Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-05-20

! times we have open pleasant weather un-
I'll November. At times the winters are
very severe: then again for n number of
years they will be comparatively mild.
RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND
For many years now we have been
favored by an absence Of volcanic erup-
lions. and the establishment of a medical
school has prevented the recurrence Of
the plaques which used to bear down on
the people. In the old times. the histories
tell us there were 10000 people in leo
land; but through various disasters we
shrank to 5000. Now, the population Is
about 10000 and it is increasing about 10
per cent every two years, so that soon
we shall have as many people as we did
in our golden age almost n thousand
years ago. Our live stock are thriving
better than ever before, and we have
about 10000 head of cattle and 2OO0,0oD
sheep. Iceland sheep make splendid NUT
| ton, extra fine, but, of course, more eX-
penslve than the Argentine mutton you
import here. They thrive on the grass
which is slow growing and very nutri-
tious.
Iceland had good export trade in
mutton and wool, also a good butter in
dustry. Formerly we shipped butter u
England. our best production for Ameri-
ca is dried and sailed fish We have
about 10000 barrels of behring's every
year
Iceland is moro Of a pastoral than an
agricultural country. We cannot grow
wheat proftably, 80 we are compelled to
import all our breadstuffs \ fow veg
ctables. such as potatoes, will grow. but
there is constant demand for the i'm
poration of manufactured products. which
n country like ours cannot produce.
There are 20 motor cars In the island at
present, and the number is bound 20
grow with the Improvement of the roads
There are no railroads Until the auto
mobiles came people travelled entirely hr
pony-back. We have many thousands of
these small horses. fine sturdy little
beasts. Indeed, in many parts Of the
island, automobiles are not yet prac-
ticable, because of the lack Of roads. and
in the interior. like wagons cannot lc
used.
FEW TOWNS AND VILLAGES
There are a few towns and villages but
the great bulk of the population are
scattered in farms and the life of the
country is rural in its character. For
that reason. we rely largely for the cIu-
cation Of our children upon what we
call wandering teachers. Formerly most
of the houses were built of wood. which
all had to be imported and was very cX-
pensive. Lately, however. we have be-
gun to build with stone, which is con-
venient to hand inexpensive, and mucn
more durable. Tradition tells us that our
ancestors found Iceland dcnsely wooded
To-day there are few trees except
spruce and scarcely any more than 10
feet high: but the government is making
successful effort at reforestation with
pines and other hardy trees.
For fuel we use mostly peat from tho
marshes. Our people live plainly and
healthily. We have no rich men and
very few poor. Almost all are farmers
moderately well to do, able to bring 10
and educate their children. We are hap
py and contented The climate is not
hard upon US and # we are successful
in convincing Americans that it is worth
their while to trade with us, We shall
be certain Of prosperity, no matter how
long the war lasts or what happens i'm
Europe-New York Evening Pos.