Old and New Castile, where they usually winter; they repair to the mountains 

 of the two latter provinces, and those of Biscay, Navarre, and Arragon. The sheep, 

 while feeding on the mountains, have occasionally administered to them small quantities 

 of salt. It is laid upon flat stones, to which the flocks are driven, and permitted to eat 

 what quantity they please. During the days the salt is administered the sheep are not 

 allowed to depasture on a calcareous soil, but are moved to argillaceous lands, where 

 they feed voraciously. 



717. At the end of July the ewes are put to the rams, after separation has been made of those ah^ady 

 with lamb. Six or seven rams are considered sufficient for one hundred ewes. 



718. In September the sheep are ochred, their backs and loins being rubbed with red ochre, or ruddle, 

 dissolved in water. This practice is founded upon an ancient custom, the reason of which is not clearly 

 ascertained. Some suppose, that the ochre uniting with the oleaginous matter of the fleece, forms a kind 

 of varnish, which defends the animal from the inclemency of the weather. Others think the ponderosity 

 of this earth prevents the wool growing too thick and long in the staple. But the more eligible opinion is, 

 that the earth absorbs the superabundant perspiration, which would otherwise render the wool both harsh 

 and coarse. 



719. Towards the end of September the flocks recommence their march. Descending from the moun- 

 tains, they travel towards the warmer parts of the country, and again repair to the plains of Leon, Rstra- 

 madura, and Andalusia. The sheep are generally conducted to the same pastures they had grazed the 

 preceding year, and where most of them had been yeaned : there they are kept during the winter. 



,720. Sheep- shearing commences the beginning of May, and it is performed while the 

 sheep are on their summer journey, in large buildings called esquUeos. Those, which are 

 placed upon the road, are capable of containing forty, fifty, and some sixty thousand sheep. 

 They are erected in various places ; but the principal are in the environs of Segovia, and 

 the most celebrated is that of Iturviaca. The shearing is preceded bv a pompous prepskr 



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