INTEODUCTION. xi 



trutli of everything, which he reads in the following 

 pages. 



We have no book in England that I know of upon 

 the Scandinavian fauna, which is, perhaps, as rich as that of 

 any country in Europe ; and I think, therefore, that the 

 chapter relating to this subject will be found the most in- 

 teresting in the whole book, giving, as it does, a complete 

 list of every mammal, bird, reptile, and fish met with at the 

 present day in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, 

 with the localities which each frequents, and notices of the 

 habits of the rarer species. 



For a great part of the matter contained in the chapter 

 relating to the statistics, and general description of the 

 country, its mines, and its forests, I am indebted to 

 " Agardth's Statistics," a masterly and carefully compiled 

 work, which ought to be in the library of every Swede. 



Much of the chapter relating to the agriculture of the 

 country, is from my own personal observations, during a ten 

 years' residence among farmers in different parts of Sweden, 

 and I beg here to observe that the opinions which I give 

 are solely my own. I have certainly received a little assist- 

 ance in the calculations, but nothing more. Many friends 

 offered to revise this chapter for me, but I would not 

 allow it ; and if any of my ideas or surmises are wrong 

 or ill founded, the whole fault rests upon my own 

 shoulders. 



My chapter on the domestic life of the Swedes is just 

 what I found it myself, and I have given what little informa- 

 tion I was able from my own experience respecting the 

 field sports of the country. 



I have done my best to render my book amusing as well 

 as instructive. My " Spring and Summer in Lapland " gave 



