When They Take Snuff,
They Throw Back Their Head, Insert The Point Of The Flask In Their
Nose, And Shake A Dose Of Tobacco Into It.
They then, with the
greatest amiability, offer it to their neighbour, he to his, and so
it goes round till it reaches the owner again.
I think, indeed, that the Icelanders are second to no nation in
uncleanliness; not even to the Greenlanders, Esquimaux, or
Laplanders. If I were to describe a portion only of what I
experienced, my readers would think me guilty of gross exaggeration;
I prefer, therefore, to leave it to their imagination; merely saying
that they cannot conceive any thing too dirty for Iceland delicacy.
Beside this very estimable quality, they are also insuperably lazy.
Not far from the coast are immense meadows, so marshy that it is
dangerous to cross them. The fault lies less in the soil than the
people. If they would only make ditches, and thus dry the ground,
they would have the most splendid grass. That this would grow
abundantly is proved by the little elevations which rise from above
the marshes, and which are thickly covered with grass, herbage, and
wild clover. I also passed large districts covered with good soil,
and some where the soil was mixed with sand.
I frequently debated with Herr Boge, who has lived in Iceland for
forty years, and is well versed in farming matters, whether it would
not be possible to produce important pasture-grounds and hay-fields
with industry and perseverance.
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