Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-01-24
Norway
Its Geography, Climate, Govern
ment, Social Institutions
and ResOurces-
BY HON. r. o. RICHARDS OF HURON.
Christiana, Norway.
August, 81, 1907.

tinual Zlgzag OF winding bays IN be-
tween the various rock formations in
shape Of mountains rising out Of the
briny deep. The water in these
fjords is very deep, the Longefjord
for instance, is 100 feet deep in
places; as a rule, a narrow cultivated
valley leads up into the interior from
the inner shore line of most of the
fjords. These valleys are generally
fertile and we'll sheltered and some of
them run clear across the country
and form the farming districts of
Norway. The vegetation is very good
for so northern a region and the flora
is unusually rich; wild flowers such as
the violet, %dandeliOn, buttercup, but
ter-bowl, white wise, blue wise, lily of
the valley, blue bell, marguerite,
wild rose, and innumerable other
varieties grow in p%rofusion on the
hillsideS and woods everywhere. In
the marshes and mountains along the
coast and where trees, moss and other
vegetation do lot grow, the heather
seems to have taken possession from
Cape Lindelsnes to the North Cape.
The heather Lyng) by the way, is
the national flower of Norway and it
seems to be in full evidence every
where, and delightfully."- beautiful it
is, that little evergreen shrub, with
its fine purple lilac blossom, which
tries so hard to hold on from season
to season and often shows it's flower
through the snow in the winter, as
if to say, II am blooming yet. I am
your chosen national flower and am
doing my best to hold on till a new
flower of my own kind comes on to
take my place." but, alas! it loses
color during winter and by spring the
flower is withered and seemingly fro
zen up, though frequently still in
position ON the little shrub yet try
ing to hold it's place till the following
August when it blooms anew.
OF small wild fruit, the country
abounds. Blueberries, strawberries,
raspberries and blackberries grow all
over the southern part. The apple
and plum and cherry tree grows up to
66 degrees, north, while currants.
gooseberries, strawberries, raspber-
ries and the common bilberry occur as
far north as the North Cape.
Along the southern coast, in the
proximity of the sea, grow the follow
ing trees: Apricots, aspalia fig, Eng
lish walnut, chestnut and the acacia
as we'll as many other varieties not
common to this latitude; but on &C
count of the Gulf Stream seem to
survive. ~
Wheat is cultivated as far as to IS
degrees north and in the southern
districts up to an altitude Of 1000
feet; rye grows as far north as SO de-
grees, well into the Arctic Circle,
and in the south up to an altitude of
1900 feet; barley and oats occur up to
10 degrees north and in the south to
an altitude of 2, 100 feet.
takes exactly the same time 100 days.
to ripen at Alien 10 degrees north
latitude, as at Christiana and in
southern France, which is generally
explained by the great length of the
arctic days which c~ompensates for the
lack of warmth.
The foliage on the trees in north
ern Norway is much larger than in
the southern part, while the tree it.
self is smaller, the abnormal leaf de-
velopment is also attributed to the
continuous sunlight; what effect the
%protracted light will produce on color
of flowers and the flavor of fruits is
not yet determined.
The cultivated land in Norway oc-
cupies the insignificant area of abort
LOO square miles; while in Sweden,
there is nearly 11,OOO square miles in
cultivation.
OF animal life, Scandinavia includes
most OF the domestic and other ami
mails common in North America, be-
sides some which are now extinct
there, particularly those which are
peculiar TO the arctic regions. Among
the animals most characteristic of
the country are the reindeer, a very
useful mammal and about the sole
support Of the nomadic Lapps.
Among beasts of prey, the bear and
wolf are still common in many parts
of Norway and the lynx and glutton
occasionally occur. The government
offers a bounty of 25 kroner for the
killing of one of these.
Among the larger game is the
pretty elk (Cervis Alces) now becom-
ing scarce, next to which rank the
reindeer, which is yet to be found in
wild state, and the red deer. The
handsomest Of game birds in Norway
is the CTiur) cock of the wood, re-
sembling the wild turkey; then comes
the (Aarhane) black cock, and the
.(Rype, Ptarmigan,) and the (hjerpe)
hazel grouse, which are quite plenti-
full and s 70 Ire wild geese and ducks.
Among the latter variety, the elder
duck is most important, which
abounds in the arctic circle. It is,