NATURAL HISTORY of N RWAT. 37 



of fuch earth as from time to time hath rolled down with the 

 fragments of the rocks, or been wailied off from the mountains > 

 and fettled either at the foot of the mountains, or on the fides* 

 and by thefe aeceffions the vallies in many parts have been con- 

 fiderably raifed. This appears evidently from one remarkable cir- 

 cumftance, that the fields in the vallies are naturally formed like 

 a camp, the regular eminences and gentle flopes looking like the 

 ramparts of a fortification* A ftrong inftance of this, is the famous 

 valley of Viig in Sognefiord, and Eidet in Nordfiord, where, a 

 ftranger, at firft, would imagine the corn fields, as they lie raifed 

 above each other, to be fo many batteries erected by art, though 

 with fome irregularity. All thefe terrafTes have gradually rifen 

 from fragments of rocks, and eruptions of fprings, which have 

 repaired the lofs and damage fuftained in fome places, by depo- 

 siting the foil in other adjacent parts in thefe regular fquares, 

 which were thus formed by the light earth and fand, brought 

 thither by the courfe of the waters *. 



The fand of Norway is feldom of the white kind, which is at 

 the fame time the fineft, but it is ufually brown or greyifh; and 

 that on the fea-fhore is of the coarfeft, being rather particles of 

 ftone, as may indeed be faid of all grains of fand, but particu- 

 larly of thefe, their fubftance being fo hard that they are not 

 fo eafily diffolved, nor fit to be ftrewed about like the other* 

 The little fine or white fand we have in Bergen, is never pure, 

 but very much mixed with powder of mufcle-fhells, that is, with 

 the fineft chalky fubftance. 



Syndfiord, Juftedale, and fome other parts afford a kind of 

 mining fand, as if mixed with antimony, or with iron or tin-duft. 

 This is moftly ufed for writing-fand, and as fuch exported. 

 Tavernier, Chap, xxiii. p. 284. of his Travels to Perfia, relates, 

 that the Portuguefe carried fome of this glittering fand from Ormus 

 to Lifbon, and at firft made cent per cent of it ; but this trade 

 being founded on a falfe expectation, foon came to nothing. The 



* Relative to this is the following paffage from Baron Leibnitz's Protogsa, 

 Seel:, xxxix. pag. 71. Cetera ingentium naturas mutationum veftigia non nihil tan- 

 gamus, habitatoribus fortaffe antiquiora. Non illis tamen immorabimur quas in no- 

 ftris oris expreffa non habentur. JEgyptum Nilo, Arelatenfem agrum Rhodano 

 deberi Ariftoteles et Peirefkius credunt ; Nannius Bataviam munus effe Borese Rheni- 

 que. Certe flumina materiam advehentia fpoliant fuperiores terras, frifiique quoti- 

 die noftris detrimentis ditantur. 



uiiial 



