Ch. i. in Norway. 271 



years more, before he is perfectly secure. And 

 as in addition to this the eldest in the lineal de- 

 scent may reclaim an estate, that had been repur- 

 chased by a younger brother, the law, even in its 

 present amended state, must be considered as a 

 very great bar to improvement ; and in its former 

 state, when the time was unlimited and the sale 

 of estates in this way was more frequent, it seems 

 as if it must have been a most complete obstacle 

 to the melioration of farms, and obviously ac- 

 counts for the very slow increase of population in 

 Norway for many centuries. 



A further difficulty in the way of clearing and 

 cultivating the land arises from the fears of the 

 great timber merchants respecting the woods. 

 When a farm has been divided among children 

 and grandchildren, as each proprietor has a cer- 

 tain right in the woods, each in general endea- 

 vours to cut as much as he can ; and the timber is 

 thus felled before it is fit, and the woods spoiled. 

 To prevent this, the merchants buy large tracts 

 of woods of the farmers, who enter into a con- 

 tract, that the farm shall not be any further sub- 

 divided or more housemen placed upon it; at 

 least that, if the number of families be increased, 

 they should have no right in the woods. It is 

 said, that the merchants who make these pur- 

 chases are not very strict, provided the smaller 

 farmers and housemen do not take timber for their 

 houses. The farmers who sell these tracts of 

 wood are obliged by law, to reserve to themselves 

 the right of pasturing their cattle, and of cutting 



