264 SPOKT IN NORWAY. 



BEAM-TREE (Sorbus Aria, Crtz. "Asal," or "Hasal"). Is 

 found here and there in valleys up to lat. 63 , and probably 

 grows further north. 



BEECH (Fagus sylvatica, L. " Bog "). Only to be found wild 

 in the south of Norway, where woods of this tree may be found. 

 It scarcely attains a higher altitude than 800 feet above the sea. 

 The northern limit for the mid beech is a few miles above 

 Bergen, where there is a small wood of it. Cultivated, it will 

 thrive as far north as Throndhjem. 



Near the town of Laurvig there is a beech-tree 80 feet high ; 

 the trunk measures 8 feet 4 inches in diameter. It is about 154 

 years old. As an instance of the quick growth of the beech, 

 there is a tree near Frederickshald which was planted as a young 

 sapling in 1829. In 1861 it had attained a height of 54 feet. 



The PURPLE BEECH (F. sylvatica purpurea, Ait). Is not 

 uncommon in gardens. 



BERBERRY (Herberts vtdgaris, L. " Berberis "). Whether it is 

 indigenous or not is rather doubtful. It was, not improbably, 

 introduced by the monks in the middle ages. It is found in a 

 wild state in several places in the south, usually in the neigh- 

 bourhood of towns. Grows in abundance near Christiania. The 

 fruit will ripen as far north as Throndhjem. There are about 14 

 varieties cultivated. 



BIRCH (Betula, " Birk "). Of those species which form large 

 woods, it is probably B. verrucosa, Ehrh, which is most common 

 in lowlands. B. glutinosa is found furthest north. The birch 

 limit is reckoned by this species. 



Feet above the Sda. 



At Jerkin . . lat. 62, the limit of birch is about 3,700 

 Alten . . 70 1,657 



Hammertest . 70 40' 828 



The altitude, however, differs much from local causes. Thus, 

 on the eastern side of the Folge Fond, lat. 60, it is 2,100 feet, 

 while it is 1,900 feet on the western side. In lat. 70 trees 

 of 20 to 30 feet high may be found. Birch-trees 70 to 80 feet 

 high, with stems 9 to 18 feet in girth, are found in several places 

 in Norway. These generally belong to that variety called the 

 weeping birch, whose delicate hanging branches will attain a 

 length of 12 to 16 feet, and even more. They are peculiarly 



