The Minneapolis journal., 1901-10-03

terms on Norwegian ranches and receive
the same wages. There is little danger of
the cattle wandering away, because the
Norwegian cows are very domestic and are
so accustomed to be stabbed that usually
they have to be driven away from the
houses; but the mountain saeters are ex-
posed to the wolves. which often attack
them If they are not watched
The dairy maids are called "saeterjen-
ter" They are supposed to have partic-
| ular costume, although l have never seen
it worn. The garments worn by the "sae-
terjenter" in this part OF the country are
very plain and ordinary, and seem to have
! been selected for wear and not for looks.
There Is good deal Of romance about
saeter life in books, but should say that
there is very little in actual experience.
Many Of the charming fairy stories in
Norwegian literature have their scenes at
these mountain dairies The saeter girls
have a peculiar and melodious cattle call,
known as the "Huldrelok," which is said
| to have been inherited from the "Huldre-
| folk" species of fairies which are very
| pretty, but unfortunately have tails The
| folk lore is rich in stories Of the "Huldre-
| folk" Usually aoyoung farmer falls in
| love with one OF the girls, and when he
+, discovers that she has a tail, is so shocked
| and disappointed that he throws himself
over precipice; or perhaps the 'tHuldre-
| folk" gobble him up and carry him off
into the mountains of the. Josteldalsbrae
and keep him there, while the girl he left
behind him grieves herself to death be-
cause OF his desertion.
We visited a saeter yesterday and found
| two young people, boy and a girl, neither
of them over II if we could judge from ap-
/ pearances, in charge of fifteen COWS, and
| they expected to remain in that desolate
| place all summer making butter and myse-
est, the native cheese which is of a brown
ish color and looks like maple sugar 1t is
| not so strong as Dutch or Swiss cheese,
| and has sweet, insipid taste that is very
much liked by the Norwegians. 1t is only
one Of many varieties, however. You can
| get pungent cheese without difficulty. In
the country districts cheese is one Of the
chief articles of diet, and at the little inns
along the highways 1t is furnished in all
grades of taste and smell. few varie-
| ties are quiet, tame and humble; the rest
| is more or less aggressive, and some is
actually violent ] have known a certain
woman to leave the table when the cover
is lifted from a modest-looking Norwegian
cheese, and I have often been required to
ascertain its exact location and secure
seats at the other end of the table before
she will go in to breakfast.
poet, although her brother seemed stup-
i'd, and even liberal presents of money did
not wake him up or make him Interesting.
do not suppose that this child had ever
been twenty miles from the humble cabin
in which she was born, but the wide, wide
world had been opened to her through the
books she studied at school. She could talk
little English, and knew a good deal
about the United States. She has a
in MinnAGnta nd Oir ri
and boys from her neighborhood have
gone across the Atlantic and found homes
upon the saeterless prairies of the north
west She would like to go herself, she
said, but her parents are getting DID, her
mother is in poor health and the entire
responsibility of the household and the
farm work Is upon her little shoulders.
Yet she is brave and contented. Her
mind is clear, her imagination is active,
and among her homely surroundings she
has found food for thought and an oppor-
tunity to give expression to the poetic
sentiments that inspire her. Each of
her fifteen COWS has a name One she
calls the Moon Lady, because she often
wanders away at night; another the Crown
Wearer, because OF a peculiar tuft upon
her head. She addresses them all in terms
Of affection and talks to them and seeks
their sympathy, for, poor child, they and
that stupid, tow-headed ''broder'' are her
only companions in that desolate place.
1t is singular fact that barley, rye and
oats will ripen in this latitude, not far
from the polar circle in exactly the same
time, ninety days, that it requires In the
south of France provided the seed has
been grown in this climate. This is ex-
planned by botanists on the theory that the
length of the arctic days compensate for
the lack OF heat, although the direct rays
of the SUM- as in Dakota and Canada, are
warm and penetrating Botanists have
also observed that the leaves of the trees
in the northern districts of Norway are
larger than those of the same species
grown in southern regions Of Europe. A
maple, for example brought from Italy
will grow leaves twice as large if trans
planted to this northern latitude. This
leaf development is also attributed to the
long continuance of sunlight in the sum-
mer | have already alluded in previous
letters to the deep eolors of the flowers
ard the richer flavor of the fruits, which
are explained upon the same theory
Wheat can be cultivated as far north as
the 65th parallel; barley is pretty sure to
ripen in eight weeks up to the 10th degree
of latitude and oats can be grown with
profit as high AS the 72d degree. Oats
are grown more than any other cereal.
then barley and mangcorn, species OF
grain which is said to be mixture of bar
ley and cats 1t is fit for human food and
equally good as fodder for cattle, espe-
cially for fattening swine. The Lapps mix
1t with the milk of the reindeer and make
cake which is believed to be preventive
of scurvy. Wheat yields an average OF
169 bushels to the acre, rye 17.3, barley
1872 and oats 16.4. 1t requires native
seed, however, to produce these cropss