THE OCCUPATION' OF THE LAXD 173 



it cannot be stated definitely what proportion of the 

 Upper Peninsula Finns are in agriculture, the num- 

 ber is large and is increasing, for the Finn has a 

 very strong inclination to the land and towards forest 

 industries, and testimony is general that he is forg- 

 ing ahead of other racial stocks in the agriculture of 

 the northern peninsula. 



The Scandinavian element in the State has not 

 been as large as in Minnesota or Illinois, for example. 

 The census of 1910 showed that in Michigan there 

 were 16,454 inhabitants who spoke Danish as their 

 mother tongue, 17,891 speaking Norwegian, 64,391 

 speaking Swedish. How this Scandinavian popula- 

 tion distributes itself between town and country can- 

 not be stated definitely. There are both urban and 

 rural communities having a large Scandinavian ele- 

 ment. They are proportionally numerous both in the 

 city of Marquette and in some townships of ]\Iar- 

 quette County. As farmers they seem to be uni- 

 versally regarded with much favor. Their farm- 

 steads are commonly neat and well maintained. They 

 are in a high degree literate and are of a deeply 

 religious character. A Swede will not willingly labor 

 on Midsummer Day, the day of St. John the Baptist, 

 which is for him a religious holiday. A wedding is 

 not an occasion for hilarity : it is a solemn religious 

 event, obsen^ed with prayer and pastoral disserta- 

 tion. Topographical and climatic conditions un- 

 doubtedly directed Scandinavian migration towards 

 the northern boundary of the United States. In 

 these respects the Upper Peninsula is said greatly to 



