Kerguelen’s voyage to the north. 748 gelica as well is met with every where, it grows fo plenteoufly that the inhabitants often live upon it themfelves, and give it to their cattle; it is moreover of a moft exquifite flavor, and extraordinary fize. But the moil; Angular and valuable plant is that which is found upon the rocks, it is a fpecies of mofs which very much refembles lungwort, or ladies’ wild-wort. Marty Ice- landers make flour of it which they prefer to wheat: it is called by them Jialla-gras, or rock-grafs. M. Olave fending me at the fame time a handful of it, thus fpeaks in praife of the plant in one of his letters. “I fend to you Sir, a herb which refembling lung’3- wort ferves among the Icelanders as a fuccedaneum for bread, it is called Iceland mofs, and grows on the rocks of the loftier mountains, fo that with truth we may fay, God gives us bread from Hones. It never grows in earth or foil of any deicription, nor cads forth roots. It affords us a noble feaft ; the powder of it, taken molt frequently in milk, is fo pleafant and falubrious, that I prefer it to every kind of flour; it is befides an excellent ftomachic, and a moft fafe medicine in dyfentery.” The reader will perceive that M. Olave, who is well verfed in botany, attributes highly falutary qualities to this plant. Pulfe and fruit do not grow in Iceland, owing to the exceflive cold, according to M. Anderfon; and notwithftanding what M. Horrebow may fay, who affirms that he ate currants from the garden of the governor of Befefted, I believe it to be as difficult to raife turnips in Iceland, as pine apples at Paris. It is at this time impoflible to grow corn there ; and the regulations refpecting agriculture, which are ufed as an authority for the fuppofition of its having been formerly cultivated, do not prove the fafl;; for the wifdom of legiflators, every day provides for occurences that never happen. There are no wild beafts in Iceland. Sometimes bears are brought over on flieets of ice from Greenland j but as foon as they land and are perceived, they are fhot, or killed with javelins: they come over of different colours, black, white, filvered, and ftriped, but never have time to multiply. The only undomefticated animals in Iceland are foxes. They are black, blue, red, and white. In order to colled a number of thefe animals the inhabitants place in the fields a dead fheep or horfe, whofe carcafe exhaling a ftrong fmell to a great diftance, draws together the foxes around it j fomewhere in the neighbourhood the fporfman fixes himfelf, having beforehand built a place from w'hich he can fee, without being feen, and whence he is enabled to kill four or five foxes at a fhot. There is a plenty of horfes in Iceland, of a fmall race, coming, according to M. Anderfon, from Norway; according to M. Horrebow from Scotland ; probably neither is in the right. However that may be, they are ftrong and fwift. In the mountains are thoufands of them, which for feveral years never enter a liable ; they poflefs the inftind of breaking the ice in order to get their food. The faddle horfes are kept in the liable all the wdnter ; but when an inhabitant wants any for labour, he fends his fervants into the mountains who gather them together, and take them with halters. The horfes taken in the mountains at five years old generally become the handfomeft and moft vigourous of any. The Icelanders raife numerous flocks of lheep. Every farm has its flock, and foine farmers have as many as five lheep walks. In fome diltritts they are left to wander all the year about, and even during the winter, in the mountains. The only precaution ufed is to feparate and take into folds the yearlings, who not being fo well fleeced as the older lheep, would not be able to fupport the cold. Thefe animals are obliged to make a hole in the fnow in order to get to their pafture : it is a very precarious pofief- fion to the inhabitants, who oftentimes lofe the fruit of all their cares in an inftant. 2 When

(1) Band
(2) Band
(3) Saurblað
(4) Saurblað
(5) Blaðsíða 735
(6) Blaðsíða 736
(7) Blaðsíða 737
(8) Blaðsíða 738
(9) Blaðsíða 739
(10) Blaðsíða 740
(11) Blaðsíða 741
(12) Blaðsíða 742
(13) Blaðsíða 743
(14) Blaðsíða 744
(15) Blaðsíða 745
(16) Blaðsíða 746
(17) Blaðsíða 747
(18) Blaðsíða 748
(19) Blaðsíða 749
(20) Blaðsíða 750
(21) Mynd
(22) Mynd
(23) Blaðsíða 751
(24) Blaðsíða 752
(25) Blaðsíða 753
(26) Blaðsíða 754
(27) Blaðsíða 755
(28) Blaðsíða 756
(29) Blaðsíða 757
(30) Blaðsíða 758
(31) Blaðsíða 759
(32) Blaðsíða 760
(33) Blaðsíða 761
(34) Blaðsíða 762
(35) Blaðsíða 763
(36) Blaðsíða 764
(37) Blaðsíða 765
(38) Blaðsíða 766
(39) Blaðsíða 767
(40) Blaðsíða 768
(41) Blaðsíða 769
(42) Blaðsíða 770
(43) Blaðsíða 771
(44) Blaðsíða 772
(45) Blaðsíða 773
(46) Blaðsíða 774
(47) Blaðsíða 775
(48) Blaðsíða 776
(49) Blaðsíða 777
(50) Blaðsíða 778
(51) Blaðsíða 779
(52) Blaðsíða 780
(53) Blaðsíða 781
(54) Blaðsíða 782
(55) Blaðsíða 783
(56) Blaðsíða 784
(57) Blaðsíða 785
(58) Blaðsíða 786
(59) Blaðsíða 787
(60) Blaðsíða 788
(61) Blaðsíða 789
(62) Blaðsíða 790
(63) Blaðsíða 791
(64) Blaðsíða 792
(65) Blaðsíða 793
(66) Blaðsíða 794
(67) Blaðsíða 795
(68) Blaðsíða 796
(69) Blaðsíða 797
(70) Blaðsíða 798
(71) Blaðsíða 799
(72) Blaðsíða 800
(73) Blaðsíða 801
(74) Blaðsíða 802
(75) Blaðsíða 803
(76) Blaðsíða 804
(77) Saurblað
(78) Saurblað
(79) Band
(80) Band
(81) Kjölur
(82) Framsnið
(83) Kvarði
(84) Litaspjald