Deep fnows
on the moun.
tains_i.jin.eir 7
advantages
and detriment.
N A T # -R A L H I W O R Y
warm and, dry, and had been id for a confiderable time ibefore.
But jtbis .pafe is pommofi- tp. Norway, with other mountsddbiis coun-
tries, which I fhall here take occafion to iUuftrate'by fome parallel
inftances : We: are informed *,'that whilft the fummer feafbnlafts,
from c^pe Gomarin to.the coaft af Goromand'elpit-is winter during
that time, from Diu to the aforefaid cape. In like manner, on One f
fide.of the;. mountain called Gates, or Baflagates, - 'the 'fields are*
cloathed, in theirverdure, and-ithe -msuntry appears in *?all the.
gaiety-.a^* lepturiancy oKjTunmeti^.wliilft,, on>the other, it ilGO*-
vered ,mth"fogsiiand. rain ... .Something fimilar to this is alfo ob1-
ferved from Orinus;..to Cape Rofalgate, -where the ihips -may harbour
, and enjoy> the moft delightful weather imaginable, whereas
beyond the, cape they 'meet, with hard'gales, rain, '®bfv'*» iftir,ther’
account of ;thfefc remarkable particulars the reader' may meet with
in Paul-wan Caarden’s. voyage to the Eafl Indies. !
S E C T. XV.; I
From'the confiderationd^he rain, I am?hht|iryiy fed to fpeafe
' of the. fnow, specially as-both are the'fame mdubHance, differing
only in texture^and figure, which depend "oh.the warmth or
coldnefs of the air, as I myfelf, experienced lh-Gomfflg^down a
ihountam, \rilere, till abouf halfJ^av^.’vge.had fnowf.but a-little
lower the flakes of fnow were melted into drops rif rdih! 'NoW- in
Bergenthefe fiiows feldom lie long';*' be avery exfi-aordikary
winter, when the flodj^f&e ufed1^ fdffhi^M^tfMli^ljP;
wlVericas-Mi-the other northern provinces the fnows are very thick and
lafting, and lie long ;ana oft £He Tumm®
in the cavities far north;-which are inacceflible toith| fun-beams,
the fnow lies throughout the whole year; .and’the contfaft betwixt
the lively verdure of the fields and the glifteringivhfreh^fe of
the m^intatni is not difagreeablei The'upper region of the "Sir,
(where the atmofphere being thinner than near thl earth, the
: funirbeams arelefs intercepted and reverberafedyik always ex-
\ tremely- cold, even in the warmeff countries. This is the cafe in
Switzerland and Italy, and even - in Perfia, according to. Taver-
J M;»: Concerning this I refer the reader foThe northern voyages with Mr. Robert
Boyle’s InftrO&ionS for travelling with advantage’, where; we':'find the' above; gblerva-
tiens op t^je difference o f the air in hot countries at , a fiaa&tl diftance'from each
-gthkr, T jjj! ■ . •' , f ,7 "<■ - '
2 mer,
N A T U K 'A L H I S T O R Y \oiWOR WA Y. • 29
nier; and in Ethiopia; according to Ludolph -and others; the tops '
ofi thei-niountainsV as'.here in tNofway,, are covered;with fnow both
in wintef and; fummer.' dnpfome' pfacdsjfarf north the nndermoft
lays o f ifnpws, «by -Mag lytngV turn tbfa blbifliWee,* called in our.
J^ttgM^^flafeede/i^hidfefblpetimes Aides'; down to.a eonfiderablo
diflancet,over the lower ■ grpurids,; -toithe n.® fijiall detriment o f the ■
peafants..' Ini'Juftedldef ' which lies high! among -the -mountains,-
; one o f thefe Jifbredes, detached from an iofeimoiU®taan^;:i|^flfoyed
feme farmthoufe§rand, landsy and-further damage,® yet to be.ap-r.
prehehded *.
!. However;-; both Here, and'-ih^’othdr. .parts, efpescially in . the
eafteirn the Tnow* As*' highly - beneficial " to! 'the peafaUts, > partly in
forming-a, paflablei road -in- the ;wihter,v without which, all 'traffic
and' intdrqourfe with th e . champaign country- would be cut off ;
yet here they are often; obliged; fo ■ put on their Trwhirs -f .;(,$!> kind
iof fho wrfhoes;' fc&jdad! and round, - made b f withies, for j keeping the
feet frOm finking in the fhow) * and foipetimes they.-muft qyen be
put on. the 'hoHfe^’.hoofsf | Another contrivance for travelling- on
-the fnow are * fkie£, ©e? Idng' arid thin- ffieces bf''boardj .and'fQ
»fmppt-h^ that with them -the • peafants .wadej/thfough' the. fnow with-
,all the-e^pedition o f .fhlps under full fail'. In . w a r time a eorps-of
4 or- doafof'.thefe fkie-men are^very ferviceable aS; light? trpops,
rfor, r^ephrioitring,. procuring intelligence, or f fa r ‘any- fudden en-
ferprize ;^|nV.fpla^e being - inacteflible to them, and 'thtey|beirig
a j v y a y s . c o m i n g upon'the enemy by furMiz&i!si0 1 ie t fh'oW
,alfo improves* the- fertility, o f the foil, aind is Tuppofed inTpring,-
fto anfwer the fetads-L*of manuring f itsdikewife ferves?fqr.la .fenee
and fhelter againft feyere cglds and winds. When the fhow-is:;
.not off the ground, early, enough in the fpring,rfor the hufband-
men to begin tthe work o f that feafon, they fpread over the fnow
a kind o f rich black mould, which, in a few-flQUrsj entirely dif-
folves i t . . But, on the other hand, the peafants are often fufferers
by the fn.ow, which, when-it-falls in great quantities, and lips
Ipdurat BoreW perpetuatnq, *f. l -Ovid. * i
i" .-Some entertaining accounts of thefe Truviers, -"pr-rnow-fhocs, which iri o.tKei1
parts are alfo called Rackets, ^e.;to . be, feen in Hennepin, Tom. 11, cap. 27. and in
the feveral hiftoriesiof the counties and, nations d^Apieric^,'
long