5U ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



but we find this custom, which 

 appears so very singular to natives 

 of the south, only prevalent in 

 Roraas, and a few of the vallies 

 which surround Drontheim ; for 

 in the whole of the rest of Nor- 

 way, so far as I know, nothing 

 similar is observable. They care- 

 fully collect the horse-dung, and 

 give it to their cows, who eat it 

 with great eagerness. It is also 

 frequently boiled in great kettles, 

 and a little meal mixed up with 

 it; and then, not only cows be- 

 come thriving and fat upon it, but 

 also sheep and geese, hens and 

 ducks. Even horses themselves 

 are fond of this mess. It is also 

 the usual mode of fattening pigs. 

 The horses eat scarcely any thing 

 but Norwegian herbs. Perhaps the 

 other domestic animals might not 

 be so fond of digested barley and 

 hexel. At present, however, this 

 stuff seems of such necessity to 

 the Norwegian boors for the sup- 

 port of their cattle in winter, that 

 the want of it would expose them 

 to great embarrassment. 



The inhabitants of Drontheim 

 are also employed in a few manu- 

 factures, which in time, perhaps, 

 may be of some importance. The 

 commander of the town (Stadt- 

 hauptmann), M. Lysholm, has 

 made a successful attempt to pre- 

 pare colours out of the extraordi- 

 nary richness of the Norwegian 

 lichens, and the collection of these 

 lichens seems to gi*^e employment 

 to a number of boors in Opdalen. 

 It is by no means an unimportant 

 branch of trade, as is easily proved 

 by the immense quantity of li- 

 chens which the English annually 

 drew from the small harbour of 

 Christiansand. M. Lysholm also 



carries on a saltpetre manufactory, 

 and another for converting impure 

 sea-salt into white kitchen and ta- 

 ble salt. -J 



Cloth, linen, and carpets, are ma- *l 

 nufactured in the great house of 

 correction ; and the poor-house 

 also gives out manufactured linen. 

 This is, however, of no great im- 

 portance. 



Every time we proceed through 

 the streets of Drontheim, we are 

 struck with the beauty of the town, 

 and yet it is altogether built of 

 wood. I do not believe there are 

 more than four stone houses in the 

 whole circumference of the town, 

 and these are miserable and in- 

 considerable buildings. But the 

 wooden houses have an uncom- 

 monly agreeable appearance here, 

 as in every one we see, the endea- 

 vours of the possessor to ornament 

 the exterior as much as possible is 

 strongly visible, and the endeavour 

 is frequently crowned with suc- 

 cess ; for the delicacy of feeling 

 and taste of the inhabitants is not 

 confined to their mode of living, 

 but extends to every thing around 

 them. At least, I was impressed 

 with the idea that there was a 

 greater air of ornament, neatness, 

 and beauty in this place, than in 

 Christiania ; something more in the 

 Dutch, or rather more in the 

 English taste, than we perceive in 

 any of the other Norwegian towns. 

 It would have been better, how- 

 ever, to have gradually built houses 

 of stone ; for Drontheim has not 

 only more than once experienced 

 a total destruction from fire, but 

 wood is also a material which can 

 never be converted into a good, 

 durable, and ornamental edifice. In 

 tlie Munkegade, for example, tlte 



