This odd question . has been asked me by an observant
travel- ler : Why are all Norwegian birds black and white ? The only suggested answer is that, as in France, the magpie, that most salient marauder, is absurdly prevalent. The immense fortress that he erects for nests saves him from most enemies ; but declares his presence to the least observant game-keeper. The wagtail is also common and I am told the cole-tit is com- moner than the more gaily-coloured blue tit. Gulls, such as the black-headed and black-backed which penetrate through Norway may 'add to his impression of black-and-whiteness. The country is interesting to the forestry farmer as well as the naturalist. What strikes an English visitor as strangest is the line of posts with a number of wires built towards the mid- dle of the little meadows for the sake of the hay crop' which ifs all hung up in the wires to dry like Monday's washing. Some- what similarly, tall spiked posts are fixed up for the short- strawed corn-sheaves which are impaled thereon in a towery pagoda : one of the compensations for a certain infertility in the soil and climate is the immense wealth of wild berries of Many sorts of succulence ; and they are eagerly harvested. I have noticed the same in the as yet very infertile island of Newfoundland. The berried plants are as beautiful to see,' especially at this season, as they are attractive to pluck. In Norway the wild raspberry is especially abundant, and it
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