88 Freminville's Voyage to the North Pole. 



Europe, large enough to form nearly the whole of the Islandic 

 Flora. 



Not a single tree is to be seen in the whole district of Patrix 

 Fiord ; and even in the other parts of the island, it is with 

 difficulty you can light on a few dwarfish willows, and some 

 stunted birch-trees. Many fruitless attempts have been made 

 to sow or plant the pine and fir, from Europe ; but though 

 they have succeeded in the fine season, the young shoots 

 were never able to stand the long and rigorous winter of a 

 climate so frozen. No credit must be given to what M. Horre- 

 bow reports, in his description of Iceland, wherein he makes 

 mention of fruitful plains, and immense pastures ; his work, 

 drawn up from the false accounts of the Dutch fishermen, is 

 replete with the grossest errors. That of Anderson, built on the 

 same authorities, is but little better ; and the fact is, that we 

 have in Europe but very lame and imperfect accounts of this 

 country, so very extraordinary and interesting in many respects. 



Iceland extends from N. to S. between 66 deg. 44 ruin, and 

 62 deg. 22 min. 30 sec. lat. and from W. to E. between 27 deg. 

 5 min. and 18 deg. 26 min. long. W. of the meridian of Paris. 

 Its greatest length may be about 133 leagues, and its breadth 

 about fifty-six ; the island contains a superficies of about 5,500 

 square leagues. 



Exclusive of a number of towns and hamlets, there are four 

 principal cities ; but in Europe, these cities would only pass 

 For villages ; they are built of wood, with planks brought 

 from Denmark. The first is Holum, in the north ; the second, 

 named Skalholt, is in the south; both are the sees of a bishop. 

 The third lies to the S. W., and is called Bessested; this is 

 the residence of the governor, and the only place in the island 

 where there is a small fort armed with six eight-pounders, 

 mounted on carriages that are falling to pieces with age; to 

 the N.E. is the fourth city, called Skrida. 



The interior of Iceland is but little known; the whole island, 

 however, may be pronounced a mass of volcanic rocks, whose 

 sides, black and burnt, whose summits, sharp and craggy, 

 present a prospect of the most singular kind. There is 

 not a single point in this sad country which does not seem to 

 have undergone the action of fire ; one consequence is, that 

 there is not a country on the globe more fertile in volcanic 

 phenomena. 



The mountains, which are all very lofty, are formed of lava 

 and basalt; you cannot find there the slightest vestige of 

 vegetable soil. In winter, the extreme cold splits these cal- 

 cined mountains, and causes enormous fragments of them to 

 fly off, which, in their fall, divide into a number of others, 



