.

I think, indeed, that the Icelanders are second to no nation in
uncleanliness; not even to the Greenlanders, Esquimaux, or Laplanders.
If I were to describe a portion only of what I experienced, my readers
would think me guilty of gross exaggeration; I prefer, therefore, to
leave it to their imagination; merely saying that they cannot conceive
any thing too dirty for Iceland delicacy.

Beside this very estimable quality, they are also insuperably lazy. Not
far from the coast are immense meadows, so marshy that it is dangerous to
cross them. The fault lies less in the soil than the people. If they
would only make ditches, and thus dry the ground, they would have the
most splendid grass. That this would grow abundantly is proved by the
little elevations which rise from above the marshes, and which are
thickly covered with grass, herbage, and wild clover. I also passed
large districts covered with good soil, and some where the soil was mixed
with sand.

I frequently debated with Herr Boge, who has lived in Iceland for forty
years, and is well versed in farming matters, whether it would not be
possible to produce important pasture-grounds and hay-fields with
industry and perseverance. He agreed with me, and thought that even
potato-fields might be reclaimed, if only the people were not so lazy,
preferring to suffer hunger and resign all the comforts of cleanliness
rather than to work. What nature voluntarily gives, they are satisfied
with, and it never occurs to them to force more from her. If a few
German peasants were transported hither, what a different appearance the
country would soon have!

The best soil in Iceland is on the Norderland. There are a few
potato-grounds there, and some little trees, which, without any
cultivation, have reached a height of seven to eight feet. Herr Boge,
established here for thirty years, had planted some mountain-ash and
birch-trees, which had grown to a height of sixteen feet.

In the Norderland, and every where except on the coast, the people live
by breeding cattle. Many a peasant there possesses from two to four
hundred sheep, ten to fifteen cows, and ten to twelve horses. There are
not many who are so rich, but at all events they are better off than the
inhabitants of the sea-coast. The soil there is for the most part bad,
and they are therefore nearly all compelled to have recourse to fishing.

Before quitting Iceland, I must relate a tradition told me by many