168 TEN YEAE3 IN SWEDEN. 



whatever it is, has been paid. And should the trespasser 

 resist, the fine will be heavy, and he will be put to a great 

 deal of trouble. 



There are no regular gamekeepers in Sweden, as in Eng- 

 land. On every estate there is a " skop vaktare," or wood 

 watcher, who has to look over the forests as well as 

 the game ; and his time is too fully occupied with the timber 

 to devote much to the game. There is a head Crown 

 " Jagare " in every province, appointed by the Crown ; but 

 except in the appointment of "skalls," I never heard that 

 they did much in the way of preserving the game. In fact, 

 Sweden, on account of the scarcity of the people and the 

 immense tract of wild land which nobody looks after, is a 

 very difficult country to preserve. Still I know no country 

 where a better show of game might be kept up, if only 

 proper means were adopted, and the wholesale destruction 

 of the old birds in the breeding season, and the young birds 

 before they can well fly, were prevented. The guns in gene- 

 ral use among the peasants are of the most primitive 

 description, and in the northern forests a shot gun is scarcely 

 ever seen. A small pea rifle of the coarsest manufacture is 

 used for all species of game, and it is wonderful with what 

 accuracy these peasants shoot. The Swedish powder is in 

 general sad rubbish, and as the ginger-bread German caps 

 are in use also, the birds, if fairly on the wing, stand a 

 far better chance than in England. You do not often meet 

 with here what we should call a crack shot, although I 

 must say I have seen some Swedes shoot remarkably well ; 

 but a peasant rarely tries a flying shot. The northern 

 sportsmen invariably shoot with shot two to three sizes 

 larger, than we use in England. Almost all load with paper 

 instead of wadding ; and as a shooter's powder-flask and 

 shot-pouch are always stowed away in a game-bag, and as 

 these are generally on the old draw-out principle, loading is 

 a matter of some time. I once had the curiosity to time a 

 peasant loading a single gun, and the operation occupied 

 just eight minutes. They are much cleverer here at running, 

 than flying shots. There is scarcely a good gunmaker in 



