New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-21
ICELAND.
A COUNTRY BETTER THAN ITS NAME.

and are again coupled with rumor that the on.
tire population of the island will presently emf.
grate in body to some portion Of the North
American Continent. The former reports are prob
ably only too truc. For a number Of years the
prosperity Of the ancient province has BEEN waning
There has been succession Of unfavorable sca-
sons, and the fisheries have not hcen as productive
as of old Then, too, many OF the strong and
lusty young men have emigrated, reducing serious
ly the working force of the community. The
population OF the island has for some time been
decreasing. Still there are nearly 10000 people
remaining and there is not on the surface OF the
globe moro Intensely loyal ard patriotic people.
They are really Chauvinistic They will not for q
moment concc ic that any ether land can compare
with theirs in attractiveness
Iceland, in fact, ia not BY any means 50 forbid,
ding Il country as its name implies. 1t is no moro
land Of ice than Greenland ia a land of vcrdure.
1t is not nearly so cold as many places IN me
United States. not to mention the Canadian Do.
minion. Tho fifty and sixty degrees below zero
registered every winter In tho Northwest Territory
and Assniboia. and even tho thirty five and forty
below experienced in Montana and Northern Da-
kota, are unhcar Of in Iceland. Neither is the
other extreme felt. Of great heat snch as thcse
very regions of North America endure. No Ic:-
lander knows what a temperature Of hundred in
the shade il. There sudden fluctuations
or great changes. The climate il remarkably
couab.n A variation Of thirty dcqrees in a month
il probably not record in tho island The clf-
mate il due of course. to the SANE that pro-
dnccs similar effect in the British Isles namely.
the Gulf Stream. This great ocean cnrr,1t washes
the southern and western shores of Iceland. and
secures it mild winter and balmy summer
There are glaciers in the island. Of course. but
xt,o iooh Tho sca ha
is never frozcn nor indeed is any floating ice, In
foes or bcrgs, ever seen. save on rare occasions
on tie northern coast. Now and then, in summer,
prolonged storms will carry floating ice across
from the Greenland coast, and drive il upon the
northern shore Of Iceland together with cold fog
and rain In this way polar bears are also some
times landed on the island. On the other hand.
the winters are 50 mild that thun1erstorms often
occur in then. In fact. most OF the tlundefsorms
in Iceland are in tie winter months
Agrculturay however, the climate Of Iceland
is less favorable than that Of Nlanitobl. Inc
summer is cooler and vegetation Therefore natures
less rapidly. For that reason IL is impossible 10
grow any grain there. species of oats. Corn,
wheat and rye are ont of the question. The con-
fonts of the vegetable garden also limited
Tomotoas ami pumpkins, for example, cannot De
crown: nor pro fruit trees and grape vines to he
seen The chief garden products are potatoes,
cabEages carrots and turnips. all % which grow
in great luXGrianca. and ale of excellent quality.
Tho only TREE is the birch. which only reaches p
hci.ht of ten or twelve feet. Bn. the chief crop
is grass The moist climate favors it, growth,
and tho island is thus abundanty supplied with
both pasture and meadow lands. These sustain
e,cst focks of horned sheep and herds of cattle
and ponies. of all OF which great numbers are an-
nually exported to Scotland and elsewhere. Fish,
wool. tallow, feathers. sulphur. elder down ana
sharl, oil arc also important items OF foreign frane
An important industry Of the island nowadays Is
tho entertainment Of summer tourists. who leave
a great deal Of money behind them and by ac-
the islanders TO intercourse win the
outor verdi lc.p to rub al their ansulirltles ana
10 moderate the Chauvinism which. though, mosS
harmless characteristic of tho natives, mas done
not a little to retard the progress of one oil the
kindliest and most cultivated races on the lace OF
the earth. The majority of the tourists DO NOT,
however, 90 much further than ReykjavlK, una
from there to the Geysers and back again III Is
this part of Iceland, says recent writer IN mo
ordon Standard" which is most familiar to Eng.
lishmen. who form the bulk Of the visitors, and 1t
is from the people in this southern district that
fore gners form their opinion of the folk at large
H. reality the Icelanders as a whole are better
than the samples there seen. They may not IN
other parts Of the island speak English with sucn
audacty. or be- l-fellows-well-mct. as IN tho
main street of the little capital. But In almost
any mart Of the inhabited districts the courteous
visitor. especially if he possess little Danish,
may find the utmost hospitality, and less eager
ness 70 make the most out of him than the pres
once of the foreigner has so rapidly developed In
Scandinavia Even if the " rciser"
is ignorant of Danish or Icclandlc, wnlch Is tno
III form of Morse he will seldom be reduced TO tho
language Of signs. \ kandldat Tesh IRON
Reykiavik College, or, it may be- from the tni'
yersity Of Copenhagen, will talk to HIM In Latln'
unless he NAV have grown too rusty to keep up
in any dead tongue. or thanks TO tho
conservatism of our pubNc schools. he pronounces
tho ancient speech so strangely that he is forced to
converse for an evening in the praestesaard' Dy
,Hchan.ing remarks with his host in writing
Jcc;and has always been land Of learned men,
md 10 this day crudite lcednders NAV De iouhd
n almost every university of Europe. In no
,ountry is a scholar hell in so high esteem. The
our.t il conscious that the respect Of MS farmer
,ost rises pcrceptibly when he learns that the
,r.nerr is = student" and. if he only STAYS long
.noaoh th, pastor" will be cent for to discourse
With and possibly Shm mp, ' =" he aus,E ambrd%e
,octor. or a professor in that ancient university
.hch has given home to one OF the hosts
norua
hn rassman" find. for the first time, their nm
DISTINGUISHED degrees held in some esteem. DANISH
:. of course. known to most Of the better educated
cclandrrs. and both German and English are grow.
nc more general among people, all of whom can
cad and write. A glance at many farmers
,oDk.hef will he II revelation to the tourist VINO
20 nor modr himself acquainted with the history
Z This isolated branch of the Scrndinavians In
kitchen which, So far "a material comforts are
oncerned is inferior to that of many british
IN. rcr he will discover A man, much poorer than
no English yoeman who finds the ComplcSTe
'arrier' and an amanack sufficient for his infs.-
,ctu,i nutrment the owner Of works on history
cirnce and philosophy Northern publishers al
rays reckon on steady sale for any new DOCK
n Iceland. and sometimes find it profitable 10
ring ont Icelandc TRANSACTIONS. These fransa,,
IONS ara seldom novels, but trcatiscs on natural
istory and other abstrusc subjects. AMI recent
isitor TO the rcmotcr parts Of the island wts sur
risad TO find among the peasants llttls hnrirrG'
nrsions Of a work which. in the Engll'n oiisiha.'
as by no means fortune TO IT. puhllsut,r,
coplc OF this character ought TO ne Naiuaa" .o