il
which is fixed by an old valuation which it has
not been found necessary to alter,—and a rent
for a fixed number of cattle which it is calculated
the farm is able to support; and these
are transferred from one tenant to another,
each succeeding one to take them, and to leave
the same number on quitting the farm. But
this is not to prevent a farmer from keeping
as much stock as he can maintain, without
paying any additional rent. The rent of both
is paid, according to agreement, in money,
wool, tallow, butter, & c .; the tenant is for
life, provided he does not injure the farm, but
he may quit whenever he pleases, on giving
six months’ notice *.
From the Landnama book of 1695, which
Von Troil had in his possession, the proportion
of estates belonging to the Crown, the church,
and the freeholds, were as 718, 640, and 1847,'
since which many of the two former have been
sold, and the number of the latter fully
doubled. The estimated number of farms,
including freeholds, were then 4058 : they are
now supposed to be above 6000 f .
2. Q. Does the Crown claim an}' superiority ?
A . The CroAvn claims superiority in very feiv
instances only, which superiority is called Forstrands-
Rettighed.
* Sir George Stewart Mackenzie,
t Letters on Iceland by Von Troil.
3. Q. What are the laws of descent ?
A . The same as in Norway,
Obs.—The law of descent in Norway excludes
primogeniture. If a person dies intestate, the
property is sold or valued, and divided among
the children, so as to give equal shares to the
sons, and half shares to the daughters ; and
where wills exist, they seldom deviate from
this rule. If any one of the brothers can pay
the shares to his brothers and sisters, it is
generally arranged that the freehold estate
should be made over to him, in order to retain
it in the family.
4. Q. What is the ordinary size of estates ?
A . Such as are called twenty hundreds, or which
are of the value of 300 to 400 specie dollars,
and can feed six coavs, eighty sheep, and eight
horses, are in the interior considered middle-sized
estates.
Obs.—T h i s r e c k o n in g b y hundreds Avould a p p e a r
t o b e p e c u l i a r t o I c e la n d . T h e am o u n t o f a
m a n ’s p r o p e r t y , o r s u b s t a n c e in t h e S t a t e ,
b y a n a n c i e n t r e g u la t io n , Avas e s t im a t e d
a c c o r d in g t o t h e n u m b e r o f e l l s o f vad o r
wad, o r , a s Ave a r e p l e a s e d t o c a l l it , A v adm a l,
AA'hich h is f a m i l y Avas a b le to m a n u f a c tu r e o r
c o n s u m e in t h e c o u r s e o f a y e a r . E v e r y
hundred e l l s w a s l i a b l e to a t a x , a n d a c c o r d in
g to t h e n um b e r o f h u n d r e d s Avas th e e s t a t e