891 



b. The moistness of the soil. Tlie abiindaiil rainfall gives 

 rise to innumeiable watercourses of small size and ot'ten aclive for 

 a short time only. One may safely say of the Færoes that they 

 are irrigated by fresh-water. The water bears with it dissolved 

 materials and the fine-soil, which accumulate when the course of 

 the water is blocked. If the impediment is such as to prevent the 

 water from going further, then it gathers to form a pool or a lake, 

 according to circumstances. If the lake is fairly large, it never be- 

 comes completely overgrown by vegetation, because growth pro- 

 ceeds much too slowly for Ihis. If, however, the accumulalion of 

 water is small, then gradually a swamp of Eriophornm is formed, 

 followed by Carices, etc, and (inally Ihere remains a tirm bed of 

 peaty matter. 



Peaty soil plays an important part on the Færoes. The ex- 

 cessive moisture in the soil and air, along with the low temperature, 

 result in that incomplete decomposilion of vegetable matter, which 

 is characteristic of peat. The condition may be still further assisted 

 by a close covering of piants with roots interwoven so as to hin- 

 dering the access of air. In this way most soils with a fairly large 

 supply of organic matter become humous^ Every kind of humous 

 soil may be found from the fairly dry conditions in the smaller 

 lowland tracts of Calluna-heath and the expanses of Grimmia-healh 

 on the mountain-plateaux, onwards to the moist spongy swamp-peat. 

 Much the greater part of the area under vegetation has peaty soil. 

 Hence the Færoeses in bringing soil under cultivation encourage the 

 outflow of water by draining and other aerating operations. They 

 strive to change a hydrophilous sedge-moor into a mesophilous 

 grass-meadow, and the soil from peat lo mould or loam. 



Mould. The mould-earth is confined as a rule to the cultivated 

 areas, although beyond these it also occurs to a limited extent. 

 When the drainage conditions are good and the situation favour- 

 able, as on slopes and mountain-terraces (Hamre), one finds an 

 abundant vegetation of grasses and herbaceous piants (Græsli) with 

 a substratum of mould. As might be expected, every gradation 

 occurs from mould to peat, and on quite small areas these changes 

 may be so frequent as to give the vegetation a varied and motley 

 appearance. In the lower zone of the hill pasture one may fre- 



' For the formalion of humus in arctic countries see H. Hesselman: Om 

 mykorrhiza-hildningar hos arktiska våxter; Bili. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handl., vol. 26, III. 

 2, 1900. 



