The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-23
HOW NORWEGIAN PEASANTS EARN A LIVING
Nll By SIR HERBERT MAXWELL saRr.Mp [1A0
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'SSt' AOi Al tndt were 10 Iall, there Is nOtn-
ing TO keep the cattle and sheep alive dur
ing the long. dark and terribly rigorous
winter. So at the end Of June the whole
population is astir; rows of mowers pursue
their rhythmical toll in the meadows, men
and girls turn the math, and the glorious
sunshine, enduring at midsummer for
twenty hours out OF the twenty-four do
the rest. The hay ripens while you wait"
This Is the only season at which Norsemen
seem TO be In a hurry. There is no use
for haste" runs their proverb, except in
catching feas." Once the main hay crop
is secured in the roomy wooden barns. the
stress of work Is past; but there still re-
mains enough to occupy the days The
riverside meadows have yielded their spoil,
but the woodland glades and mountain
lawns remain TO be shaver, and this is
done with scrupulous and minute diligence.
BY means of miniature scythes every green
thing Is shorn close, and, where the sun
comes not readily. is hung on what resem-
bles gigantic towel horse, to be convert
ed into what passes for hay. have seen
swathes containing less of grass than lily
of-the-valley leaves; sprays of birch ash
and rowan also serve their turn, cut and
dried, TO be mumbled in the dark of winter
by the patient live stock. Even potato tops
are carefully garnered for the same pur-
pose; and, inasmuch as these are not full
grown till early autumn when there is less
sunshine, they require special care in prep
aration.
Primitive methods OF culture suffice for
the patches of potato, oats and rye which
constitute the entire arabic effort on most
of the farms. One seldom sees rich mid
den" or dungstead, such as is the glory of a
Scottish stealing; and although much of
the land under cultivation, often composed
of merely granite sand and therefore nat
urally poor, shows signs of extreme exhaus-
ton, the owners generally seem Indifferent
to the virtues of manure. Hence some
of the oat fields contain as much poppy as
corn. could not but smile yesterday as 1
beheld the operations of farmer-proprie-
tor OF more advanced views. His was a
good and substantial house, fine veranda
along the sunny front, and broad expanse
of meadow land stretching away TO the
Logon river. He sat in his veranda in a
wide-brimmed straw hat, watching two
lads who were maneuvering a cart in the
meadow. In the cart was a tank, and a
chance flow of wind waited that to my
what was in that tank. 1t was liquid
manure OF the most concentrated and over
towering aroma. So far so good, from an
agricultural point of view; the comic part
was in the application of this fluid gold.
The two lads each piled a utensil like a
rather large breakfast cup, holding about
an imperial pint, which they plunged into
the tank, regardless of the appalling stencil,
i,vor a
then scattered the contents on the grass.
1t seemed never to have occurred either to
them or their employer (who was no doubt
their father how much labor might have
been saved by using a larged vessel, at
tached to a long handle, and how much
more economically the manure might have
been applied in spring, instead of just as
all growth was about to be stopped by the
winters snow.
The corn harvest is of infinitely less mo-
ment than the hay crop to farmers, small
and large; but it is not less elaborate and
picturesque, because, although the grain
may be poorly ripened and of Indifferent
quality. the straw grows long and rank in
the heat and moisture Of sheltered valleys
and it is of high value as winter fodder.
Generally it is battered and twisted into
an apparently hopeless condition by the
August rains before il is nearly ready for
the sickle; but the area under corn is
seldom considerable, and long practice has
made the husbandman skillful in reaping
oats and rye under the most adverse con-
ditions. So far the operations have diff
fered not at all from what may be wit
messed on any Highland croft; now comes
the picturesque feature which distinguishes
the true Northlander harvest. Brches, or
young pines, ten or twelve feet high, hav-
ing been felled in readiness, all the branch
es Topped of except those on one side.
which are left as pegs about six inches
long. Then these poles are set up and
the sheaves are hung on the pegs, so that
the little field assumes the aspect of
grove Of golden columns at fair intervals.
1t is method both practical and scientific,
for the grain is kept off the wet soil and
the sheaves are exposed to every breath of
air and every ray OF sunshine, but it
would not serve the Scotland farmers turn
by reason of the scarcity of wood in his
country and the superfiuity of wind.
The mention of wood brings us to a
notable feature of rural life in Norway.
Every farmer owns the land he tills, and
always a good deal more that he doesn't
till-uncultivable forest, TO wit, whereon
he relies to supply him with building ma
terial, with fuel, and often the main part
Of his income by sales to the wood mer-
chant. Economically the system is a dis
astrous one Every owner cuts and carves
his own portion of che great forest accord
ing TO his fancy, without any obligation
to provide or to protect young growth.
Anything marketable may be felled ana
sent down the river to the sawmill or the
shipper at the mouth. The great bulk of
what is so disposed of consists of Scots
pine of forty or fifty years growth-al-
most the most valuable timber that could
be grown; for pine timber is not mature
under from seventy TO one hundred years
of age The pine sows itself profusely;
there is no ground game except in lem
ming years to interfere with its growth;
but with the young pines springs up a dense
crop of birch and alder. which are often
allowed to overshadow and destroy the
yourg pines In many fine dals. therefore,
the pines have well-nigh disappeared. and
the mountain sides bear nothing but birch
and alder, which, however beautiful TO the
eve in summer. ft only for firing
obviously a source of material wealth 10
Observation-Disclosures in the aggregate-is
herein neglected. Cooperation between