126 On the Dovrefjeld, Norway. By George Bird. 



herds of cows, with, tinkling bell attached to the leader, browsing 

 far up on the hills, while the vast table-lands melted into the 

 distance. So marked is this change of scene, together with the 

 bracing effect of the air, that almost on the instant one feels the 

 mind stimulated and the imagination brightened by the sur- 

 passing grandeur of these peaceful alpine retreats. 



There are several good " stations," as they are called, or farms, 

 which they really are, where one can put up at ; and perhaps the 

 most convenient of these to break the journey in crossing the 

 Dovrefjeld would be Jerkin, Kongsvold, or Drivstuen, at either 

 of which tourists could prolong their stay with great advantage. 

 The accommodation in every case is ample and comfortable, and 

 indeed almost elegant. There is a large principal room for visitors, 

 with a smaller apartment for dining-saloon ; and one cannot fail to 

 note the simple taste and refinement shown in the interior decora- 

 tions, and in the cultivation of indoor flowers. As a typical 

 example, take the room most frequently used. Though only the 

 reception-room in a country inn, it might be a pattern to many 

 a more pretentious establishment. The floor is painted a rich 

 yellow, with a slate-colour border all round, while the roof and 

 doors are white. The walls have a light gilt paper with white 

 ground. A large stove is in the corner. At the six windows 

 are beautifully grown flowers in pots — tall geraniums, fuchsias, 

 pelargoniums, and tree-carnations — yellow, pink, and rose 

 colour, all healthy and well-grown plants. A table bears a vase 

 of wild-flowers. Ivy is grown in pots suspended from the four 

 corners of the room, and festoons the walls round the ceiling 

 in long stems and perfect drooping leaves. Neat cabinets and 

 furniture of native manufacture, with chairs of various kinds, 

 are arranged in the room, the whole giving an aspect of comfort 

 which one cannot but enjoy. 



Not to the ordinary tourist alone is the Dovrefjeld a place to 

 be remembered. To the student of nature, whether botanist, 

 geologist, or zoologist, there is here a wide field for exploration. 

 The native alpine flora is particularly rich and varied, and far 

 exceeds anything to be found in similar situations in our Scottish 

 Alps. In a botanical point of view, some of the mountains are 

 more favoured in this respect than others ; and perhaps the 

 Knudshoe, 6700 feet, near Kongsvold, may be specially men- 

 tioned, as the alpine flora occurs on its slopes in the greatest 

 richness — so much so, that it would seem to be the home of 



