OLAFSEN AND POVELSEN^S 



draw him up, by moving successively backwards to the spot 

 whence they set off. Thus their hunt is iong and difficult; since, 

 when one has gol an egg, the animal next to him must perform the 

 same manoeuvre, and so on, till they have all been served. Unless 

 one were to have ocular demonstration of the stratagem of this 

 animal, it would be difficult to give credit to any account of it ; 

 since they are obliged to ascend and descend the perpendicular 

 rocks by the aid of their paws. It is more probable, that the 

 foxes, instead of going in troops, would be cunning enough to 

 search alone for such parts of the rocks as are least steep, in order 

 to descend to the nests. 



SPECIES OP FISH. 



Having spoken of the manner of fishing, it may be proper to 

 specify the different kinds of fish which are most abundant. 

 Amongst them are six sorts of cod ; namely, Gadus maximus ; 

 Gadus minimus; Gadus dorso tripterigio, ore imberbi; Gadus 

 dorso tripterygio, lima later all nigra; Gadus (hngus major) 

 dorso monopterygio ore citrato, dentibus acutissimis ; Gadus 

 (longus minor) dorso monopterygio, caudd minima rotunda* 

 There are besides, in great numbers, the Clupea vulgaris max- 

 ima, and the Clupea villosa, vel foztens; the Plevnorectes, oculis 

 a dextra totus glaber ; Flesus plevnorectcs, oculis a dextra den- 

 tibus obtusis, squamis asperis spina adanum ; P levnorectes', ocu- 

 lis et tuberculis 6 a dextra capitis, latere dextro nigro macu- 

 laio, maculis rotundis cruceo rubris ; Lwnpus marinus ; Cy~ 

 prunes pelagicus ; Perca pelagica ( major) ; Cottus Akpida- 

 tus ; Gasterosttus acuieaius, oculis in dorso tribus ; Raja (ma- 

 jor et vulgaris) dorso non aculeato ; and Raja aculeata. 



\\ hales and dolphins also are very numerous here ; the latter 

 go in troops, and it is asserted that for some time in summer, and 

 generally towards the end of August, they become blind. It has 

 been remarked, that if they do not lose their sight, their head is 

 ^so much affected, that in the mildest weather they will suffer 

 themselves to be taken, or dart ashore. In ] 744, nearly a hundred 

 of this rish assembled in a bay between Oluffsvig and Revet, 

 where they w ere all killed : their flesh is of a good taste, but is 

 hard and difficult of digestion. With respect to the whale, we 

 shall have a future opportunity of alluding to it in detail. 



FORESTS OF BIRCH. 



The annals pf Iceland, and still more the traces that are met 

 with in the ditches of turf already mentioned, as well as the lumps 

 of petrified wood, sufficiently prove that forests of birch-trees 

 w ere once very numerous ; indeed there are several still in existence. 



It would be impossible to deny, that the sea has greatly dimi- 



