16 A JOURNEY TO FINMARK. 



which we caught there, indicated that the insect Fauna is 

 very similar to that of the Bossekop mountains, and it pro- 

 bably continues so up to the North Cape. The small low- 

 lands of the island Kvalo, where stands Hammerfest with its 

 highly fragrant blubber refineries, are of very trifling im- 

 portance, as also the few birches and green meadows on 

 the lake close behind the town. 



The climate of Finmark, comparatively so favourable, is a 

 consequence of the Gulf stream coming from America, which 

 prevents the Fjords here from freezing in the hardest winters. 

 Nevertheless, so luxuriant a vegetation in 70° north latitude 

 is surprising. Alten is the most northern place on the globe 

 where cereals are cultivated, since barley ripens here every 

 year. On the south coast of Iceland, which is fully 6^ farther 

 south, barley does not ripen, and in the same latitudes as 

 Alten perpetual snow covers the ground in America and in 

 Siberia. In Altenthal, on the contrary, fir woods (Pinus 

 sylvestris) are plentiful, and many of these trees are at least 

 60 feet high, and have at the base a diameter of 3 — 4 feet = 

 Birches also {Betula alba), which are very plentiful, have 

 in sheltered places a height of from 50 — 60 feet, as we 

 found such at Twerdal on the eastern slope of the Reipasvara. 

 That these trees even occur at an elevation of 1000 feet I 

 have already mentioned. The dwarf birch (Betvla nana) 

 grew, especially on heathy mosses, very plentifully, both on 

 the plains and in the mountains. In moist places the alder 

 {Alnus incana) was plentiful, and occasionally as in Twerdal 

 it would attain a heioht of from 30 — 40 feet. Pruniis Pa- 

 dus, which came beautifully into blossom, grew principally 

 in Ejbydal as bushes or small trees up to 12 feet in height. 

 Populus tremida and Sorbus aucuparia were scarce and 

 principally occurred at the foot of the Skaaddavara. Cur- 

 rant hushes {Rib es ruhriun) grew very plentifully at the foot 



