File:Vale of Landvig (JW Edy plate 13).jpg

This is another of those delightful and fertile spots which, from their rarity in this part of Norway, are deservedly honoured with the appellation of the Land of Canaun. The farm of Mr. Fasting, a very hospitable and worthy man, affords a pleasing and interesting confirmation of the opinion, that, notwithstanding the rigour of the climate and the penury of the soil, much may be done for the improvement of the agriculture of Norway. All kinds of corn grew here in abundance, and the eye was gladdened with the rare sight of a garden plentifully stocked with vegetables, fruits and flowers.

The agriculture of Norway, though one of the chief resources of the peasantry, is hut in an indifferent state; nor is it much to be wondered at, if we consider the obstacles which nature and man present to agricultural pursuits. The soil is generally stony and sandy, and cannot be prepared for seed before the middle of April, sometimes indeed not until May ; and the corn is scarcely ripened, and in many instances yet green, when the approach of winter destroys the fairest hopes of the husbandman. A greater portion of ram also falls during the spring and autumn than at any other season of the year.

Agriculture appears, nevertheless, to have been pursued by the earliest inhabitants ; for, although they lived on fish and salt meat during winter, when they were unable to engage in piracy (in those times a very honourable calling), they must have used gram in the preparation of drinkables; they being as much attached to strong beer, as the Norwegian peasant of the present day is fond of gin. Agriculture must therefore have been pursued at an early period, though not to any extent. King Oluf Haraldsen prohibited the exportation of gram, malt and flour, during a time of scarcity ; and in the 12th and 13th centuries famine was occasioned by the failure of the crops.

But in spite of the necessity existing for the production of gram in Norway herself, and in spite of the difficulties attending its importation in case of a maritime war, the inhabitants have never appeared to be fully impressed with the expediency of cultivating every spot at all susceptible of tillage. The Norwegian entertains but little veneration for the plough, and does not aspire to the honour of becoming, in the words of Swift, "so far a creator, by making two blades of grass grow "where only one grew before." In the most favoured situations agriculture is attended with toil and anxiety, and must necessarily be still more so in a country stinted by nature, as Norway is. Hence, this pursuit is undervalued or altogether neglected by a people who, in common with other mountaineers, may possess their share of indolence and improvidence. Ancient custom, the contracted views of the peasant, and selfish interference on the part of others, may also operate to the disregard of an occupation which forms the basis of human happiness. Bums, in allusion to his original condition of an Ayrshire ploughman, exclaimed with pride and rapture, " I was bred to the plough, and am independent. "A Norwegian peasant would exclaim with as much spirit and enthusiasm," I was bred to the axe, "and am independent."

In fact, the forest is but too generally the chief good of the Norwegian peasant; It bounds all his desires, and supplies all his wants. In this view of his condition he is moreover fully confirmed by the trading inhabitants. They quicken his industry in destroying, supply him with all the necessaries, conveniences, and even luxuries of life, and dissipate any anxiety he might feel for the real welfare of himself and family, by the cheering and sure hope, that forty years hence a new forest will be ready for the axe. Reasoning like this is in some measure cogent, and may be given and received with equal pleasure by those who would avoid the necessity of earning their bread in the sweat of their brow.

But if it be considered, as has been proved to demonstration, that a piece of woodland does not yield the advantages which arable land of the same extent would, a heavy responsibility must attach to that indifference with which the capabilities of the soil are viewed by the higher as well as the lower orders of society. I am certainly aware, that in some parts of Norway, improved systems of agriculture have been introduced by men of opulence; but their efforts have not as yet been productive of particular benefit beyond the range of their individual operations. It may even be questioned with propriety, whether their pursuits in agriculture, however successful in appearance, have been attended with real benefit to themselves, because they seem rather to have been ambitious of proving what could be extorted from the soil by sparing no expence, than desirous of eliciting from the ground as much as would not only cover the disbursements incurred in its cultivation, but also afford the proprietor due encouragement.

In the present state of the world, and in the relative situations of Denmark and Norway, as they must be affected by the war with England, too much anxiety cannot be expressed for the proper employment of every improvable spot in Norway. A failure of the harvest in Denmark must be attended with distressing, and may be productive of fatal consequences to, Norway. It is however to be hoped, that the agriculture of Norway will make a sudden and a great spring, since, (in addition to the encouragement held out by particular, and not extensive, societies for the promotion of the economical concerns of the country,) it is now an object of singular care to the Society for the Welfare of Norway, established in 1809. This institution, which may be termed unique, has excited a degree of interest which does infinite honour to the patriotism and talents of Norway; and the establish ment being of a representative nature, much good may justly be anticipated from the cordial efforts of a body, who must naturally take a very lively interest in the welfare of the country.