NORWEGIAN GLACIERS. 9Ö 



Having now viewed the oscillations of some glacier branches 

 of the Folgefon, we are to take a rapid glance at that snow- 

 field itself. It is most remarkable, that this snow-field seems to 

 have considerably diminished during the decade 1870 — 1880, just 

 at the time, during which some of the glaciers emanating from 

 it, enlarged their borders in a very conspicuous manner. The 

 snow-field of the Folgefon continually diminished down to the 

 year 1897, and even in September last, Gotskalk Gjerde infor- 

 med me, that its borders had diminished down to the present 

 year, and more especially on the western side; but there, we 

 see that the Glacier of Holmaisen, near the Lakelet of Myse- 

 vand, holds a rather advanced position. With regard to the ice- 

 cover of lakes in the neighbourhood of the Folgefon, the state- 

 ments made by Gotskalk Gjerde are very interesting, namely 

 that the Lakelet of Mysevand, as a rule, retains some fragments 

 of its ice-cover, and the Lakelet of Blaadalsvand is the first 

 to become free from ice. 



The Glacier of Boi um, previous to the year 1870, had „de- 

 puis longtemps été en i-etraite". De Seue, however, says that 

 „en 1869 et peutêtre déjà en 1868 le glacier commença de nou- 

 veau sa croissance." If, however, we are to trust a statement 

 made by some inhabitants of Fjærland, this glacier has decreased 

 about 1350 metres during the last seventy years (Norges geo- 

 logiske undersøgelse, aarbog 1896 — 99, no. 4, p. 10). We are 

 thus, of course, to regard the increase of the glacier just men- 

 tioned, as only a slight one. We afterwards enter upon a period 

 of marked decrease of this glacier, as stated by Hans Tufte, 

 who acted as guide to De Seue on his exploring excursions (1. c. 

 p. 8). In connection with the oscillation of the Glacier of Boium, 

 we may be justified in directing attention to a certain means of 

 observation, namely photography, in order to find out the law of 

 oscillation of glaciers. Photography, it is true, when used in a 

 fitting manner, is an excellent means of ascertaining the oscil- 

 lation, as we may learn from photogrammetry ; but occasional 



