m The A U T H O R's PREFACE. 



or at leaft not publifhed; though a phyfical treatife written 130 

 years ago, would little fute the tafte of thefe more enlightened 

 times. The great Wormius in his Mufaeum, and Tho. Bartholin 

 in his acta medica, and hiftorica anatom. rariora, have, I know, 

 introduced fome of the curiofities of Norway, but their accounts 

 are defective. Jonas Ramus was diftinguifned by a knowlege of 

 the hiftory and antiquities of his country, but was not eminent as 

 a naturalift. About five or fix years ago, Count Reufs, who was 

 then governor here, ordered all the litterati in thefe parts to fend 

 in ail account of every particular in their refpettive countries which 

 might contribute to the melioration of the foil, or the improve- 

 ment of agriculture. Some fuch memorials were delivered in; but 

 of what ufe they were, or whether any meafures were taken in 

 confequence of them, I have not heard. It may be prefumed that 

 the like orders were iffued in the other diocefes. Mathematics, 

 and natural philofophy have always been my favourite ftudies, 

 and in my late library I was pofTerTed of moft and the bell: phy- 

 sical writings publifhed in Italy, France, Germany, and England. 

 It was Scheuchzer's Natural Hiftory of Switzerland, that firft in- 

 duced me to undertake a work of the fame kind on Norway ; 

 and I had an opportunity of perfonally making the beft collections 

 and obfervations for that purpofe, being ordered by baron Low- 

 endahl, who commanded in chief in Norway during the laft war, 

 to draw a map of the country, and frontiers betwixt Norway and 

 Sweden ; a copy of which, I am informed, is in the Collegium 

 Curiofum at Copenhagen. This undertaking gave me an oppor- 

 tunity of travelling thro' the diocefe of Chriftianfand, and of ob- 

 ferving all the rivers, lakes, mountains, and every thing relative 

 to natural hiftory ; but afterwards, whilft I was employing my 

 leifure in augmenting and digefting my collections, in order for 

 publication, that deplorable fire which happened in Chriftian- 

 fand 1734) deprived me, befides 6000 volumes in all languages 

 and fcience, of all my collections and manufcripts, k> that my 

 whole ftock was reduced to what I had treafured up in my me- 

 mory, 



