THE MAGAZINE 



OF 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



APRIL, 1836. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. Notes of a Natural History Tour in Norway, 

 By Edward Forbes, Esq. 



(Continued from VIII. 307., and concluded.) 



From Tiroe we sailed to Bondhuus, a small village at the 

 upper end of the Marenger-fiord, a branch of the Hardanger- 

 fiord, about a Norwegian mile in length, presenting scenery 

 of the wildest and most romantic kind. It is very narrow, 

 winding amongst mountains of great elevation, whose summits 

 are white with perpetual snows, and whose sides rise almost 

 perpendicularly from the water. At one place, a large and 

 unbroken waterfall plunged from a great height at once into 

 the sea. The village of Bondhuus is situated at the entrance 

 of a valley, the other end of which is adorned by the beautiful 

 glacier of that name. The glacier is about ten miles distant 

 from the houses ; but so near did it seem to be, that, although 

 we had arrived at a late hour, we proposed to our peasant 

 landlord a walk to the glacier whilst our supper was preparing. 

 The deceptive appearance of such masses of ice is well known 

 to such as have travelled in Switzerland. 



We visited the glacier next morning. It is situated at the 

 end of a small lake, formed by the melting of the snows, and 

 presenting the beautiful milky blue colour which characterises 

 waters from such a source. The Bondhuus glacier is a branch 

 of the great Folgefund, but is diminishing yearly, and ex- 

 tended several hundred yards from its present limits twelve 

 years ago. Around its base grew Cerastium alpinum and 

 aquaticum, Silene rupestris ; Saxifraga Cotyledon, stellaris, 

 and caespitosa ; Phleum alpinum, and many other alpine 

 plants. On our return to Bondhuus, we proceeded by boat 

 to Viger, our next station. As usual, we were overtaken by 



Vol. IX. — No. 60. o 



