3. Kaupamenn, labourers working for hire.
4. Hjáleigumenn (crofters), those who occupy the hjáleiga, or a small farm, an appendage to the larger establishments.
5. Servants (Icel. Vinnumenn).
6. Paupers (Icel. Ómagar or Niðursetningr).
Much harm is done by the multitude of lazy loons that gathers round the farmer, a practice dating from ancient days, all striving to live upon the best of the land, with the least amount of work.
Thus we see that “agriculture,” being absolutely confined to haymaking, is a mere misnomer in Iceland, nearly three-quarters of whose population is pastoral, though not nomad. The wealth of the country consists of sheep, horses, and black cattle; goats are spoken of in the north, but the author did not see a single head.
Since the first third of the nineteenth century, Iceland has witnessed a gradual and regular increase of population, and a proportionate decrease of live stock.[225] The following are the numbers of animals given by Mackenzie for 1804:
| Cows, | 15,595 |
| Heifers, | 1,556 |
| Bulls and oxen, | 1,132 |
| Calves, | 2,042 |
| Total of cattle, | 20,325 |
| Milch ewes, | 102,305 |
| Rams and wethers, | 49,527 |
| Lambs, | 66,986 |
| Total of sheep, | 218,818 |
| Total of horses, | 26,524 |
In 1834-35, according to Mr John Barrow, jun., repeated in 1854 by Mr Pliny Miles, the total of sheep, the chief staple of the land, was 500,000. M. Eugène Robert gives 617,401 for 1845. But in 1855 appeared the disease (scabies) which, according to the “Oxonian” (p. 389), in two years killed off 200,000 head: in many parts of the island it still rages.
In 1863 Paijkull assigned 350,000 sheep and 22,000 head of black cattle to 68,000 souls. In 1871 the official numbers are: