deer-meat, and the like. In middle and
southern Norway, where farming is the principal occupation of the
people, at the death of the head of the family the land belonging to
the deceased is equally divided among the surviving children. No
estates are entailed in this country. The division of real property
tends to foster a spirit of independence and self-respect which will
be looked for in vain among those nations where the land is in the
possession of the few. It is a remarkable fact that the number of
landed proprietors in Norway, in proportion to the aggregate of the
population, is greater than in any other country in Europe. Reliable
statistics show that there is here one estate for every twenty-two
persons; while in Scotland, for instance, there is but one for each
seven hundred! The Scandinavian farmer is neither poor nor rich; he
raises from his own soil nearly all the necessities of life, even
including the family clothing,--exchanging a small portion of his
surplus for such articles as he requires, but which are not of home
product. The average farms in Norway consist of from sixty to
seventy-five acres each, though some are much larger. This does not
include a certain portion of mountain pasturage, only available in
summer, but which is attached to every farm located in the valleys,
known (as already described) as the saeter.

The mountain scenery of the northern part of the country, especially
near the coast, is not excelled in its bold and rugged character in
any part of the world. Norway is here very sparsely inhabited,--a few
huts, as we have shown, being occasionally perched upon elevations
which seem to be accessible to eagles and reptiles only, where
footways or narrow paths are built upon piles across gaping ravines,
or are formed of timber suspended by chains securely fastened to the
rocks. The inhabitants of these desolate regions find occupation and
procure a precarious living by cutting wood for fuel, which they
transport upon their backs, or by the production of charcoal. In the
more accessible places they cut timber for building purposes, which
they float down the seething rapids and tortuous rivers to the
villages and cities. Occasionally these people kill a bear or trap a
wolf, from which sources they realize both food and a small
government bounty in money. The fir, the pine, and the white birch
abound, the first growing at an elevation of twenty-five hundred feet
above the level of the sea.