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VON TROIL’S LETTERS ON ICELAND. 663
boats are fmall, and they unprovided with inftruments proper for that purpofe. They
ftand in fo great dread of fome of them, that when out at fea they are afraid to mention
even their names, and carry dung, brimeftone, juniper-wood, and fome other articles of
the fame nature in their boats, in order to terrify and prevent their too near approach.
Notwithftanding, it now and then happens that they catch fome of the largeft fort,
which is done when the fifh approach too near the fhore at high water, and are unable
to return as faft as the water ebbs, where they are killed with {tones and lances. In this
manner they had caught a large whale the year before our arrival at Hafnefiord.
To their fifhery likewife may be reckoned the catching of /iadogs, which is very confi-
derable infome parts. They have four forts of them, r¢/ungur, vade-felur, blaudu-feller,
and gran-felur. ‘They are fatteft in winter, and yield three or four pounds of fat, of
which each pound produces feven quarts of oil: in fummer, on the contrary, they are
_ very lean. ‘Their flefhis eaten, and their fat fold at five yards a pound. ‘Lhe fkin is
fold by weight, at the rate of fixty yards for twenty pounds.
Though the fituation of Iceland renders it extremely proper for fifhing, the fifhery
has decreafed very much lately ; which is partly owing to the many foreign fhips which
yearly come to fifh in thofe parts, and partly to the want of men, as the number of
people has decreafed greatly. But I believe the chief caufe is the monopoly of the
trading company, which very much opprefles the country.
If the people had more encouragement, there would be more emulation and diligence
amongft them than at prefent; for they are obliged to fell a vaett, or five pounds of
dried fith to the company, at the rate of five-fixths of a dollar, which they fell in Ham-
borough, where the greateft part of what is caught in Iceland is ufually fent, for five
banco-dollars.
Next to fifhing the principal fupport of the Icelanders is the breeding of cattle.
Their beeves are not large, but very fat and good. It has been reported by fome,
though without foundation, that there are none among them with horns: it is true,
however, that they feldom have any.
They keep their large cattle at home in their yards the greater part of the year, though
fome have places appropriated to them in the mountains, which they call /atr, where
they fend their cattle during the fummer, till the hay harveft is over. ‘They havea
herdfman to attend them, and two women to milk them, and make butter and cheefe.
It iscommon to meet with oxen running wild about the mountains, which are however
drove home in autumn, as every one knows his own by a particular mark put upon
them.
The principal food of the cattle is hay, and they reckon a ftack of hay for a cow’s
winter provifion ; one ftack confilts of thirty cocks of hay grown on manured land, and
forty cocks grown on unmanured land. When there is a fcarcity of fodder, they feed
them in fome parts with /eenbitr, a kind of fith, which, together with the heads and bones
of cod, is beaten {mall, and mixed with one quarter of chopped hay. The cattle are
fond of it, and yield a good deal of milk after it; but yet it is faid to have a bad tafte :
they only make ufe of this food in time of need.
Their cows yield four quarts of milk a day, though they have fome that give from
eight to fourteen in twenty-four hours. A cow that yields from fix quarts is reckoned
a good one, and mutt not ftand dry above three weeks before fhe calves.
A young calf is fed with milk for ten days or a fortnight, afterwards the milk is mixed
with water and chopped hay, and at laft they give it whey inftead of milk.
The ufual price of a cow, as well as of a horfe, is one hundred and twenty yards,
thirty of which make a dollar. However, fometimes the better fort of horfes are fold
for
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