Shepherds and Shepherding

The shepherd stands, lamb in one hand, crook in the other and dog at his feet. This is how many of us think of the old-time shepherd - the picture of sturdiness, dependability and independence. He was one of the most important men on the farm, responsible for the care and well-being of the flock, with which he might need to spend days and nights out in open pastures. How did he manage his charges, and his own life? What skills and equipment did he use? How did sheep farming change in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and what effect did that have on the shepherd's work. These are the questions considered by this look at shepherding life, with illustrations of the shepherd at work.