A BAD SEASON IN NORWAY 317 



fields resembled huge and rich Turkey carpets, of bright fresh 

 green as a body colour, with patterns thereon in golden-yellow 

 buttercups and marigolds, in creamy white parsleys and mar- 

 guerites, with large patches of violet pansies and scabious, of 

 poppies scarlet and cornflowers blue, the whole overlaid with a 

 sheen of crimson, thanks to the very abundant growth of sorrel 

 now in flower. The leaves of the latter proved a most whole- 

 some and agreeable spinach-like dish, curiously enough hardly 

 known here or used by the natives. Flowers were everywhere 

 in rich and endless variety of colour among the otherwise 

 universal green of Nature's new spring clothing. 



How happy horses and cows must be when, after the long 

 winter's confinement in dark barns with doubtful hay, they are 

 turned out in spring to feed in the deliciously fresh pastures so 

 bountifully provided by Nature ! No wonder that ponies now 

 look sleek and cows give largely of their rich milk, thereby 

 providing ample work for the co-operative dairies so universal 

 here. One is only astonished that they do not die of over- 

 feeding from so continual a feast during those summer months 

 when daylight hardly fades. 



The colouring of these beautiful, carpet-like fields extending 

 all along the valley, varied as time went on, the places of the 

 earlier flowers being taken by others just as gorgeous, just as 

 abundant, but slightly different in shading perhaps, until one 

 day all were laid low by the scythe and at once hung up on wires 

 to aid the drying. In some of the oat and barley fields grew 

 more wild flowers than corn ; most of the pastures were intensely 

 golden from solid masses of marigolds, others blue from thousands 

 of harebells, and so on. 



Beyond the small fields near the house runs the river in its 

 stony bed, its banks grass, with many alder clumps. It has at 

 last been explained to me why those particular trees are so 

 often found in these localities simply because a young alder 

 leaf provides the very best means of taking away the shininess 

 of new gut when the latter is rubbed with the former ; indeed, 

 there is a raison d'etre for all things ! 



From the other the right bank of the river sharply rise the 

 hills opposite, steep mountains indeed, mostly covered with 

 needlewood and lighter birch and poplar, except where large and 

 small clearings have been made, now all flourishing fields of 



