REYKJAVIK.
The domain of which this sturdy little town is the capital is a limited one. Though the whole island is of great extent, yet only one-ninth of it is capable of cultivation. The whole centre and northern part of the country is covered by a desert of lava, so inhospitable that no one has ever explored it and from the parts under cultivation but little can be raised. A few hardy vegetables, such as the potato, are produced in small quantity, and grasses are grown for the support of sheep and horses. Tree life is almost unknown. The pride of the governor’s garden at Reykjavik is a tree which is three inches in diameter at its base, and rises to the imposing height of fourteen feet.
TRAVELLING IN ICELAND.
From such a barren soil the Icelander can obtain little. But the very hardships of his life only force him to renewed energy. The island is emphatically the home of birds, over one hundred varieties being found. Some of these afford him food, others furnish covering for his bed, while one is so fat that when its feathers are removed and a wick is run through its body, it is used as a lamp to light his house through the long northern winter. Sheep are raised, and the breeding of ponies for exportation is a very profitable occupation. As there are no carriage roads on the island, all travelling must be done on horseback and all food and baggage must be carried in the same way. Consequently a small party of travellers make a large cavalcade and present a striking appearance as they pass along in single file, each horse tied by the halter to the tail of the one before him.
It is to the sea, however, that the Icelander turns his chief attention, and here he finds a rich harvest, for the waters are fairly alive with fish. Great schools of cod seem to people the deep. On shore, too, they are everywhere. The rafters of the houses are hung with them, dried and smoked ready for use. They are piled up by the roadside like cords of wood, while their bones are either used for fire or are boiled and fed to the horses. Ship loads are sent each year to the cities of Europe, where they find, especially in Roman Catholic countries, a ready sale. It is even said that a new process has been invented by which the fish when dried is ground into powder and so exported as flour.
