398 Europe : — a popular Physical Sketch. 



the climate more favourable than it is on the coasts. The 

 hazel bush thrives better on the western side, where it ex- 

 tends to Helgeland (65° 30' north lat.) while Angerman river 

 (63° north lat.) forms its eastern frontier. The lime tree 

 also has a greater northern range on the western side, viz. to 

 the 64° north lat. (oreland) than on the eastern, 63° north 

 lat. The elm reaches about 63° north lat. on both sides. 

 On ascending the mountains to a certain height, the traveller 

 loses both the firs and meets only with the birch ; still higher, 

 this tree also vanishes, and with it all forest trees ; low 

 bushes only then appear, particularly the dwarf birch (a smaller 

 kind of birch,) and a few small kinds of willows, a number 

 of little herbs with proportionally large flowers of beautiful 

 pure colours (alpine vegetation), and several kinds of mosses, 

 among which are the Reindeer and Iceland moss, which 

 form the very extreme altitude of all vegetation. 



Thus, taking height into consideration, a division of three 

 zones might be established ; viz. the zone of the pine trees, 

 of the birch, and of the alpine vegetation. At the southern 

 part of the mountain chain the firs reach 2986 feet, the 

 birch 3733 feet ; in the northern parts of Lapland the former 

 700 feet, the latter 1600 feet. 



The cultivation of grain extends farther to the north 

 than might be expected. At Malangerfiord (69° north lat.) 

 grain ripens every year, and even as far as Lyngen and Alten 

 (70° north lat.) ; and on the eastern side, in the ' common dis- 

 tricts' of the frontiers of Norway, Russia, and Sweden, grain 

 is still cultivated. At Enontekis, at an elevation of 1440 

 feet, is also found a little grain, which however arrives to 

 ripeness only every third year. Cultivation of grain is also 

 found in places where the annual mean temperature is below 

 the freezing point, while in Switzerland it ceases at a mean 

 temperature of 41° above freezing point, and in the South 

 American mountains at 54.5 above the same; from which 

 facts may be concluded, that the cultivation of grain depends 



