The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-10-02
III

"esita If scenery that another das
could hardly have added nuch tu hid.
enjoyment.
Taking q boat; 1t Bergen we Ieva.-
81 II hours u winding about through
H~aI4ang-s ford. and every mlme-
presented some new attraction. These
+ lords seem to have been formed IL
- co-4Eulsion that opened great cracks
ina the mountains which line the coa-.
Of Norway. IN some places the shores
are pIeCipitous cliffs reaching frafl
The water upwards for hundreds al
feet. but for most Of the way tHe
banks slope back and are covered
with stunted pines and underground
scattered all along the way gre iH-
Vulnerable cascades and waterfalls
varying in width from a few inches to
many feet. At one olace We c8unte
II Of these in sight al one time. and
We were never out of hearing Of their
music. Some of them are haraessed
TO little SaWmiils. At one point the
boat halted within a few hundred
yards Of q great glacier which l-
raWItng down 4 mOntain gorge and
from whose mouth. as from a fouu-
tain, guShed a CeaSeiess stream. For
ages this mass of ice has been slowly
moving down from the mountains. and
every day tons upon ton melt and
disappear. but its losses at its bas-
are made good at its top and it lives
on like the human race, ever dying
and yet eyer young.
DISCRIMINATING at Ed we took a
four hours carriage ride. following Il
mountain stream to its source. cross
ing the range at an elevation Of a
tsousand feet descending along
nOther stream to the lake upon
which the village of Noss is situated.
From this point a scenic railroad.
which passes through . tunnels in 20
miles, took us back to Bergen.
As might be gathered from what has
already been said, Norway does nos
impress the tourist as a farmers para
disc, although agriculture is first
among her industries. The farms. as
seen from the routes Of travel, seem
very diminutiVe and are usually trj-
angular in form and look like wedges
inserted in the cracks of the noun
tains. occasionally a valley is broad
enough to invite the cultivation Of q
level piece of land-and the invita-
ton was long g accepted.
Potatoes grow well in Norway and
are Of excellent flavor. On the coast
boats they furnished the staple. and
sometimes almost the only vegetable,
although the bill Of fare often iLclud-
ed seven different kinds Of fish. nearly
as many varieties of old meat, half
as many brand of cheese, besides
white, brown and black bread.
Rye, barley and wheat are grown
in the southern districts. and grass
everywhere. Owing to the frequent
showers and the long days Of summer,
grass grows very rapidly, but as it IS
difficult to cure it, the people have
adopted a plan Which looks peculiar
to foreigners. They build frames that
look like sections of a fence and the
green hay is hung upon the boards or
wire, as the case may be. The lower
1OWS are protected from the rain by
tine MINER one and the air has 9rcpSS
to all of it.
About three hours drive from Ber-
gen there is a little wooded island on
which the great Norwegian yiolinist.
Ole Bull. built a ummer home where
he was wont to retire at the cOnclu-
sion Of his and where at last he
died. He was not only a great admirer
Of American institutions and of The
American people in general. but he
married an American, and his daugh-
ter returns TO Norway every year to
celebrate May II. Norway's indie
~pendence dag, at her fathers home
and with her fathers cOuntrymen.
The daughter is one of the many con-
Meeting links between the two coun-
tries. and by her invitation, extended
through our consul, Mr.. Cunningham,
we have the privilege of visiting this
historic spot. We We're glad to do so.
because ole Bull was not only one of
the great musicians OF the last century.
but he was one of the greatest Demo-
Gratis that Norway has produced-a
democrat not in partisan sense, but
in that broader sense in which it de-
scribes one who believes in the people
trusts them and labors for their well
fare.
There are many public men in Nor
way worthy of mention, but space
forbids an enumeration of them.
There is, however. a relic of great his
tCric interest to which | must devote
a line. 1t is the Viking ship. a thou
Christiania. 1t was dug up p years
ago and is fairly Well preserved. L
gives one an idea of the ships used by
those early seamen of the north whose
daring exploits make fiction seem
tame.
1t so happened lat we arrived in
Norway lust in time to attend the cOrO-
nation of King Haakon IL. and we had
our first opportunity to see royalty on
parade. The new king is a son of the
king of Denmark, and mis- Wife, Queen
Maud, is daughter of the King of Eng
land. When, last year Norway with
drew from her union with Sweden,
the crown was offered to the
son of King Oscar, but the
offer was refused, and It is
probably not too much to say
that the NOrWegianS expected it to be
refused, but they wanted to show tina,
transportation was not due To antagOn-
ism to the reigning house. It was
then rendered to the son of King
FREDERICK and accepted. | shall speaf
later of the circumstances which eE-
plain this selectiOn: it is sufficient At
present to say that the new king is a
sober, earnest notwithstanding Eoune
man of about So and seems to have
made n very favorable impression on