I miss Scotland, and so when I came across the word soum, my heart promptly melted. This ancient word means
the amount of pasturage which will support one cow or a proportional number of sheep or other stock.
Would that it were so simple. Dear Scotland having a charmingly perverse side, it also means its very opposite. It also stands for
the number of sheep that can be maintained on a certain amount of pasture. "A soum of sheep" varies, depending on the quality of land, between four and ten.
If that is unclear, then ask a Highlander to explain, especially if he's just had a wee dram...
