THE SUB -ARCTIC ZONE. 33 



It has to go through a long process before it can be ren- 

 dered sufficiently palatable to be used as food; it is first 

 soaked in water till the bitterness is extracted, and then 

 boiled with milk ; a kind of bread is also said to be pre- 

 pared from it. 



We shall find, as we proceed to Norway, that there is a 

 great dissimilarity in the climate of different parts of this 

 zone. We are especially surprised, on reaching Christiania, 

 to find Ash-trees (Fraxinus excelsior], Limes (Tilia Euro- 

 paa), and Elm-trees (Ulmus campestris]. And although 

 the average temperature is between four and five degrees 

 lower than that of London, there are " apples and cherries, 

 pears and apricots, growing in the gardens, and even grapes 

 have been known to ripen in the open air." This however 

 is mentioned by Meyen as a most striking exception to the 

 usual vegetation of these latitudes ; further east there is 

 nothing to be found like it; and it must be owned, that if 

 the old rule, that " The proof of the pudding is in the eat- 

 ing," is here applied, the fruits above named will scarcely 

 stand the test, as they are of a very inferior nature. 



The Pine (Pinus sylvestris) appears to be confined to the 

 western coast of Norway ; in the interior of the country it 

 is replaced by the lofty and dark green Firs, which, with 



