ICELAND 



2906 



ICE YACHTING 



Women vote on equal terms with men, and 

 there are no property qualifications. The capi- 

 tal and only town of importance is Reykjavik, 

 which has about 12,000 inhabitants. There are 

 but few real villages. 



Discovered in 870 by the Norwegians, Ice- 

 land was speedily settled, for the severe cli- 

 mate was easier to bear than the severe rule of 

 the Norwegian king, and by 930 a sort of re- 

 public had been established which was not dis- 

 solved for about four centuries. In the year 

 1000 Christianity was introduced, and from that 

 time growth in civilization was steady. A 

 really remarkable literature developed in the 

 twelfth and thirteenth centuries, partly as a 

 result of the isolation of the island and its 

 rigorous climate; for during the long winter 

 the people found their chief delight in listen- 

 ing to stories, and it was those hero-tales which 

 were worked up into the classics of the lan- 

 guage. 



All this time Iceland had been independent, 

 but in 1262 it became united with Norway, and 

 eighteen years later passed with the latter 

 country under the sway of Denmark. The out- 

 standing events in the centuries that followed 

 centered about natural forces rather than po- 

 litical contacts. Volcanic eruptions were fre- 

 quent, and were almost always followed by 

 floods from the glaciers which the hot lava had 

 melted. Of all these eruptions, the most dis- 

 astrous was that of Laki, in 1783, by which one- 

 fifth of the inhabitants were killed. There were 

 earthquakes, too, and famine; cholera and the 

 black death, the latter carrying off in two dread 

 years about two-thirds of the population. 



Within these troubled years the Reformation 

 was introduced into Iceland and spread rapidly. 

 England captured the island during the Na- 

 poleonic wars, but surrendered it to Denmark 

 in 1815. In 1918 by mutual consent Iceland be- 

 came free, and accepted the king of Denmark 

 as its sovereign. This plan is to continue for 

 forty years ; at the end of that period the island 

 will determine upon its future. There is no 

 more law-abiding group of citizens in the world, 

 probably, than the Icelanders. It is said there 

 is not a jail on the island. A.MC c. 



Consult Maccoll's The Story of Iceland; Leith's 

 Iceland. 



Related Subjects. The reader who is inter- 

 ested in Iceland is referred for related material 

 to the following articles in these volumes : 

 Edda Northmen 



Fiord Reykjavik 



Geyser Sagas 



Hekla Volcano 



ICELAND MOSS, a species of lichen 'that 

 grows in abundance in Iceland and on the 

 mountains of many northern countries, such as 

 Scotland and Norway. It grows to a height of 

 about one and one-half to four inches, and on 



TWO VARIETIES OF ICELAND MOSS 



account of its erect growth has the appear- 

 ance of a moss. The plant is used in Iceland 

 as a food, being either dried and beaten into a 

 powder, from which bread is made, or boiled 

 with water and milk until it is transformed into 

 a jelly. Iceland moss is used in industry for 

 dressing the warp in weaving, and also in the 

 manufacture of paper. See LICHENS. 



ICELAND SPAR, the mineral through which 

 we can see double, that is, through which we 

 can see two objects where there is only one. 

 Iceland spar is a variety of calcite (which see), 

 which forms in perfect transparent crystals, the 

 latter being in the form of a rhombus. It 

 takes its name from the fact that it is found 

 in Iceland. When one of the crystals of Ice- 

 land spar is placed over a dot or a line two 

 dots or two lines are seen, the peculiarity being 

 due to double refraction of light. See POLARI- 

 ZATION OF LIGHT, for illustration of the phe- 

 nomenon above explained. 



ICE YACHTING, y of ing, a sport of dis 

 tinctly American origin, and still almost ei 

 tirely confined to the United States and Cai 

 ada. Russia has in a slight measure adoj 

 it, but in no other country has it ever reached 

 the position of a regular winter pastime, 

 original ice yacht consisted merely of a squar 

 box with an ordinary skate on each side ai 

 one at the back to serve as a rudder; but 

 speedy yachts consisting of a long beam 

 body with a crossbar, and a spread of 

 capable of producing a speed of seventy mil( 

 an hour and more, have been developed. At 

 each end of the crossbar a skate is faste 

 and another is used as a rudder, being att 

 to the lengthwise bar or body of the era 

 The box for the passengers may be elliptical 



