The mention of this practice leads Madame
Pfeiffer to comment very severely on the want of cleanliness among the
Icelanders, who are as dirty in their houses as in their persons.
They are also remarkable for their laziness. There are many ample
stretches of meadow-land at a short distance from the coast, completely
covered with bog, and passable only with great precautions, which the
construction of a few ditches would thoroughly drain. Capital grass
would then spring up in abundant crops. It is well known that such will
grow in Iceland, for the hillocks which rise above the swamps are
luxuriantly overgrown with herbage and wild clover. The best soil is
found, it is said, on the north side of the island, where potatoes grow
very well, and also a few trees--which, however, do not exceed seven or
eight feet in height. The chief occupation of the northerners is cattle-
breeding, particularly in the interior, where some of the farmers own
three or four hundred sheep, ten or fifteen cows, and a dozen horses.
These, it is true, are exceptional cases; but, as a rule, the population
here are in much better circumstances than the wretched coast-population,
who chiefly rely on the products of their fisheries.
* * * * *
From Iceland Madame Pfeiffer embarked for Copenhagen on the 29th of July,
in the sloop _Haabet_ (the "Hope"), which proved by no means a vessel of
luxurious accommodation.
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