1028 



A point of special interest connecled with the Færoese gardens 

 lies in this, that it is only in them that we find trees on the Fær- 

 oes, the Islands as is well-known having nol a trace of woods or 

 copses. Vegetation on the Færoese hiils consists mainly of herbaceous 

 piants, as also of low ericaceous shrubs, mosses and lichens; of 

 woody piants a little larger only some few species are found grow- 

 ing wild. Thus Rosa mollis occurs at some few piaces on Stromo 

 and Ostero, Salix phylicifolia on one or two of the islands, chiefly 

 near streams and Jiinipenis commiinis var. nana on Stromo, Ostero, 

 Vaago and Svino. In the gardens on the other hånd we lind quite 

 a number of planted trees and shrubs and we can thus obtain 

 some information as to how these stand the Færoese climate. 



As the intention here is to give some details of what is culti- 

 vated in gardens, I shall first of all describe the trees and shrubs 

 and their condition and in connection with this the possibilities of 

 planting woods in the Færoes, then the remaining cultivated, her- 

 baceous flowering piants and lastly the vegetables. 



The laying out of gardens including the planting of trees in 

 tliem was in the beginning by no means an easy matter. In the 

 chapter »Om Skov og Forsøg med Træplantning«, Landt (I. c.) 

 gives a detailed description of the first »experiments in so wing and 

 planting trees and shrubs in the Færoes, but almost all with little 

 success«. And looking at the matter more closely, this was really 

 not surprising; for one thing, the voyage from Denmark or Norway 

 to the islands by sailing-ship was apt to be of long duration, so 

 that the piants which were sent ofT in spring often only reached 

 their destination late in summer. Thus, the period remaining for 

 growth that year was much shortened, to the harm of the piants, 

 and naturally they sutFered considerably likewise by their long stay 

 on board ship. A second and more especial cause of failure was 

 that no one had any experience whatsoever of what species were 

 best suited to the Færoese climate, which is by no means favour- 

 able to the growth of trees. The result was naturally that most 

 of them died within a short space of time. Landt narrates, for 

 example, that he took with him over 30 kinds of trees and shrubs 

 from the Botanical Gardens when he went from Copenhagen to the 

 Færoes in 1791 ; but according to his own statement only a very 

 few remained alive the next year and with exception of some wil- 

 lows and a few others, all the rest died one after the other in the 

 following years. In 1793 he got a number of ditTerent trees sent 



