COXE’s TRAVELS IN NORWAY.

359

According to a feries of meteorological obfervations by Mr. Wilfe, paftor of Syde-borg, near Frederickfhall, it fnows moft in December and the middle of January, rainsin April, Auguft, and October. The cleared: weather is from the middle of Juneto the middle of July, and during the whole month of March. Winds are moft vio-lent in the middle and latter end of April, May, and October. The ftilleft feafon is111 January; from the tenth of June to the eleventh of July, and in the middle of Au-guft, a circumftance very favourable to the oat harveft, which of all corn is more liableto call its ripe grain in windy weather. If we compare the climate of Norway with theclimate of London, March at London is like April and the beginning of May in Nor-way, and the March of Norway is our January. On account of the frequent fpring«°fts, feeds ought not to be fown in gardens before the twentieth of May, and thefrofts of the latter end of Auguft are no lefs detrimental.

The heat and cold varies fo much in Norway , that in June or July, the mercury inFahrenheit’s thermometer, as obferved by Mr. Wilfe at Sydeborg, not unufually rifes to88, and on the firft of January 1782, fell to—22, or 54 degrees below the freezingPoint. At Eger according to Profeffor Stroem’s obfervations, it fell on the fame day36^; and at Kongfberg to—40, or 72 below freezing point, a degree of cold

to

oy which quickfilver is congealed. This extreme rife and fall of the quickfilver makesa difference of no degrees,between the greateft heat and greateft cold at the fameplace; a difference much more confiderable than is obferved at Upfala or Stockholm ,which lie nearly in the fame latitude as Sydeborg.

In fome places vegetation is fo quick, that corn is fown and cut in fix or feven weeks,linage cannot generally be flourifhing in a country, which is in many parts fo rockyas to defy the plough; where the climate is fo fevere that the hoar frofts begin in Sep-tember, and where the cold in the highlands prevents the maturity of the corn. The«nall vallies, and the intervals between the rocks, are ufually provided with a fruitfultod, and the induftry of the peafants covers the naked rocks and fandy grounds witha . new earth; yet the arable grounds are few, and no parts of Norway yield fuffi-oient corn for interior confumption, except the diftridts of Hedemark , Toten, and^ngerike.

. This deficiency is occafioned by the nature of the climate and foil. In fpring, andthe firft fummer months, the drought and heat are frequently fo intolerable, and the^ e getable mould fo thin, that the roots of the corn and grafs are burned up, if a fewaays of funlhine fucceed each other without rain. The greater part of the foil is alfo*° much blended with fand, that too much rain cannot fall in fpring and fummer. Ina Rtumn, on the contrary, the decreafed warmth, and great quantity of rain, preventshe corn from ripening, and not unufually, even in favourable feafons it is almoft fpoil-by the violent autumnal rains. Alfo the fmall quantity of arable land feldom liesa fiow, but is fowed every year, and therefore requires more manure than can be ufu-a % procured. 4

All thefe circumftances counteract the induftry of the farmers; even in the moft fa-v °Urable feafons, a confiderable importation of corn is annually neceffary; but in unfa-vorable harvefts the utmoft dearth is experienced in the inland parts, as the tranfport0 the corn from the fea coafts is highly expenfive.

m order to dry the corn expofed to the heavy rains, the peafants fix in the ground° r ked poles ten feet high, place rows of other poles tranfverfely, on which they file theeaves, the lowermoft row hanging about two feet from the ground. They are alfore quently obliged to bake the corn in wooden Iheds, heated by means of ftoves.

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