The first thing is to secure a good place beforehand, by sending for a Boletin de Sombra, a “ticket in the shade.” The prices of the seats vary according to position; the best places are on the northern side, in the shade. The transit of the sun over the Plaza, the zodiacal progress into Taurus, is certainly not the worst calculated astronomical observation in Spain: the line of shadow defined on the arena is marked by a gradation of prices. The sun of torrid, tawny Spain, on which it once never set, is not to be trifled with, and the summer season is selected, because pastures are plentiful, which keep the bulls in good condition, and the days are longer. The fights take place in the afternoon, when the sun is less vertical. The different seats and prices are detailed in the bills of the play, with the names of the combatants, and the colors and breeds of the bulls. The day before the fight the bulls destined for the spectacle are brought to a site outside the town. No amateur should fail to ride out to the pastures from whence the cattle (ganado) are selected. The encierro, the driving them from this place to the arena, is a service of danger, but is extremely picturesque and national. No artist or aficionado should omit attending it The bulls are enticed by tame oxen, cabestros, into a road which is barricaded on each side, and then are driven full speed by the mounted conocedores into the Plaza. It is so exciting a spectacle that the poor who cannot afford to go to the bull-fight risk their lives and cloaks in order to get the front places, and the best chance of a stray poke en passant.