10 



official statistics the average yield per hectare for the whole country 

 in the five-year period 1911 1915 was as follows: 



Hay 3 6 5o kg. 



Wheat 1780 



Rye 1800 > 



Barley 19 



Oats i? 60 



Mixed corn (oats and barley) 1920 



Peas 1600 



Potatoes 17510 



Turnips 41920 



Owing to the climatic conditions the tilling of the land, except in 

 some coastal districts in the south-west, can only be carried on in the 

 summer from April or May till October. Sowing and harvesting, as 

 well as the breaking up of land for cultivation, can thus as a general rule 

 only proceed during that period. 



The climate affords very healthy conditions for working. The sum- 

 mer temperature seldom exceeds 25 degrees Centigrade, and the tem- 

 perature in winter is seldom below the same number of degress of frost. 



As already mentioned, the crops produced are in general used for 

 feeding the stock on the farm. Thus, throughout the whole country tillage 

 and cattle-rearing are carried on side by side on almost every single hol- 

 ding. But it is also seldom that these operations are carried on alone. 

 A more or less extensive area of forest belongs as a rule to the holdings 

 throughout the greater part of the country. These forests supply the 

 necessary timber for the farm-buildings and for fuel, but in most cases 

 the area of woodland is so large that there may also be a considerable 

 quantity of timber for sale. The work in the forests proceeds in the 

 winter and thus provides occupation at a time when, owing to the cli- 

 matic conditions, the actual farm-work is greatly restricted. In the west 

 and north of Norway agriculture is closely connected with the great 

 fishing industry, which is mostly carried on in the winter season, whereby 

 both the farmer and his labourers find employment during that part 

 of the year. 



During the last few decades the use of labour-saving machinery and 

 better methods of cultivation has attained great extension and, regarded 

 from this point of view, has reduced the need for labourers in agriculture. 

 This, however, has on the other hand been counteracted by the fact that 

 farming has constantly become more intensive. The work required to 

 be performed on each unit of area has thus been steadily and automatically 

 increased. Which of these factors, the labour-saving or the labour- 

 demanding, has in he long run gained ithe upperhand it would perhaps be 

 difficult to decide. Meanwhile, it is a fact that agriculture has for a 

 long time been suffering from the constant lack of sufficiently skilled 



