226 THE NATURALIST IN NORWAY. 



England; on the other hand, although various fruits 

 ripen out-of-doors here, their flavour is much inferior 

 to those of the same kind grown in more southern 

 countries. 



Wheat does not grow further north than 64, oats 

 up to 68|, rye up to 69 ; barley as high as 70. In 

 the latitude of the North Cape, the sun is above the 

 horizon from the middle of May to the end of July. 

 During that time vegetation is constantly progressing, 

 and it may be remarked that the grass grows beneath 

 the snow. The sun is below the horizon from Novem- 

 ber 17th to January 26th. There is no intermediate 

 season between winter and summer. By the end of 

 April, the season begins to change from ice and snow 

 to excessive warmth, and in the middle of May the earth 

 is covered with a green mantle, and the trees are in 

 leaf. 



The common blue hyacinth, the primrose, the snow- 

 drop, the violet, and the lily of the valley grow abun- 

 dantly in the woods round Christiania. Various spe- 

 cies of ferns are common in different parts of the 

 country, and the following plants, among others, may 

 be found: Pinguicula villosa, Triticum violaceum, 

 Epilobium origanifolium, Stellaria alpestris, Equisetwn 

 variegatum, Woodsia ilvensis, Ranunculus nivalis, Saxi- 

 fraga cotyledonj Equisetum hyemale, and Woodsia hy- 

 perborea, etc. 



Professor Blytt, an eminent Norwegian botanist, 

 who is now no more, has found in the Dovre-fjeld 

 alone, no less than 200 mosses, 150 lichens, 50 algae, 

 and 439 phanerogamous plants and ferns. 



There are no shady shrubberies in Norwegian coun- 

 try districts, as there are in England. No doubt the 



