1 92 1. No. 7, 



STUDIES OX THE LICHEN FLORA OF NORWAY. 



II 



\^SmSb^ 





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In Nordre Osterdalen the 'moss' is collected by men with an imple- 

 ment, usually a broad fork, occasionally they clear away the vegetation in 

 broad stripes. 



It is necessar}' to leave sufficient 'moss' for regeneration, and to leave 

 it in the most rational manner. It is evident that the Lapponian method 

 is more lenient to vegetation than the Norwegian one, but it is based on 

 much cheaper labour than we can procure. The experiments made suggest 

 that they also collect a smaller 

 percentage of the entire store 

 of lichen on the ground than 

 our countrymen do. — A few ex- 

 periments in Osterdalen showed 

 that the men on those occasions 

 collected about - 3 of the entire 

 store of lichen on the field. 

 At corresponding experiments 

 in Finmarken (also few) the 

 Lapponian women only collec- 

 ted about ^4 of the existing 

 store on the experimental field. 

 But these proportions vary so 

 much according to the collector 

 and the quality of the field that 

 accurate data from a few experi- 

 ments are of limited interest. 



Owing to the large areas 

 necessary to ^'ield a certain 

 weight of 'moss' yearh-, it 

 is a matter of importance to 

 collect in an economic manner. 



Dry 'moss' is very brittle, 

 so that the 'moss' must be 

 collected in a moist state. It 



then contains 40 — 70 ^/O of water; air-dry about 12 ^,0. The costs ot 

 transport constantly increase, and it is poor economy to transport so much 

 water for long distances. 'Moss presses' have been constructed to reduce 

 the quantity of water before transport (Hovem). But farmers are very 

 conservative, and as the presses are neither cheap nor easy of transport 

 they have as yet been little used. 



The weight which a horse can pull on one sledge depends upon the 

 ground — roads are rare in the mountains — The figures vary from 3 — 600 kg., 

 400—450 kg. on an average. (Fig. 5, pag. 14.) If the 'moss' is very fine 

 this quantity can be collected on a field of 80—100 m-, but generally 



Fig. 3. Small heap of Cladoiiia alpestris with a twig 

 OÏ Betula-odorata for a handle. Jægelvarre pr. Karas- 

 jok, Finmark. Author phot. 24. 7. 1917. 



