264 SPORT IN NORWAY. 
BEAM-TREE (Sorbus Aria, Ortz. “Asal,” or “ Hasal”).—Is 
found here and there in valleys up to lat. 632°, and probably 
grows further north. 
Beecu (Fagus sylvatica, L. “ Bog”).—Only to be found wild 
in the south of Norway, where woods of this tree may be found. 
It scarcely attains a higher altitude than 800 feet above the sea. 
The northern limit for the wild beech is a few miles above 
Bergen, where there is a small wood of it. Cultivated, it will 
thrive as far north as Throndhjem. 
Near the town of Laurvig there is a beech-tree 80 feet high ; 
the trunk measures 8 feet 4 inches in diameter. It is about 154 
years old, As an instance of the quick growth of the beech, 
there is a tree near Frederickshald which was planted as a young 
sapling in 1829. In 1861 it had attained a height of 54 feet. 
The PurpLe Beecu (Ff. sylvatica purpurea, Ait).—Is not 
uncommon in gardens. 
BERBERRY (Berberis vulgaris, L. “ Berberis””).—Whether it is 
indigenous or not is rather doubtful. It was, not improbably, 
introduced by the monks in the middle ages. It is found in a 
wild state in several places in the south, usually in the neigh- 
bourhood of towns. Grows in abundance near Christiania. The 
fruit will ripen as far north as Throndhjem. ‘There are about 14 
varieties cultivated. 
Bircu (Betula, “ Birk”).—Of those species which form large 
woods, it is probably B. verrucosa, Ehrh, which is most common 
in lowlands. JB. glutinosa is found furthest north. The birch 
limit is reckoned by this species. 
Feet above the Sea. 
At Jerkin . . lat. 62°, the limit of birch is about 3,700 
9, Alten . 4 95 70° ” ” » 1,657 
», Hammertest. ,, 70° 40' 59 33 = 828 
The altitude, however, differs much from local causes. Thus, 
on the eastern side of the Folge Fond, lat. 60°, it is 2,100 feet, 
while it is 1,900 feet on the western side. In lat. 70° trees 
of 20 to 30 feet high may be found. Birch-trees 70 to 80 feet 
high, with stems 9 to 18 feet in girth, are found in several places 
in Norway. These generally belong to that variety called the 
weeping birch, whose delicate hanging branches will attain a 
length of 12 to 16 feet, and even more. They are peculiarly 
