42 Essay mi Sheep. 



made a simple farmer, or a plain mechanic, the 

 means of diffusing his blessings upon mankind. 

 Many centuries elapsed after this in which we 

 are left in the dark as to the history of agricul- 

 ture in Spain. The conquest of the country 

 by the Goths, and the subsequent reduction of 

 it by the Moors, together with the long wars 

 between the latter and the native Spaniards, 

 have cast a veil over their history; but as the 

 Moors were industrious agriculturalists, and 

 kept up their connection with Africa till iheir 

 first conquest by the Spaniards, it may be pre- 

 sumed that they pursued the path marked out 

 by Columella. It is probable, however, that 

 during that disastrous period which preceded 

 their expulsion, the farther improvement of 

 this useful race of sheep had been neglected ; 

 and as in human affairs scarce any thing is 

 stationary, it is also probable that they were 

 suffered to degenerate : for we find, as I have 

 said, Pedro the fourth, more than thirteen hun- 

 dred years after the death of Columella, reviv- 

 ing his experiments on an enlarged scale, and 

 introducing a great number of sheep from Bar- 

 bary. His efforts were crowned with success, 

 and Spain became in the fourteenth century 

 what she had been in the time of the Romans, 

 famous for the fineness of her wool. The race 



