VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF NORWAY. 265 
beautiful, and surpass in point of size and picturesque effect those 
found in more southern climes. 
Ancient trees, especially birches, are regarded with great reve- 
rence and superstition in many parts of the country. It is often 
believed, for instance, that a treasure lies concealed beneath the 
roots of such a tree, under the protection of a dragon or monster. 
No man carves his name on its trunk, as would be the case in our 
country, nor is even a twig broken off, for fear that some misfor- 
tune should happen to his cattle or his house. Indeed, on Christ- 
mas Kve, in some parts of the country, the peasants offer a liba- 
tion of beer or mead on its roots.* Dr. Schiibeler relates that 
he has been himself informed by peasants who have such a tree 
on their property, that they yearly place round the trunk loads of 
manure at a distance of several yards from it, as an offering. 
This is probably the remains of Druidical superstition; and is 
the more probable when it is mentioned that even within the 
memory of some now living, a man, who resided in a lonely dis- 
trict, had a stone image in his possession (Thors ?) to which in 
secret he used to pay devotion. It had been preserved in his 
family as a precious relic of bygone days. For even till long 
after the introduction of Christianity into the country, heathenish 
customs were retained. 
A magnificent specimen of the weeping birch is to be seen at 
Slinde, on the north shore of the Sogne Fjord, lat. 61°; it is 
about 60 feet high. It is regarded with great reverence and 
superstition. A few miles south of Throndhjem, in lat. 63°, there 
is a still finer specimen; it is 80 feet high, and the trunk is 
16 feet in girth. 
The uses to which the birch-tree is put are numerous. Not 
only is it most valued as fuel, but it is used largely for articles of 
household furniture. The twigs are carefully collected as fodder 
for the cattle during winter, and the bark (Norsk “ Never ”) is 
used for making baskets, &c., and roofing houses. The method 
of employing it for this latter purpose is as follows :—Pieces 
1—13 foot square are placed on the framework of the roof in 
layers, as is the case with tiles or slates. A thin coating of 
earth is then spread over it, over which again turf is laid, so that 
the whole roof is about 1 foot in thickness. 
* Miss Martineau, in ‘ Feats on the Fjord,’ alludes to this custom. 
