118 ON THE FOLDING O* SHEJEF. 



square : of course, if the hurdles are ten feet long, 

 twelve hurdles will be necessary for a fold of 90 

 sheep, 18 for 200, 22 for 300: if the hurdles are 

 only nine feet long, two hurdles more will be want- 

 ing for each of the pens or folds ; four hurdles more, 

 if only eight feet long ; and six more, if their length 

 is only seven feet : for a fold or pen for fifty sheep, 

 12 hurdles of seven or eight feet, or ten hurdles if 

 nine or ten feet long are necessary, Sec. These cal- 

 culations cannot be precise ; because, there may be 

 a few sheep more or less for the number of hurdles. 

 When the number cannot be made equal on each of 

 the four sides, there should be upon the two opposite 

 sides, a hurdle more than upon the two others. 



Q. How long is it proper for a flock to remain in 

 a fold? 



A. That depends on the length of the nights, and 

 on tjie quality of the grass. When the nights are 

 long, and the grasses, which the sheep eat, are very 

 succulent and produce a great deal of dung and 

 urine, the half or a third of a night is enough to ma- 

 nure the ground of the pen : if it was made larger, 

 the manure would not be equally spread : on this 

 account, the shepherd makes a second pen in the 

 middle of the night, and sometimes a third. 



Q. When there is but a small number of sheep, 

 can they be folded ? 



A. There is nothing but the expense of the shep- 

 herd to prevent it. The produce of a small flock 

 would make it unprofitable : but a number of small 

 flocks may be collected, and put under the manage- 



