Omaha daily bee., 1882-12-07
Farming In Norway.

A correspondent OF q London pa.
per writes: OF tho 1913, 900 square
miles which Norway contains, only
$500 are pasturago and only $50 are
under the pillow. The consequence is
that not only corn, but also butter
and meat have to be imported in
large quantities. From what has been
said 1t will be inferred that the coun-
try Is more pastoral than agricultural
Yet one Q very few cattle when
passing through the country In sum-
mer. The reason is that at that sea-
son, a. In Switzerland, the p~easantry
drive their cattle up the mountains,
and themselves live in "saeters" or
picturesque huts Of solid timber. Much
of the agriculture in Norway il of
the most primitive character, small
wooden plows, held by boys and
drawn by men, being still commonly
used in many parts of the country.
The principal crops grown are oats,
barley, rye and potatoes. Flax and
hemp are also successfully grown in
southern parts. The chief grain re.
gion is the valley of Lake Mjosen,
whore the growing of wheat has some
times been attempted, but not with
marked success. The hay crop, though
by no means heavy, is widely diffused.
and it ia cleaned in what would gen.
orally be deemed impossible places
on narrow lodges a thousand feet
above the sea and in deep valleys
where there ia very little sunshine.
The hay is dried in a peculiar fashion.
1t is not spread over the field, but is
hung out as in some parts Of Switzer-
land, on fences or hurdles. Rows Of
posts are set up in the fields, and
from these lines Of cord or
wire are stretched at a dis.
lance CT one foot or
eighteen inches from one another.
On these lines the hay is hung, and it
remains there In wet weather as In
dry. In wet weather the moisture
drips to the ground. In fine weather
the sun beats on the outer layers aud
the wind passes through the interior,
and whatever the state of the weather
the hay Is left there till 1t is ready to
be housed. The hay is transported
from the upland regions by a novel
continuance known as the ''hay tele-
graph" A rope or wire, sometimes
one thousand feet in length, slopes
down from the top of q precipice to
the bottom of the valley. A bundle
of hay is suspended from q ring
through which the rope or wire passes,
and ID shot down to the bottom with
lightning speed. Bundles of brush.
wood and fire.wood are sent down
from the higher ground In the same
way. The soythe generally used in
moving the hay is much smaller thar
that in use in England. In the
Valdres route, however, near Odnaer,
I noticed some attempts at what woulo
be called scientific farming. In one
field q moving machine was at work,
and in another the hay had baer
spread out In the English fashion and
was being turned over by a revolving
rake drawn by a horse. Both machinel
were evidently of recent importation,
and attracted the attention of the
natives much more than that of the
foreigners. Whatever may be said Of
the Norwegians, 1t can not but be ad'
mitted that they are most ingenious
in devising contrivances which at once
save their labor and take full advan'
tage of the peculiar conformation Of
their country. Their timber-shootI
are another instar ce of their laborioul
ingenuity. They make wood-ways oil
slides which extend over hundreds q
feet from the tops of the hills to the
seashore.