“In the same communes, when a girl is going to marry, the girls of the neighbourhood come to aid in sewing the dowry.  In several communes the women still continue to spin a good deal.  When the winding off has to be done in a family it is done in one evening—­all friends being convoked for that work.  In many communes of the Ariege and other parts of the south-west the shelling of the Indian corn-sheaves is also done by all the neighbours.  They are treated with chestnuts and wine, and the young people dance after the work has been done.  The same custom is practised for making nut oil and crushing hemp.  In the commune of L. the same is done for bringing in the corn crops.  These days of hard work become fete days, as the owner stakes his honour on serving a good meal.  No remuneration is given; all do it for each other.(24)

“In the commune of S. the common grazing-land is every year increased, so that nearly the whole of the land of the commune is now kept in common.  The shepherds are elected by all owners of the cattle, including women.  The bulls are communal.

“In the commune of M. the forty to fifty small sheep flocks of the commoners are brought together and divided into three or four flocks before being sent to the higher meadows.  Each owner goes for a week to serve as shepherd.

“In the hamlet of C. a threshing machine has been bought in common by several households; the fifteen to twenty persons required to serve the machine being supplied by all the families.  Three other threshing machines have been bought and are rented out by their owners, but the work is performed by outside helpers, invited in the usual way.

“In our commune of R. we had to raise the wall of the cemetery.  Half of the money which was required for buying lime and for the wages of the skilled workers was supplied by the county council, and the other half by subscription.  As to the work of carrying sand and water, making mortar, and serving the masons, it was done entirely by volunteers [just as in the Kabyle djemmaa].  The rural roads were repaired in the same way, by volunteer days of work given by the commoners.  Other communes have built in the same way their fountains.  The wine-press and other smaller appliances are frequently kept by the commune.”

Two residents of the same neighbourhood, questioned by my friend, add the following:—­

“At O. a few years ago there was no mill.  The commune has built one, levying a tax upon the commoners.  As to the miller, they decided, in order to avoid frauds and partiality, that he should be paid two francs for each bread-eater, and the corn be ground free.

“At St. G. few peasants are insured against fire.  When a conflagration has taken place—­so it was lately—­all give something to the family which has suffered from it—­a chaldron, a bed-cloth, a chair, and so on—­and a modest household is thus reconstituted.  All the neighbours aid to build the house, and in the meantime the family is lodged free by the neighbours.”