XJX  . 26 seams of

lignite which occur on the island of Andoen in the Vesteraalen . They contain remains of plants and have been correlated with the Lower Oolite of Great Britain . No Tertiary beds have been found, but Pleistocene deposits of various kinds are met with . The evidences of ice action during the Glacial Period are conspicuous over the whole country and are similar to those in other glaciated regicns . But the most remarkable features produced in recent geological times are the terraces which appear as if ruled on the sides of the valleys and fjords . They are partly platforms cut in the solid rock and partly accumulations of gravel and sand like a modern beach, and they were evidently formed by the action of waves . Some of them contain marine shells of living species and mark the former position of the sea-level; but others are of more doubtful origin and may indicate the shores of lakes formed by the damming emery m.uer m of the lower part of the fjords by means of glaciers, as in the case of the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy . They occur at various levels,. and have been observed as high as 3000 ft. above the sea . No volcanic rocks of modern date are known in Norway, but great intrusions of igneous rock took place in early geological times . Amongst them may be mentioned the gabbro of the Jotunfjeld, and the elaeolite syenites and associated rocks of the Christiania region . The latter form the subject of a valuable series of memoirs by Brogger, who shows that they have all been derived from a single magma, and that the differentiation of this magma led to the production of several different types of rock .

(P . LA.)

Meteorology.—The most powerful influence on the climate of Norway is that of the warm drift across the Atlantic Ocean from the S.W . The highest mean annual temperature in Norway Tempers-is found on the S. and W. coasts, where it ranges from 44.5° to 45.5° F., and the lowest is found at Karasjok and are . Kautokeino, lying at elevations of 430 and 866 ft. respectively in Finmarken, near the Russian frontier . Here the mean temperature is 26.4°, while at Vardo, on the north coast, it is 33° . At Roros (2067 ft.) at the head of the Glommen valley, and at Fjeldberg (3268 ft.) in the upper Hallingdal, the mean annual temperature is 31 ° . The longest winter is found in the interior of Finmarken, 243 days with a mean temperature below 32° being recorded at II Quaternary ®rirtiary Cretaceous 1ENJuradsic Silurian d Cambro.SIIurIan _ Poet.Silurian,Granite,8yenitaetc . - Dalarne Porphyry ^ Gabbro,Norite, Diorite. etc . Archaean d Granite ' 1011111111111 Kautokeino, contrasted with 205 at Vardo . In the S. uplands (as at Fjeldberg) there is an average of 200 such days, and at Christiania about 120 . On the S.W. coast there is no day of which the mean temperature falls below 32°; the most westerly insular stations, however, such as Utsire and Skudeness off Bukken Fjord, record frost during some part of 6o days . The lowest winter average temperature is found in a centre of cold in the N. which extends over Swedish and Russian territory as well as Norwegian .

The Norwegian station of Karasjok, within it, records 4° during

December, January and February, and in this area there have also been observed the extreme minima of temperature in the country, e.g . 6o•5° below zero at Karasjok . The contrast with the S.W. coast may be continued . Here at some of the island stations, the coldest month, February, has an average about 35°, and the lowest temperature recorded at Ona near Christiansund is 10.5° . It may be noted here that in several cases the lower-lying inland stations in the south show a distinctly lower winter temperature than the higher in the immediate vicinity . Thus the average for Roros (2067 ft.), 13°, contrasts with 11° for Tonset; at Listad in Gudbrandsdal (909 ft.) it is 16.5°, but at Jerkin in the Dovre Fjeld (316o ft.) it is 17.5° The summer is hottest in S.E . Norway (Christiania, July, 62.5 ) . On the other hand, the lowest summer average in the interior of Finmarken is not less than 53.5° in July; but at Vardo it is only 48° in August, usually the warmest month on this coast . In the lofty inland tracts of the S.E. the July temperature ranges, from 59° in the valleys, to as low as 49° at the high station of Jerkin . The interior having a warm summer and a cold winter, and the coast a cool summer and a mild winter, the annual range of temperature is remarkably greater inland than on the coast . An important result of the warm Atlantic drift is that the fjords are not penetrated by the cold water from the lower depths of the outer ocean, and in consequence are always ice-free, except in winters of exceptional severity in the innermost parts of fjords, and along shallow stretches of coast . The sun is above the horizon at the North Cape continuously from the 12th of May to the 29th of July, and at Bodo, not far from the Arctic circle, from the 3rd of June to the 7th of July .

Even at

Trondhjem there is practically full daylight from the 23rd of May to the loth of July . Even in the extreme S. of Norway there is no darkness from the end of April to the middle of August . In winter, on the other hand, the sun does not rise above the horizon at the North Cape from the 18th of November, to the 23rd of January, and at Bodo from the 15th to the 27th of December . There is only a twilight at midday . In the extreme S. the sun is above the horizon for 62 hours at mid-winter . The prevailing winter winds are from the land seaward, while the meads. system is reversed in summer . The winds in Norway may therefore be roughly classified according to localityFinmarken has over three cloudy days to one clear day; in the interior of the country clear and cloudy days are about equally divided . Fog is most frequent on the W. and N.W. coasts in summer; on the S.E. coast in winter . In winter a frosty fog often occurs about the heads of the fjords during severe cold or with a breeze from the land . Flora.—The forests of Norway consist chiefly of conifers . The principal forest regions are the S.E. and S . Here, in the Trondhjem district, and in Nordland there are extensive forests of pine and fir .

In the coastal and fjord region of the W. the pine is the only coniferous forest

tree, and forests are of insignificant extent . In S . Norway the highest limit of conifers is from 2500 to 3000 ft. above sea-level; in the inland parts of the Trondhjem region it is from i600 to 2000 ft . (though on the coast only from 600 to 1200); farther N. it falls to 700 ft. about 70° N . The birch belt reaches 3000 to 3500 ft . Next follow various species of willows, and the dwarf birch (belula nana), and last of all, before the snow-line, the lichen belt, in which the reindeer moss (cladonia rangiferina) is always conspicuous . A few trees of the willow belt sometimes extend close up to the snow-line . In the S. and less elevated districts the lowest zone of forests includes the ash, elm, lime, oak, beech and black alder; but the beech is rare, flourishing only in the Laurvik district . The snow ranunculus and the Alpine heather are abundant . The Dovre Fjeld is noted as the district in which the Arctic flora. may be studied in greatest variety and within comparatively narrow limits . On the coastal banks the marine flora is very finely developed . Fauna.—The great forests are still the haunt of the bear, the lynx, and the wolf .

Bears are found chiefly in the uplands N. of Trondhjem, in the

Telemark and the W. highlands, but the cutting of forests has limited their range . The wolves decreased very suddenly in S . Norway about the middle of the 19th century, probably owing to disease, but are still abundant in Finmarken, and the worst enemy of the herds of tame reindeer . The elk occurs in the eastern forests, and northward to Namdal and the Vefsen district . The red deer is confined chiefly to the W. coast districts; its principal haunt is the island of Hitteren, off the Trondhjem Fjord . On the high fjelds are found the wild reindeer, glutton, lemming and the fox (which is of wide distribution) . The wild reindeer has decreased, though large tame herds are kept in some parts, especially in the N . The lemming is noted for its curious periodic migrations; at such times vast numbers of these small animals spread over the country from their upland homes, even swimming lakes and fjords in their journeys . They are pursued by beasts and birds of prey, and even the reindeer kill them for the sake of the vegetable matter they contain . Hares are very common all over Norway up to the snow-line . The beaver still occurs in the Christiansand district . Game birds are fairly abundant in most districts .

The most notable are the two sorts of rype, the skov or dal type (willow

grouse, lagopus albus) and the fjeld rype (lagopus alpina) . Black Avifauna. grouse are widely distributed; hazel grouse are found mainly in the pine forests of the E. and N., as are capercailzie . Woodcock and snipe are fairly common . The partridge is an immigrant from Sweden, and occurs principally in the E. and S.E . A severe winter occasionally almost exterminates it . A very large proportion of the Norwegian avifauna consists of geese and ducks, various birds of prey, golden plover, &c . These birds, at the autumn migration, leave by three well-defined routes—one from Finmarken into Finland, one by the Christiania valley, and one by the W. coast, where they congregate in large numbers on the lowlands of Ja3deren . The Lapland bunting and snow bunting (plectrophanes laponica and nivalis), the snowy owl (mgetea scandiaca) and rough-legged buzzard (archibuteo lagopus) and sea-birds are exceedingly numerous . In some localities such birds as the puffin and kittiwake form great colonies (fugleberge, bird cliffs) . The common seal is very frequent; and arctic seals and occasion-ally the walrus visit the northern coasts; among these the harp seal (phoca groenlandica) is believed to be particularly de- structive Marine to the fisheries . These last are of great import- ance; a large number of the best food-fisheries occur fauna. along the coasts, including cod, herring, mackerel, coal-fish, &c . The basking shark was formerly of some economic importance; the Japanese shark, a strictly local variety, also occurs in the neighbour-hood of Vardo .

Various small species of whales visit the coast; among these the lesser

rorqual may be mentioned, as an antique method of hunting it with bow and arrows is still practised in the neighbourhood of Bergen . In the fjords many invertebrates as well as fish are found . Of fresh-water fish the salmonidae are by far the most important . Next to these, perch, pike, gwyniad and eel are most common . As regards insect life, Norway may be divided into three areas, the S. being richer than the W., while the N. is distinct from either in the number of peculiarly arctic insects . Sport.—Norway is much frequented by British anglers . Moderate rod-fishing for trout is to be obtained in many parts . But most of the owners of water rights have a full appreciation of the value of good fishing to sportsmen, especially when netting rights are given up for the sake of rod-fishing . The same applies to good shooting . Foreigners may not shoot without a licence, the cost of which is too kroner (5 : 11 : o) whether on crown lands or on private properties, whose owners always possess the shooting rights . The "midnight sun." thus: South-east Coast West Coast . North .

(

Skagerrack) . Winter . . N.E . S . S.W . Summer . . S.W. to W . N . N . The force of the wind is greater in winter on the coast; inland, on the contrary, the winter is normally calm; and at all seasons, on the average, the periods of calm are longer inland than on the coast . The average annual number of stormy days, however, ranges from ten to twenty on the S. coast, from forty-five to sixty-two on the coast of Finmarken, and sixty to seventy at Ona; whereas in the interior of Finmarken the average number is four, while in the S. inland districts stormy days are rare . December and January are the stormiest months .

Hailstones are rare and seldom destructive . Thunderstorms are not frequent . They reach a maximum average of ten annually in the Christiania district . The number of days on which

rain or snow falls is greatest on the coast from Jmderen to Vardo, least in the S.E. districts and the interior of Finmarken . At the North Cape, in Lofoten, and along the W. coast between the Stad and Sogne Fjord, precipitation occurs on about 200 days in the year, although by contrast in the inner part of Sogne Fjord there is precipitation only on 121 days . On Dovie Fjeld and the S.E. coast the average is about 100 days . Snowfall occurs least frequently in the S . (e.g. at Mandal, 25 snowy days out of 116 on which precipitation occurs), increasing to 50 at Christiania, or Dovre Fjeld, and about the mouth of Trondhjem Fjord, to 90 at Vardo, and to 100 at the North Cape . From Vardo to the Dovre Fjeld and in the upland tracts, snow occurs at least as frequently as rain . Snowfall has been recorded in all months on the coast as far S. as Lofoten . The amount of precipitation is greatest on the coast, where, at certain points on the mainland between Bukken Fjord and Nordfjord, an annual average of 83 in. is reached or even exceeded . On the outer islands there is a slight decrease; inland the decrease is rapid and great .

In Dovre Fjeld a minimum of 12 in. is found . In the extreme S. of the country the average is 39 in., N. of Trondhjem Fjord 53 in. are recorded, and there is a well-marked maximum of 59 in. at Svolvaer in Lofoten, N. of which there is a diminution along the coast to 26 in. at the North Cape . In the northern interior a minimum of 16 in. is recorded . Strongly marked local

variations are observed . The amount of cloudiness is on the whole great . The coast of Population.-The resident population of Norway in 1900 was 2,221,477 . The Table shows the area and population of each of the administrative divisions (amt, commonly translated " county ") . Norway is, as a whole, the most thinly populated Am ter . Population Area in 1900. sq. m . Southern- 136,167 1,600 Smaalenene . . . Akershus 116,896 2,054 Christiania (city) .

229,I01 6.5 Buskerud 112,743 5,789 Jarlsberg and Laurvik . 101,003 896 Bratsberg . . 98,298 5,863 Nedenes 75,925 3,608.5

Lister and Mandal . 78,259 2,804 South-eastern (inland)- I26,703 Io,618 Hedemarken . . Christians 116,28o 9,790 Western- 125,658 3,530'5 Stavanger . . South Bergenhus . 132,687 6,024.5 Bergen (city) . . 72,179 5'5 North Bergenhus 88,214 7,13o Romsdal 136,519 5,786 South Trondhjem 134,718 7,182 Northern- 83,449 8,788.5 North Trondhjem Nordland 150,637 14,513 Tromso . . . 72,966 10,131 Finmarken I 33,387 18,291 of the political divisions of Europe . It may be noted for the sake of comparison that the density of population in the most sparsely populated English county, Westmorland, is about equalled by that in Smaalenene amt (85 per sq. m.), and considerably exceeded in Jarlsberg and Laurvik amt (112.7 per sq. m.), but is not nearly approached in any other Norwegian county . The two counties named are small and lie almost wholly within the coastal strip along the Skagerrack, which, with the coast-lands about Stavanger, Haugesund, Bergen and Trondhjem, the outer Lofoten Islands and the land about Lake Mjosen, are the most thickly populated portions of the country, the density exceeding 50 persons per sq. m .

A vast area practically uninhabited,

save in the N. by nomadic Lapps, reaches from the northmost point of the Norwegian frontier as far S. as the middle of Hedemarken, excepting a markedly more populous belt across the Trondhjem depression . Thus of the counties, Finmarken is the least thickly populated (1.8 per sq. m.) . In such highland regions as Jotunheim and Hardanger Vidda habitations are hardly less scanty than in the N . About two-thirds of the population, then, dwell by the coast and fjords, and about one-quarter in the inland lowlands, leaving a very small upland population . The rural and urban populations form respectively about 76 and 24% of the whole . Of the chief towns of Norway, Christiania, the capital, had a population in 1900 of 229,101, Bergen of 72,179, Trondhjem of 38,156, Stavanger of 30,541, Drammen of 23,093 . The towns with populations between 15,000 and ro,000 are Christiansand, Fredrikstad, Christiansund, Fredrikshald, Aalesund, Skien, Arendal and Laurvik . All these are ports . The population of Norway in 18o1 was returned as 883,038 . A rapid increase obtained from 1815 to 1835, a lesser increase thereafter till 1865, and a very slight increase till 1890 . The second half of the 19th century, down to 1890, was the period of heaviest emigration from Norway . The vast majority of Norwegian emigrants go to the United States of America .

But emigration slackened in the last

decade of the 19th century, during which period the movement from rural districts to towns, which had decreased from about the middle of the century, revived . The number of Norwegians abroad may be taken at 350,000 . The Lapps, commonly called Finns by the Norwegians, and confined especially to Finmarken (which is named from them), are estimated at 1% of the population . There are also a few Finns (about half the number of Lapps), whom the Norwegians call Keane'', a name of early origin . The excessof births over deaths, about as 1.4 to I, is much above the European average; the death-rate is also unusually low . The number of marriages is rather low, and the average age of marriage is high . The percentage of illegitimacy has shown some increase, but is not so high as in Sweden or Denmark . The percentage of longevity is high . The preponderance of females over males (about 1073 to 1000) is partly accounted for by the number of males who emigrate . The higher mortality of males is traced in part to the dangers of a seafaring life . Down to the middle of the 19th century drunkenness was a strongly-marked characteristic of Norwegians . A. strict licensing system was then introduced with success .

Local boards were given a wide

control over the issue of licences, and in 187r companies (samlag) were introduced to monopolize and control the retail trade in spirits . Their profits do not, as in the Gothenburg system, go to the municipal funds, but are applied directly to objects of public utility . In 1894 a general referendum resulted in the entire prohibition of the sale of spirits in some towns for five years . The control of retail trade in beer and wine by the samlag has been introduced to some extent . In Norway a strongly individual national character is to be expected, combined with conservatism of ancient customs and practices . The one finds no better illustration than the individuality of modern Norwegian music and painting . The other is still strong . Such customs as the lighting of the mid-summer fires and the attendant celebrations still survive . Peculiar local costumes are still met with, such as those associated with weddings . In the coastwise shipping trade and the fisheries of the north, high-prowed square-sailed boats are frequently employed which are the direct descendants of the vessels of the early vikings . Some examples of the ancient farmstead, composed of a group of wooden buildings each of a single chamber, are preserved, and medieval ornamental woodwork is met with .. Wood is the principal building material except in some larger towns where brick and stone have superseded it .

Where this is not the case, fires have

left few, if any, ancient domestic buildings, but the preservation of ancient models in wooden houses makes Norwegian towns peculiarly picturesque . Norway retains a few highly interesting examples of ecclesiastical architecture . There are the peculiar small wooden churches (stavekirke) dating from the rrth to the 14th century, with high-pitched roofs rising in tiers so as to give the building some-thing of the form of a pyramid . The roofs are beautifully shingled in wood . The wall timbers are vertical . To protect them from the weather, the roofs overhang deeply, and the lowest sometimes covers a species of external colonnade . The carving is often very rich . The most famous of these churches is that of Borgund near La:rdalsoren; another fine example is at Hitterdal on the Kongsberg-Telemark road . On the other hand there are a few Romanesque and Gothic stone churches . In some of these the influence of English architecture is clear, as in the metropolitan cathedral of Trondhjem and the nave of Stavanger cathedral . St Mary's Church at Bergen, however, tends towards the French models . A good example of the smaller stone church is at Vossevangen, and there are several of Late Romanesque character in the Trondhjem district .

There are ruins of a cathedral at

Hamar, and a few monastic remains, as at Utstein, north of Stavanger, and on the island of Selje off Statland . Remains of pure Early English work are occasionally found, as at Ogne in Jxderen, but the later Gothic styles were not developed in Norway . Tourist Traffic and Communications.-During the later decades of the 19th century Norway was rapidly opened up to British, American and German visitors . Passenger communications from Routes . Great Britain are maintained chiefly between Hull and Stavanger, Bergen, Aalesund, Christiansund and Trondhjem; Hull, Christiansand and Christiania; Newcastle and Stavanger, Bergen and the North; London and Christiania, &c., and there are also passenger services from Grimsby, Grangemouth and other ports . Yachting cruises to the great fjords and the North Cape are also provided . A daily service of mail steamers works between Christiania and all ports to Bergen; thence the summer service is hardly less frequent to Trondhjem . From each large port small steamers serve the fjords and inner waters in the vicinity, and there are also steamers on several of the larger lakes . The season lasts from June to the middle of September . The voyage to the North Cape is taken Ronda. by many in order to see the " midnight sun " in June and July . Among the land-routes connecting the great fjords of the west the following may be mentioned . (I) The road from Sand on Sandsfjord (a branch of Bukken Fjord), which follows the Sand river up to the foot of Lake Suldal, near the head of which is Naes .

From here a finely engineered road runs up the

Bratlandsdal, crosses the Horrebrkke and descends past Seljestad to Odde at the head of a branch of Hardanger Fjord . (2) From Eide on another branch of the same fjord a road runs to Vossevangen (which is connected by rail with Bergen) and continues N. to Stalheim, where it descends through the Naerodal to Gudvangen on a branch of Sogne Fjord . (3) From Vadheim on this fjord a road runs N. to Sandene and Utvik on Nordfjord . Routes N. from this fjord are (4) that from Faleide by Grodaas on Lake Hornindal to Hellesylt on Sunelv Fjord and Oje on Norangs Fjord, and (5) that from the same station or from Visns, by way of Lake Stryn, to Grotlid, and Merok on Geiranger Fjord . All these routes pass through magnificent scenery . For the same reason there should also be mentioned (6) the road through the Telemark, which branches from the Bratlandsdal road at Breifond, mounts the Haukelidsieter and descends to Dalen, from which the Bandaks canal route gives access to Skien on the S.E. coast, the road continuing from Dalen E. to Kongsberg; also those running E. from the great fjords—from Laerdalsoren on Sogne Fjord, branching (7) through Hallingdal, and (8) through Valdres; (9) the road from Grotlid to Otta in Gudbrandsdal, running N. of the Jotunheim; (so) the road from Veblungsrt s on a branch of Molde Fjord, running through the Romsdal and over to Domaas; (51) the N. road across Dovre Fjeld from Domaas to St6ren on the railway to Trondhjem . Beyond the districts thus indicated, the Saetersdal, a southern valley, is visited by many, and in the far N. the Lofoten Islands and some of the fjords, as Lyngen and Alten, are very fine . The mountains of Jotunheim have attracted several well-known mountaineers . The main roads of Norway, the construction of which has demanded the highest engineering skill, were not brought into existence until the last half of the 19th century . A Highways Act of 1851 placed the roads under the immediate control of local authorities, but government rants are made for the construction not only of main roads, but iii many cases of cross-roads also . In a country where railways are few, posting is of prime importance, and in Norway the system is well developed and regulated . Along all main roads there are posting stations (skydsstationer, pronounced shilssstashoner), hotels, inns or farms, whose owners are bound to have horses always in readiness; at some stations on less frequented roads time is allowed for them to be procured .

Posting stations are under strict control and the

tariff is fixed . The vehicles are the stolkjcerre (pronounced approximately stolcharer) for two passengers, and the kariol or carriole for one . A similar posting system obtains by rowing-boats on lakes and fjords . The first railway, that between Christiania and Eidsvold, was constructed by agreement between British capitalists and the Railways . Norwegian government, and opened in 1854 . The total length of railways is only about 1600 m., Norway having the lowest railway mileage in proportion to area of any European state, though in proportion to population the length of lines is comparatively great . Almost the whole are state lines . Railways are most fully developed in the S.E., both N. and S. of Christiania . The principal trunk line connects Christiania with Trondhjem by way of Hamar and the Osterdal, Roros and Stdren . Four lines cross the frontier into Sweden—from Christiania by Kongsvinger (Kongsvinger railway) and by Fredrikshald (Smaalenenes railway), from Trondhjem by Storlien (Meraker railway), and from Narvik on Ofoten Fjord, the most northerly line ir the world . Among other important lines may be mentioned that serving Lillehammer, Otta, &c., in Gudbrandsdal, that running S.W. from Christiania to Dram-men, Skien and Laurvik; the Saetersdal line N. from Christian-sand; the Jideren line from Stavanger to Egersund and Flekkefjord; the Bergen-Vossevangen line; and the branch from Hell on the Meraker railway northward to Levanger . These local lines form links in important schemes for trunk lines .

Norwegian railways are divided between the

standard gauge and one of 3 ft . 6 in.; on the N. line a change of gauge is made at Hamar . Some of the large lakes form important channels for inland Cana/s. navigation; the rivers, however, are not navigable for any considerable distance . A canal from Fredrikshald Fives access N. to Skellerud, and the Bandaks canal connects Dalen rn the Telemark with Skien . The post-office is well administered, and both telegraph and telephone systems are exceptionally extensive .