articularly struck during the return, with the rapid progress of
summer--the flying leaps with which she clears her short course. Among
the Lofodens, the potatoes were coming into blossom, and the rye and
barley into head; the grass was already cut, in many places, and drying
on poles, and the green of the woods and meadows showed the dark, rich
character of southern lands. Owing to this rapidity of growth, all the
more hardy varieties of vegetables may be successfully cultivated. Mr.
Thomas informed me that his peas and beans at Kaafjord (lat. 70 deg. N.)
grew three inches in twenty-four hours, and, though planted six weeks
later than those about Christiania, came to maturity at the same time.
He has even succeeded in raising excellent cauliflowers. But very few of
the farmers have vegetable gardens, and those which I saw contained only
radishes and lettuce, with a few useful herbs. One finds the same
passion for flowers, however, as in Northern Sweden, and the poorest are
rarely without a rose or a geranium in their windows.

Pastor Hvoslef, who was again our fellow-traveller for a few hours, gave
me some interesting information concerning the Lapps. They are, it
seems, entitled to the right of suffrage, and to representation in the
Storthing, equally with the Norwegians. The local jurisdiction repeats
on a small scale what the Storthing transacts on a large one, being
entirely popular in its character, except that the _vogts_ and _lansmen_
(whose powers are somewhat similar to those of our judges and country
magistrates) are not elected. But each district chooses from among its
inhabitants a committee to confer upon and arrange all ordinary local
matters. These committees, in turn, choose persons to constitute a
higher body, who control the reciprocal relations of the several
districts, and intervene in case of difficulties between them. The
system is necessarily simpler and somewhat more primitive in its
character than our local organisations in America; but it appears at
present to answer every purpose. The heavy responsibility resting upon
judges in Norway--the severity of the checks and penalties by which
their probity is insured--probably contributes to make the
administration of the laws more efficacious and easy. The Lapps are not
a difficult people to govern, and much of the former antagonism between
them and the poorer classes of the Norwegians has passed away. There is
little, if any, amalgamation of the two