330 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



allowed, each of whom has his dog. In the centre 

 of the flocli, a number of asses march, carrying 

 the provisions and baggage. The chief also takes 

 his staiion in the centre : he issues the daily al- 

 lowances of provisions, and transmits his orders, 

 by his assistants, Irom this situation; and il' any 

 irregularity is committed, he is found there to re- 

 ceiv^ the complaint, lie also examines into any 

 mischief which may he done by the Hocks to the 

 countries through which they pass, and pays the 

 person who has received the injury : he next de- 

 termines, whether it was occasioned by negli- 

 gence or through accident: in the Ibrmer case, 

 ihe sum paid is levied on the offender; in the lat- 

 ter, it is taken from the common fund. 



Besides the sheep there are always a number 

 ofgoats which take the lead of the Ibrmer. Some 

 of the oldest he goats have bells round their necks. 

 The discipline in which these are kept, and the 

 intelligence which they display is remarkable. 

 At the command of the shepherds, they either halt 

 or proceed ; and when the tiocks rise in the morn- 

 ing, the moment these goats receive the order to 

 proceed, they repair to iheir stations in tlie Ibre- 

 rnost ranks with great regularity. If they come 

 to a stream, they halt, till the word of command 

 is given, when they instantly plunge in and cross 

 it, and are Ibllowed by the rest of the flock. 

 When the flocks lie down at night, the shepherds 

 nnd doirs still continue on the watch, relieving 

 each other at slated intervals. When they arrive 

 at the mountains, each shepherd has his particular 

 district allotted him by the chief. The l(^.ed is 

 hired at the rate of 20 sous each sheep for six 

 months; and the price lor the winter feed in the 

 Crau and the Camargue, is the same. During 

 the whole time of llieirstayon the mountains, 

 the shepherds live almost entirely on bread and 

 goat's milk, sleeping upon the ground in the o|)en 

 air. 



The shepherds in France never inhabit a house: 

 they go in the cottages in which their wives and 

 I'amilies live, to take their meals, but sleep in their 

 sheepibld, in huts made of reeds and clay, upon a 

 mat spread on the ground : the.-e huts are placed 

 on wheels. The wanes of shepherds are in ge- 

 neral high ; and they are a superior class of men, ! 

 in all respects, to what they are in Kngland. The 

 wages of tlie chief shepherd are about 12Z. ster- 

 ling: besides this, he is allowed a certain sum, 

 often three francs per head, (or every sheep sold ; 

 his board at one and a half francs a day ; and a 

 rottaae, rent free, for his rimily. The wages of 

 the inferior shepherd is fibout 8/.. sterling ; and he 

 has the same allowance j'or board as the chief 

 shepherd. 



The Pyrenees breed of shepherd dogs are par- 

 ticularly celebrated. Thej'' are black and while, 

 of the size of a large wolf, a larire head and neck, 

 armeii with collars, stuck with iron spikes, so 

 that no wolf ran attack them. But bears are 

 more potent adversaries. If a hear can reach a 

 tree, he is safe : he rises on his hind legs, with his 

 back to the tree, and seta the dog at defiance. 

 These dogs are led entirely on bread and milk. 

 In most ports of France, when it is necessary to 

 catch a sheep, (or »he purpose of examining it, the 

 shepherd orders his dog to drive the flock round 

 his master, which lie does by troirig round them 

 in a circle, gradually decreasing, till the f-hepherd 

 takes any one he wants. 



The average weight of the fleeces of Ihe native 

 sheep of France is about 2^ or 3 lib-\ ; that of the 

 JVlerinos about 6 libs. The wool of the Ibrmer, in 

 general, is of an inditlerent quality. The wool of 

 Rousillon IS Ihe finest, that of Narbonne is nearly 

 as fine, but more coitony, and of a shorter staple. 

 The wool of Bezieres is next in quality ; that ol 

 Pesenas, in Lanixuedoc, on the side of Montagnac, 

 is somewhat less fine. Tlie wool of the sea-coast 

 is heavy and coarse : the wools of the mountains 

 of Alontpellier and De Sonueres are of three sorts; 

 the first equal to ihe wool of Pesenas, the second 

 less fine, the third very coarse. The woo! of Ber- 

 ry is fine ; ihat of Rheims inferior. The number 

 ofsheepin France is estimated at 30.307,728 : the 

 total of the wool they yield may be rated at 106,- 

 770,000 libs. 



There are a vast number of goals in France, 

 principally, of course, in the mnuntainous districts. 

 Pigs are chiefly led in the neighborhood ol woods, 

 or where grain abounds, as Normandy, Cham- 

 pagne, Limosin, &c. They are also led on acornsj 

 and, in the Limosin, on chestnuts. 



Immense quantities of poultry are kept in all 

 parts of France; to such an extent, indeed, that 

 It is a question whether there ia more weight ol 

 mutton consumed, or of poultry. They are of an 

 excellent: quality. Great pains are taken in rear- 

 ing and fattening them. In French Flanders, as 

 well as in other districts, they are fed with the 

 flour of buckwheat, or rye, or potatoes : their food 

 is frequently changed ; and the vessel into which 

 their meat is put is washed with hot water alter 

 every repast. After feeding, they are kept in dark- 

 ness till the next meal. In some parts, what are 

 called vermiculaires are expressly kept lor them ; 

 that is, places in which worms lor their food are 

 collecied and preserved. Capons are fattened in 

 many pans of the kingdom : those which are fat- 

 tened at Barbezieuz, a town in the department of 

 the Charente, are so much esteemed, that they 

 are sent to Paris lor those who keep the most deli- 

 cate tables. 



Narbonne honey is much celebrated, but it is 

 not the produce of the neighborhood of that place; 

 at least it is seldom to be [)rocured there : what is 

 so called is more commonly, as well as much 

 more abundantly, procured at Perpignan. The 

 beeswax of Champagne, Normandy, Sologne, 

 Languedoc, Auvergne, and Brittany, is esteemed 

 the best. Bleaching wax is a business of impor- 

 tance in France. The yellow wax of Brittany 

 bleaches with the most ease, nnd becomes a 

 I beautifiil white : it is principally bleached at Cha- 

 [ teau Goutier, about eight leagues from Angers. 

 By some, this is esteemed the very best in the 

 kingdom ; by others, ihat of Champagne is prefer- 

 red. The wax of Amboise, and of Chaumont 

 near Troves, is of an inlL-nor quality ; and that 

 made at Rouen is esteemed the worst, on account 

 nf the large quantity of suet they add to it. At 

 Mcntpellier, there is a large manufiicture of bees- 

 wax, and the process is conducted with great 

 attention and skill. 



The forests of France are numerous and exten- 

 sive ; and as they have a!so been of great impor- 

 tance, both on account of the fltel they supply, 

 and of their application to other purposes, many 

 calculations and conjectures have been made with 

 respect to the surface which they cover. The, 

 MarquisdeJVIirabeau represents them as 30,000,-: 



