RIVERS. 3 
distance varying with circumstances are moist, though at 
a greater distance the ground may be arid and sterile. 
‘To this is attributable the growth of those trees in the 
situations indicated. 
But these rivers have attractions for others besides 
students of forest science. 
It is the wild and varied scenery produced by rock and 
river, fiord and forest, and mountain and lake, which makes 
Norway interesting to mavy British tourists, while its 
salmon fishings in rivers and lakes makes it also attractive 
to others. 
‘Of all the contrasts which Norway presents to other 
mountainous countries,’ says Forbes in his volume entitled 
Norway and its Glaciers, ‘the abundance of running 
water is perhaps the most striking to a stranger; its 
noble rivers, and its impressive waterfalls, are perhaps the 
‘features of the scenery most generally dwelt upon, and 
many tourists seem to make the latter the sole and main 
object of their search. This I think is a mistake. A 
cascade is a noble object as forming part of a landscape, 
but it is often situated so as to be well seen only when 
every other part of the landscape is excluded. If dwelt 
upon exclusively it becomes a mere lusus naturae, not an 
element of scenery ; and if made the exclusive object of a 
laborious journey, it can scarcely fail to disappoint. I have 
‘not seen the most celebrated falls of Norway, for my other 
objects of enquiry did not lead me near them ; but having 
visited those of other countries I have come to the con- 
‘clusion that, setting aside the curiosity and variety of a 
lofty cascade, small’ waterfalls, unexpectedly discovered 
-in picturesque situations, convey a truer sense of pleasure 
and beauty to the mind than the thundering shoots which 
tumble often into nearly inaccessible gorges. In the 
former class Norway abounds beyond calculation ; running 
water of a bright and sparkling green is seen on every 
side, at least in the valleys ; it pours over cliffs often in a 
‘single leap, but more frequently, and more effectively, in a 
