NORWAY 



4286 



NORWAY 



Fisheries. The waters of the fiords, which 

 are too deep to freeze, and the coast waters of 

 Norway are richer in species of fish than most 

 of the northern waters, ami fishing is among 

 the oldest and most important industries. The 

 fishing jagts, boats peculiar to Norway, are 

 being replaced by motor vessels and steamers; 

 bank fisheries have been developed, and tho 

 coast industries have been improved and ex- 

 tended. A large Norwegian whaling fleet occu- 

 pies the waters of the South Atlantic. The 

 processes of preserving fish have also been im- 

 proved and trade in these products has greatly 

 increased. The cod fisheries, the largest of 

 which are in the Lofoten Islands, are the most 

 important and have an annual value of over 

 $7,160,000. The herring catch is second in 

 value, and mackerel, salmon, lobsters and sea 

 trout are caught in large quantities. 



Mining. The ore deposits are neither rich 

 nor extensively developed. The chief mineral 

 product is copper, but the mining of iron in 

 the north is rapidly developing in importance. 

 Silver is produced by the Kongsberg mines; 

 coal is obtained in the island of Ando, and 

 nickel and feldspar are found. Marble, build- 

 ing stone, slate and soapstone are important 

 products. 



Manufactures. Norway, which has been slow 

 in industrial development, is becoming more 

 and more a manufacturing country. With the 

 introduction of electrical machinery, plants for 

 the smelting of ores are increasing, and metal 

 working and the manufacture of machinery are 

 becoming extensive industries. Timber prod- 

 including rough lumber, furniture, wood 

 pulp and paper, are by far the most important 

 manufactures. Bone and horn products, pot- 

 . china, chemicals, especially nitrate of 

 calcium, ships, ropes and textiles are also made, 

 but as yet Norway imports a large part of the 

 manufactured articles used in the country. 



Transportation and Commerce. There are 

 many miles of excellent roads and about 1,920 

 miles of railroad in Norway. Electric traffic 

 has been introduced. The important road be- 

 tween Christiania and Drammen has been elec- 

 trified, and many railroads are being improved 

 and extended by the government. 



Norway is famous as a seafaring nation. 

 Before the War of the Nations its merchant 

 navy was the third largest mercantile marine in 

 the world, anil was larger than that of any 

 country with an equal population. The sub- 

 marine campaign, however, vastly decreased 

 the tonnage of its merchant marine. The na- 

 tional commerce is small and the Norwegian 

 els are extensively engaged in foreign trade. 

 For several decades the foreign commerce has 

 been steadily increasing. The fruit trade be- 

 tween South America and the United States is 

 almost entirely carried on in Norwegian ships. 

 The cost of imported goods exceeds the value 

 of the national exports by $46,000,000, but this 

 loss is offset by the profits from the foreign 

 shipping trade. Norway's largest trade in peace 

 times is with Great Britain and Germany, and 

 there is normally a good deal of commerce with 

 Denmark, Russia, America, Iceland and the 

 Netherlands. The chief articles of export are 

 fish, dairy and timber products, ice and ships, 

 and the principal imports are cereals and other 

 foodstuffs, coal, cotton and woolen goods, hides, 

 hemp, oils and engines. Bergen, Christiania 

 and Trondhjem are the chief ports. Christiania 

 and Stavanger and Bergen are famous for the 

 export of salt and canned fish. 



Army and Navy. The army of Norway, like 

 that of Switzerland, is a national militia. All 

 men between the ages of eighteen and fifty- 

 fivc are liable to service. Recruits are called 

 to tho cold's when twenty-three years of age, 

 and belong to the active army for twelve years. 

 They then serve in the landvarn, or first re- 

 serve, for eight years. In 1911 the organiza- 

 tion of the army was changed, and a second 

 reserve, the landstorm, was created, which is 

 composed of all those who have served in the 

 regular army and in the landvarn. The period 

 of service in the landstorm is twelve years. 

 The total strength of the army, including the 

 30,000 landvarn reservists, is about 110,000 in 

 war time. 



All seafaring men between the ages of 

 twenty-two and forty-one are liable to mari- 

 time service. The entire navy consists of about 

 3,400 men and sixty-two vessels, including war- 

 ships, torpedo boats and submarines. 



Government and History 



Government. Norway is a constitutional, 

 hereditary monarchy, but the constitution is 

 almost as liberal as that of the United States. 

 Both men and women citizens who have resided 



in the kingdom five years and are over twenty- 

 five years of age are entitled to vote for mem- 

 bers of Parliament, and women as well as men 

 may sit in that body. 



