38 Essay on Sheep, 



night. The shepherds make their own tents 

 with stakes, branches, and brambles, and have 

 for this purpose a right to take one branch 

 from every forest tree. Ten thousand sheep 

 compose a flock under the direction of one 

 chief, and this is divided into ten tribes. The 

 head shepherd has absolute dominion over 

 fifty shepherds, and as many dogs, five of 

 each being annexed to a tribe. His salary is 

 about two hundred dollars a year, while that 

 of the first shepherd of a tribe is only ten, the 

 second eight, the third and fourth still less, and 

 a boy only two and a half. Their daily al- 

 lowance of food is two pounds of bread, and 

 as much to each dog. They may keep a few 

 goats or sheep, of which they have the meat, 

 but not the w^ool. They receive as a gratuity 

 about six shillings in April, and as much in 

 October, by way of regale. On the road they 

 are every day, at all seasons, exposed to the 

 air, and at night have no shelter but their mi- 

 serable huts. In this way live to a considera- 

 ble age the twenty-five thousand men that 

 compose the shepherds in Spain. The flocks 

 consist of rams, ewes, wethers and lambs, in 

 the following proportion: five rams, one hun- 

 dred ewes, twenty-five wethers and fifty lambs. 

 The small number of lambs is owing to the 



