72 TIMBER-FLOATS ON THE RHINE 



agOy the largest pines of the Norwegian moun- 

 tains were committed to the torrents^ which 

 rush through their ravines. Dashing down 

 the cataracts of Trolh^tta^ they w^ere fre- 

 quently shivered to atoms by the concussions 

 of their unguided and inevitable descent ; and 

 the damage done to some of the finest trees 

 by this method was such^ that^ at lengthy saw- 

 mills were erected^ to divide the trees into 

 planks of a more manageable size. 



But^ on the Rhine^ another plan is adopt- 

 ed. Several thousand trees are tied together^ 

 in the form of a raft^ sixty or seventy feet 

 broad^ and nearly one thousand in length. The 

 rowers and workmen sometimes amount to 

 seven or eight hundred. Poultry^ P^gs^ and 

 all sorts of provisions and conveniences^ are 

 taken on board the principal raft. Many 

 smaller rafts are commonly tied to the greater^ 



