36 Essay on Sheep. 



stationary flocks (the estantes), ruined agricul- 

 ture, and depopulated the country/ It is easily 

 conceived, that five millions of sheep travers- 

 ing the kingdom in almost its whole extent, 

 for w^hom the cultivators are compelled to 

 leave a road through their vineyards and best 

 cultivated lands of not less than ninety yards 

 wide, and for whom, besides, large commons 

 must be left; I say, it is easily conceived that 

 such a flock must greatly contribute to the de- 

 population of the country, and that the revenue 

 that the King draws by the duty on wool is 

 snatched from the bread of his people/' 



When the severe weather commences upon 

 the moimtains, the shepherds prepare to depart, 

 which is generally about the end of Septem- 

 ber and throughout the month of October, to 

 seek more temperate climates and fresher pas- 

 tures. In April and May, according as the 

 season is late or early, they return to the moun- 

 tains. They generally travel about five or six- 

 leagues a day, and stop occasionally in the 

 pastures prepared for them : the head shep- 

 herd precedes, and the rest flank or follow the 

 flock to collect the stragglers. Like Virgil's 

 Libean shepherds, they carry every thing with 

 them. 



