SILVER-FOX FARMING ONE OF NORWAY'S IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 199, 8 September 1937, Page 11

SILVER-FOX FARMING ONE OF NORWAY'S IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES

Green crystal bowls and little .vases of grape hyacinths wero a dainty deeoration on the luncheon table for the meetmg on Monday of the Hastings Wopien 's Luncheon Club, which was held at the Hawke 's Bay Parmers ' tearooras. The patroness of the club, Mrs. Selwyn Ghaxubers, was the speaker for the day, and before asking her to begin her talk the club president, Mrs. A.. E. O'Meara, expressed the appreciation ' which all the inembers considered that Mrs. Ckambers well deserved for her great interest in the club and the help w mch she was always so willing to give. ' Mrs. Chambers chose for her talk a description of NGrway, which she visited about this time last year. She said that organised' cruises to Norway liad become tremendously fashionable, but as one was able to visit only the iiords with everyone else and be entertained together she and two or three friends decided to go independently because they considered that it wcuid be iniinitely niore interesting. They set out from Newcastle on a small Norwegian steamer at about 4 o'ciock in tho afternoon and had a very good trip acvoss, spending the next day at, sea and arriving early the following iaorning. • "Norway is very difEerent from other countries," said Mrs. Chambers, "and in parts is- most beautiful. There is\a'. laek oif beavtiful gardehs, but the trees' are very lovely and flowers in pots are to be seen in all the bouses. The people work hard and are very thrifty, their main livelihood. being obtained from thoir qowsj . a little harvesting, fox farming and tourist traffie. The eows" have to be taken up to the mountain tops. in the summer and usually the whole family accompanies them. Tt is : said that the mountains are so steep that both cows and children have to be tethered to . preveiit them from faliing down the mountain side. " , "During our travels. we visited a fox farrti, this being quite a big ndustiy in Norway -as the cold weather makey the furs better than thosb Which are bred in the warmer countries such as 'England. The greatest pest in the fox farming industry. is the distemper. Tho animals are kept on wire-netting through.out.tho Summer and in tho winter tho wire-netting is put aver tho snow. The foxes aro the . silver fox vaxioty and are ,very timid animals. They cannot be handled or they bite. The animals are killed at the age of nine or 10 mon'ths and the pelts aro. valued at £10 to £30,' the sire at tho farm we visited liaving been lmported from Alaska. Throughout our motorings in Norway we always knew whon we passed a fox farm. "The tourist traffie in Norway has recently become very much greater," contmued the speakei\ "because tlie Swiss exchange is very much against tho English and many of the tourists now go to Norway or Austria instead and are still able to do plenty of skiing. In many' of the small places which they -visited high up in the mountains. the hotels were very spacious and welloquipped for the many tourists who visit them in the season. In these large hotels the waitresses were quite often charmingly dressed in their national costumes." Mrs. Chambers said that they visited Oslo and here were entertained by sonio friends, being taken to a splendid cabaret among other things. They found that it was tho custom for the host always to drink the health of his guests iirst. Quite a lot of motoring and train travelling was done, the trains being most comfortable. The most prosper-ous-looking parts of tho country were tho' cultivated parts and here they saw the crops hung out on fences to dry. The houses were mostly wooden ones with slate roofs . and these very often had a covcring of thatch on top of them. Evcry wliere were roAvan trees with their bright berries, an,d these are not taken by the birds because thereare so i'ew of them owing to the very cold climate. . The speaker said that during their motoring they were fortunate enough; to see tkree reindcer which lookcd most beautiful and majestic. Hundreds of iittlo cascades falllng down the hillsides were greatly admireil, these being fed from the lakes and giaeiers. During the winter time a great deal of weaving is done by the Norwegian people, carpets, rugs, and baskets in beautiful colourings and a bag which, Mrs. Chambers passed round which she had bought there was much admired.. After motoring in the mountains the travellers motored all round the liords which appeared like lakes and were most beautiful. Two days were spent in Dldeu and here, Mrs. Chambers said that siie enjoyed a ride in oue of Ihe little pony carts being taken to see a most wondei'ful glaeier. Tho last slop was made at Bergon, a very important and attractve old lishing town andi from liere they left on tlieir returu to JNeweastle. Throughout hor very deiiglitful talk Mrs Chambers handed rqund post-cards of the places visited and these were se'eu with great " interest. Everyone agreed "with Mrs O'Meara when^ iu tliauking the speaker, she sai'd how vt-.j v pleusant it liad oeen to be transported to Norway even if only for half an hour. Jt was dccided r-j mahe tho fiuai iMjeung in Noveniber au evcning tea l'cilowoil -by a picture parlj aiul ia in-. vitution from Mrs. • I:rmber3 to vmir, her home a little later m the year. Kas aecepted with much pleasure. Among those present were: Mrs. A. i E. O'Meara, Mrs. Selwyn Chambers, ; Miss Sybil Lincoln, Mrs. A. i\L Brodie, ! Mrs. Lawlor, Mrs. E. J. llull, Mrs. L. 1 G. Thomson, Mrs. V, Iloskins, Mrs. H. Macdonald, Mrs. D. W. HgrsthouoC, ,

Misses M. Holmes, E. E. Treneman, M. Treneman, N. Diamond, E. Heenan, A. lbiiley, M. Bee, J, M. Grallam, J. 0. Graham, E. Bliakespearq, p. Gumblcy, C. Lowe, J, LovclbSmith, 3, Symcsj M, , i