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hundred and twenty- five shearers are required to a flock of 

 ten thousand sheep. 



a On the propriety of law and order in conducting these 

 flocks there can be no doubt, but great exception is made to 

 several enactments in force, and a continued struggle has 

 long existed between the company of the mesta on one part, 

 and the lovers of public good on the other. No land that 

 has once been occupied for grazing can be tilled before it is 

 offered to the mesta at a certain rate. Long green roads, 

 leading from one district to another, at least two hundred 

 and fifty feet wide, are required to be kept open, as well as 

 extensive resting places, where the sheep are fed and sheared. 

 So rigid is the law on this point, that, during the periods of 

 migration, no person, not even a foot passenger, is allowed 

 to travel on these roads, unless he belongs to a flock. These 

 passages must unavoidedly cross many cultivated spots, such 

 as corn-fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and pasture lands 

 common to towns; the evils and inconveniences of which are 

 obvious and need no comment. All questions and difficul- 

 ties between the shepherds and the occupants of the lands 

 through which the roads are suffered to pass are decided by 

 special courts that perform a kind of circuit, and sit at stated 

 periods to hear and decide. 



" The Shepherds The salary of the chief shepherd does 

 not exceed two hundred dollars a year and a horse; that of 

 the first under-shepherd of a tribe, ten dollars a year; the 

 second, seven dollars; the third, five; the fourth, three; 

 and the fifth, a boy, two dollars a year. The ration of each 

 is two pounds of bread a day, with the privilege of keeping 

 a few goats in the flock for their milk. They are also enti- 

 tled to the*skins and carcasses of the culled sheep and lambs, 

 and each receives from the chief shepherd a 'regalito 7 of 

 three-fourths of a dollar in April and October, and these 

 are all the sweets that these poor wretches enjoy, with the 

 exception of about a month in a year, which each takes in 

 his turn, to visit his family or friends. They are exposed 



