In viking land; Norway: its peoples, its fjords and its fjelds by Monroe W. S. (Will Seymour) 1863-1939

Author:Monroe, W. S. (Will Seymour), 1863-1939
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boston, L. C. Page and company
Published: 1908-10-16T05:00:00+00:00

STEAMER - YACHT, " HAAKON VII."

LOCK IN THE SKEIN - NORDSJO - BANDAK CANAL.

Highways, Railways, Waterways 161

'^ and dnring the long dark winter the storms howl and rage, and hnrl the waves in white showers of spray against the sky. Great swarms of sea-birds drift like snow over the waters, and circle screaming round the lonely cliffs. The aurora borealis flashes like a huge shining fan over the northern heavens, and the stars glitter with a keen frosty splendour. But in the summer all this is changed, suddenly as by a miracle. Then the sun shines warmly, even within the polar circle, innumerable wild flowers sprout forth, the swelling rivers dance singing to the sea, and the birches mingle their light green foliage with the darker needles of the pines. In the southern districts it is light throughout the night, even during the few hours when the sun dips beneath the horizon; the ocean spreads like a great burnished mirror under the cloudless sky, the fishes leap, and the gulls and eider-ducks rock tranquilly upon the waters. All along the coast there are excellent harbours, which are free of ice both winter and summer. A multitude of islands, some rocky and barren, others covered with a scant growth of grass and trees, afford hiding-places for ships and pasturage for cattle. Moreover, long arms of the

ocean, the so-called fjords, penetrate far into the country, and being filled with water from the golf stream, whidi strikes the western coast of Norway, tend greatly to modify the climate."

CHAPTER XI

FABH-IilTE AND AGBIOULTUBB

Small proportion of the land surface susceptible to culUTa-tion — Fanners small promrietors — Variety of agricultural products — Haymaking — Horses and cattle—^Buildings on a Norwegian farmstead — The stabur — The mountain saeter — iJairying — Simple food — Varied industrial activities of the farmers — Norwegian names — How emigration has influenced agriculture — Attempts to improve agricultural conditions — Land and cultivation loans — AgriciUtural societies and education — Increase of price in landed property— The cotter system — Entails and community property.

When it is recalled that sixt^ per cent, of the surface of Norway is occupied by bare monntainsy twenty-one per cent, by woodlands, eight per cent, by grazing lands, four per cent, by lakes, and two per cent, by ice-fields, it will be seen that very little remains for meadows and cultivated fields. As a matter of fact only seven-tenths of one per cent., or one one-hundred and fortieth of the land surface of the country, is under cultivation. Yet agriculture employs more men and yields larger monetary returns than any other occupation in Norway.

The products of the farms equal the combined returns from shipping, lumber, and fisheries.

Nine-tenths of the farms of Norway are owned by small proprietors; and, although the right to dispose of landed property is relatively free, the laws of the country favour the retention of the farms in the families possessing them. An old allodial right makes it possible to redeem at an appraised value a farm that has been sold.

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