224 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



"steam-drifters," the modern style of 

 fishing-boats which now control the her- 

 ring industry. 



Lerwick is on high ground, with a road 

 running along the shore, as at Stromness. 

 It is a narrow street, though wide enough 

 for vehicles to pass, and much busier than 

 the streets of Kirkwall. 



Narrow lanes, for pedestrians only, 

 lead ofT the main thoroughfare up the 

 slope of the hill, and these are curiously 

 provided with ropes along the buildings 

 to prevent slipping in icy weather. 



The city has a large fish market, where 

 the boats dispose of their catch by auc- 

 tion, a handsome town hall, and many 

 substantially built churches and dwell- 

 ings. 



TWENTY HOURS OF SUNSHINE FOR THE 

 MONTH OF DECEMBER 



In the summer, when the fishing busi- 

 ness is active, it is a throbbing, wide- 

 awake, bustling city, its streets crowded 

 with men of many nations ; but when the 

 fishing season is over and winter settles 

 down there is little to do. The women 

 continue their household duties and knit 

 shawls out of wool, which they card and 

 spin themselves, for the old rhyme ap- 

 plies here as elsewhere — 



"Man may work from dawn to the setting of 

 the snn, 

 But woman's work is never done." 



When we remember that in midwinter 

 the dawn arrives only shortly before 

 noon and the sunset comes early in the 

 afternoon, it will be apparent that the 

 men of Lerwick have a mean advantage. 

 In fact, the average number of hours of 

 sunshine in December is qnly about 

 twenty. The idle fishermen spend much 

 of their time in drinking, card-playing, 

 and other amusements, frittering away 

 the earnings of the summer during the 

 long, dark winter. 



In midsummer in these high latitudes 

 the sun must get up so early that he thinks 

 it hardly worth while to go to bed. 



Shetland, it must be remembered, lies 

 north of the 6oth parallel. Trace the line 

 around the globe and you will see that it 

 touches Greenland, passes above the 

 northernmost extremity of Labrador, 

 goes through the upper half of Hudson 

 Bay, skirts the shore of Alaska, and trav- 



