80 NORWAY. 



twenty=three miles long. Some of these lakes contain floating islands 

 sixty or eighty feet in diameter, formed by the cohesion of roots of 

 trees and shrubs ; and which, though torn from the main land, bear 

 herbage and trees. 



The principal rivers of Norway are the Glom, or Glomen, called 

 likewise the Stor Elve, or Great River, which from its source among 

 the mountains on the borders of Sweden, to the bay of Swinesund, 

 where it falls into the sea, runs above three hundred English miles. 

 and the Dramme, which flows into the bay of Ciiristiania after hav- 

 ing received the Beina and other streams. There are many other 

 smaller rivers. 



Metals, minerals. ...Gold has been found in Norway, and some 

 ducats were coined of it in 1645. The silver mines of Konigsberg, 

 about forty miles from Christiania, are reputed the richest in Europe 

 There are other silver mines in different parts of the country ; and a 

 mass of native silver, the produce of some of these, which is deposit- 

 ed in the royal cabinet of Copenhagen, weighs 409 murks, being 

 worth 3000 rix-dollars, or 600/. The copper mines of Roraas are 

 extremely productive, and afford a considerable revenue. But the 

 iron mines near Arendahl are, perhaps, the most profitable. 



Norway produces abundance of marble, quicksilver, sulphur, sail, 

 coal, vitriol, and alum : mines of cobalt have likewise been discovered 

 within these lew years at Fossum. 



Climate, soil, vegetable productions. ...The climate of Nor- 

 way varies according to the latitude, and the position with respect to 

 the sea. At Bergen the winter is moderate, and the sea not frozen. 

 The eastern parts of Norway are commonly covered with snow ; and 

 the cold generally sets in about the middle of October, and con- 

 tinues, with intense severity, to the middle of April ; the waters being 

 all that time frozen to a considerable thickness. But even frost and 

 snow have their conveniences, as they facilitate the conveyance of 

 goods by land. In the more northern parts of this country, the cold 

 is extremely intense. In summer, the inhabitants can read and write 

 at midnight by the light of the sky ; and in the most northerly parts, 

 about midsummer,. the sun is continully in view. In those parts, how- 

 ever, in the middle of winter, there is only a faint glimmering of light 

 at noon for about an hour and a half, owing to the reflection of the. 

 sun's rays on the mountains. Nature, notwithstanding, has been so 

 kind to the Norwegians, that, in the midst of their darkness, the sky 

 is so serene, and the moon and the aurora borealis so bright, that 

 they carry on their fishery, and work at their several trades in the 

 open air. 



The air of Norway, in general, is extremely pure, and many of the 

 natives live to a very great age. 



The soil and climate of Norway, are not very favourable to agricul- 

 ture, and no parts of that country yield sufficient corn for interior 

 consumption ; but though it is deficient in arable land, it is rich in 

 pasture, and produces much cattle ; and a patriotic society has so 

 much encouraged agriculture, that within these fifty years estates 

 have risen nearly one-third in value. 



The principal vegetable production of Norway is wood. The exten- 

 sive forests of this country consist of fir, pine, oak, elm, ash, yew, 

 birch, beech, and alder trees. The fir of Norway is in high estima- 

 tion, being firmer, more compact, and less liable to rot, than that ot 

 most other countries. The sums received from foreign nations for 



