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664 VON TROIL’S LETTERS ON ICELAND.
for eight or ten dollars. They have yet lefs trouble with their horfes than their cows ;
for though fome faddle-horfes are kept in {tables during winter, the greater number of
them are obliged to provide for their own fubfiftence, and when they cannot find this on
land, they go in fearch of fea-weeds on the coafts; but when a great quantity of {now
has fallen, the natives are obliged to clear it away for them.
There is no breed of cattlé fo much attended to in Iceland as that of fheep. As thefe
can eafily find fubfiftence there, the Icelanders look upon it as lefs troublefome and lefs
expentive to breed them; and there are many peafants who have between three and
four hundred fheep. Before the epidemical dileafe, which raged among the fheep from
1740 to 1750, it was not uncommon to fee flocks of one thoufand or twelve hundred,
the fole property of one perfon.
I will not venture to examine whether it would be more advantageous to hufbandry
to keep more cows than fheep; but as the inhabitants feem to be more inclined to breed-
ing ©f fheep, it would be well if fuch regulations were made as might enable them to
cultivate it with more advantage.
This has really been thought of by government; for about twenty years ago they
fent Baron Haitfer, a Swede by birth, to Iceland for that purpofe. He made feveral
regulations, and invented and prepared a kind of powder, as a cure for the difeafes
among fheep, which is very much made ule of there, as well as in Denmark and Nor-
way. They fpeak of him every where in Iceland, as of aman who had great knowledge
in this branch of hufbandry, and a fincere defire to redrefs all defects.
I know not if the report was well founded which was {pread all over the country, that
the trading company endeavoured to obftruct him in the execution of this defign ;. fo
much however is certain, that the country has reaped little or no benefit from Baron
Hattfer’s depofitions.
The Icelandic fheep differ from ours in feveral particulars; they have ftraight ears
{tanding upright, a {mall tail, and it is common to meet with fheep that have four or five
horns: in fome places they are kept in {tables during winter, but they are generally left
to feek their food themfelves in the fields.
It is remarkable that they are fond of hiding themfelves in caves (of which there are
a great many in Iceland) in ftormy, tempeltuous weather. But when they cannot find
any retreat during a heavy fall of fnow, they place themfelves all in a heap, with their
heads to the middle, and bent towards the ground, which not only prevents them from
being fo eafily buried under the fnow, but facilitates the owner finding them again. In
this fituation they can remain feveral days ; and there have been examples of their hav-
ing been forced by hunger to gnaw off each other’s wool; which forming into balls in
their ftomachs, prefently deftroys them. ‘They are however generally foon fought for
and difengaged. There are no wild fheep, as has been pretended by fome, for they all
have their owners, who keep an exaét account of them; and when they are driven to
the mountains, they are écarcely ever without a fhepherd to attend upon them.
‘Lheir food is grafs and herbs, and the feurvy-grafs (coch/earia) in particular makes
them fo fat, that they yield more than twenty pounds of fat. ‘They reckon one cafk of
dunged hay, and two not dunged, for a fheep’s winter provifion. When there is a bad
crop, they are obliged to put up with fifth bones chopped, as well as the other cattle.
Good theep give from two to fix quarts of milk a day, of which both butter and cheefe
is made; it has likewife a good tafte when boiled.
‘The principal profit they have from their fheep arifes from the wool; this is not fhorn
offas among us, but remains on till the end of May, when it loofens of itfelf, and is
{tripped off at once like a fkin, and is then called U//afell. The whole body is by this
time
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