46 Forestry Quarterly. 



over 100,000 inhabitants, (Stockholm and Gotenburg) the people 

 live scattered in the country, densest along the coast in the agri- 

 cultural districts, and sparsest in the heavily timbered districts 

 and the large plains of Lappland which lie above timber line. 

 The most thickly settled regions are Malmo (225) and Gotenburg 

 (198), while Norbotten, the most northern province, has an aver- 

 age of only three inhabitants per square mile. Large areas of the 

 latter country which compare favorably in size with Bavaria, 

 Saxony and Wurttemberg are totally deserted. Of the total area 

 of the country 12 per cent, is used for agriculture, and 51 per 

 cent, is timbered. In accordance with this, a large per cent, of 

 the Swedish population obtains its subsistence from the industries 

 which result from the use of these 70,000 square miles of timber- 

 land. About 47 per cent, of the population is said to practice 

 agriculture ; but at the same time, the forest and the work going 

 on in it are an equally, if not more important source of income for 

 the agricultural inhabitants of the forested districts, especially 

 in the northern ones. The wood industry alone employs 67,000 

 workmen. 



Of further importance as sources of income are the mining 

 industry (iron, copper, zinc), the textile industry, and fishing. 

 Hunting, especially for wild fowl, must also be regarded as such. 



The topography of Sweden is largely hilly. Level stretches are 

 only found in the south (Malmo) and along the coast where they 

 are broken up by hills. The topography becomes more rugged as 

 one advances towards the Norwegian boundary, which coincides 

 for long distances with the crest of the Scandinavian watershed. 

 Hence the streams, arising on the eastern slope of the mountain 

 chain, traverse only Swedish ground. Only the Klarelf River, 

 traversing Wermland, originates in Norway, where it rises from 

 the Faemund Lake under the name of Trysil. The rivers are 

 rarely over 300 miles in length, flowing in a southeasterly direc- 

 tion. Their gradient is steep and their courses frequently inter- 

 rupted by natural dams, above which they form long narrow lakes 

 and through which they break as cataracts and rapids; there- 

 fore they are only navigable for short distances. On the other 

 hand, these streams are of the utmost importance for driving 

 timber, their numerous falls and rapids are an almost inexhaus- 

 tible source of power for industries and traflic. 



Most of the streams flow into deeply incised fjords, the open- 



