13 FORESTRY OF NORWAY. 
excepted—the trees wear a different aspect. The moun- 
tain slopes are, perhaps, rather less thickly timbered, and 
the trees consequently get more light, air, and breathing 
space; but, however this may be, the individual trees show 
a healthier growth and far more abundant leafage. Again 
and again, when riding along a dim trail in Californian 
forest country, I have reined in my horse to gaze in silent 
admiration at matchless specimens of spruce and silver 
fir, far exceeding a hundred feet in altitude, and yet 
preserving a profuse leafage from butt to summit, the 
lower branches, decorously sweeping the ground, being as 
green and luxuriant as the tiny twigs far aloft in the sun- 
light, and each tree being absolutely perfect in symmetry, 
and one of the most beautiful of Nature’s creations in 
point of elegance of outline and tracery of foliage. Very 
probably the shallowness of the soil all over Norway, 
except in the alluvial valleys, will account for this compara- 
tive sparseness of foliage ; for it is far more noticeable on 
the higher ground, many of the trees in the ravines and 
valleys, when the soil is deeper and the situation less 
exposed, being of very luxuriant growth. Other species 
of pine and fir are rarely met with, though I found the 
silver fir growing well in numerous clumps between Eide 
and Vossevangen to the north of Hardanger fiord. Beech, 
oak, and elm, grow fairly in places, but cannot be classed 
among Norweigan forest trees: they are mainly to be 
found near the towns, and especially in the environs of 
Christiania and Bergen. In Northern Norway these 
species are unknown. The birch is found in almost every 
district, as also the mountain ash, and the alder and 
aspen grow freely in the valleys. 
‘The sylvan scenery of the lightly-timbered lowland 
valleys can hardly be surpassed in point of variety of 
detail, brilliancy of colouring, and tranquil loveliness. 
The valley which trends north-east from Vossevangen to 
Stalheim, at the head of the world-famous Nerodal, 
affords on a fine day in autumn an exquisite series of 
views of this character. The road, terraced along the 
