124 ON THE FOLDING OF SHEEP. 



proper to have at least fifty or sixty sheep for fold- 

 ing ; it is, however, when the shepherd is a child 

 of the house, and the folding costs nothing more. 

 Fifty sheep in a fold manure about five hundred 

 square feet ; sixty-five foldings are therefore neces- 

 sary for an acre of land : if three foldings are made 

 every day, twenty-two days will be required ; thirty- 

 two, if only two foldings in a day ; and sixty-five, if 

 only one. 



Q. In what manner is it proper to cultivate the 

 land for folding ? 



A. Before the folding takes place, two ploughings 

 should be given, in order that the urine may readily 

 enter the soil : as soon as the field is manured by 

 folding, it should be ploughed, for the purpose of 

 mixing the -dung and urine with the earth, before it 

 dries, or is evaporated. 



Q. Cannot the folding be done at other times ? 



A. When a field is sown and the grain is up, it is 

 said, that you can fold in dry days, until the wheat 

 or barley may be an inch high : it is said also, that 

 sheep are beneficial, in treading the dry earth about 

 the roots, and in dispersing the worms by their dung. 



Q. How long does the manure from folding last ? 



A. The folding is better for manure than the dung 

 of sheep simply : it in fact produces a very visible 

 effect for two years, in the produce of wheat for the 

 first, and in that of oats for the second year : half a 

 folding made on the same land for a third, which is 

 fallow year, will be a good manure enough for other 

 years, 



