SPORT IN NORWAY. 15 



will preserve him from spasms and the cramp. It 

 would appear that the Kussians entertain a somewhat 

 similar superstition, for when they sell lynx-skins to 

 the Chinese, they charge a much higher price for them 

 if the fore-claws are included. 



The wild cat (Felis catus) is pretty common in woods 

 of deciduous trees in the south of Norway, especially 

 in the neighbourhood of Tonsberg. It is rather larger 

 in size than the domestic cat, and varies in colour, 

 being brown, gray, and sometimes light blue. When 

 captured young it is easily tamed, but it is not a 

 favourite in households, as its habits are dirty. This 

 creature is an excellent swimmer, and dives readily 

 under water in pursuit of rats. The young of this 

 species are grotesque little things ; they have hair six 

 inches long, and a large unwieldy head, but are very 

 playful. 



SPORT IN NORWAY. 



There is no battue shooting in this country; and 

 sport, so called, is very different here to what it is in 

 Great Britain. The English sportsman who bags his 

 eight or ten brace of birds in a single day here, will 

 have reason to consider himself lucky, while the labour 

 will be great. But the healthy exercise, the pure 

 mountain air, the grand and picturesque scenery, and 

 the entire absence of constraint, will have the most 

 exhilarating and wholesome effects on the constitution 

 of a man in good health. No delicate person should 

 think of undertaking a journey in this country, either 

 for sport or pleasure. 



Some of the best sport in Norway is to be had in 

 Thelemarken, a district reached without difficulty from 



