ABSTRACT
IN the farthest lands of the North no mines of iron, copper, or silver have yet been discovered, even though the most blessed Job says that gold comes out of the North; 1 consequently, owing to the waters that cover a vast area, men there have a huge and unavoidable need for vessels, which should properly be strengthened with iron. So, when they are about to build boats, chiefly for the use of fishermen, they reduce the easily split pines and firs in their forests to thin planks and, as there are no iron nails, tie them together with outstanding skill by means of young, freshly extracted tree roots, which are as good as cords made of hemp. Others bind their boats with ropes made from pliant withes of poplar or other trees, apart from the oak, which does not grow nearer than about two hundred Gothic or German miles away. But the firs and pines grow so 209high and straight that they are most appropriate for all needs, and also for those who have a passion for gain and want to make a rich profit, since they can be sold to merchants from overseas. Others when building vessels tie the planks together with animal tendons, chiefly reindeer’s, which they have adapted by pounding them and letting them dry in the sun and wind. But, as is done with tow, these tendons are separated from the finer sinews from which they grow, while the latter are cleaned for use as thread, as I shall show elsewhere, when I deal with the usefulness of the reindeer in the book on animals. 2
Gold comes from the North
Fir trees that can be split
Tendons in place of nails
Thread from sinews
