214 FORESTRY OF NORWAY. 



' Of different trees, Firms sylvestris, Abies excelsa, and 

 Sarix Europea are found in pleasure grounds ; also Abies 

 pectinata, first planted by a Scotchman. Betula alba is the 

 most common tree next to the fir. We have Aluus incana, 

 Alnus glutinosa. Corylus avelana is much used for making 

 barrel hoops. Populus tremula is found everywhere, but 

 not in great numbers. Ash grows wild, but is always sadly 

 misused for the sake of the foliage for the cattle. Moun- 

 tain ash is common, especially on the islands, where it is 

 mixed with birch. Oak is found wild in one or two places, 

 but there only like a shrub. Besides these, there are the 

 following, of no economic value : Salix caprea, bird- 

 cherry, many willows, Sorbus area, holly, white thorn, and 

 crab apple ; lime trees are also found in one or two places. 



' Nordmore Bailiwick. The greatest extent of wood is 

 found here ; formerly it must have been much greater, 

 which is seen in the large ^ize of the beams in old houses, 

 many of which are from 8 to 12 ells long, and five quarters 

 in breadth. Long ago this was a secluded district, and 

 prices were not so high as to tempt the people to cut down 

 the woods. Most of the inhabitants were engaged in 

 seafaring pursuits. Even yet the sawing up is done by 

 the hand, and of course not on a large scale. It also 

 seems as if the fiord and coast population were economical 

 in their consumption of the timber, especially with regard 

 to young trees Had they been as extravagant as their 

 neighbours the woods would have altogether disappeared, 

 the climate and soil being both bad. As it is, there is a 

 great change for the worse within the last ten years. The 

 population is rapidly increasing, and the sale of Govern- 

 ment lands is hastening the work of destruction. Many 

 of the farmers (bonrferne), are awake to the evil, and wish 

 there were some regular system of forest management. 

 Nowhere have I seen the pernicious practice of leaf 

 stripping so common, even in the path of the avalanches, 

 which, as the forests disappear, are becoming more frequent 

 and formidable : one killed thirty men in one night. 



