198 TEN YEAES IN SWEDEN. 



pack, leave the reeds, and large flocks assemble by day in 

 the open waters. It is now impossible to approach them 

 without a punt gun, and that would be hardly safe in our 

 large lakes. Towards the middle of October the golden eye 

 comes down, and many stop in the large rivers till very late 

 in the winter. The weather now begins to get chilly and 

 inclement, and the duck-shooting in Sweden may be 

 considered as over ; and with it the shooting season may 

 be said to close in the midland districts, except for 

 hares or an odd shot at forest game. I never could 

 tell which way the scoters, and scaup, or geese, come 

 down from Lapland. It must be along the coast, for they 

 certainly do not pass through the midland districts ; and the 

 same remark will apply to most of the waders. We rarely 

 see any wild swans in our district, but plenty of diving 

 ducks, and many waders, especially ruffs and reeves; the 

 geese only visit us in the spring and autumn. 



I have above given the reader a list of what game he may 

 expect to find in Sweden, and I will now say a few^words on 

 the fishing ; a few general hints on this subject will suffice. 

 For all the common fresh- water fish such as we have in England 

 the angler cannot go wrong, let him camp where he will -, 

 and I need not give him any advice as to the tackle, etc., 

 required, for just the same as is used at home will do here. 

 To the salmon-fisher I can only say that none of the Swedish 

 rivers appear to equal the Norwegian. The salmon-fishing 

 on the few rivers in the south is now, I believe, all taken up ; 

 but I fancy all the rivers on the eastern coast north of 

 Stockholm are free. However, from all accounts it does not 

 appear that there is any very great sport to be had in 

 these rivers. Still salmon must and do come up all the 

 rivers, that have an outlet into the Baltic, but I do not 

 believe they have been tried regularly like the Norwegian 

 streams ; and if I were a devoted salmon-fisher, and well off, 

 I would come up to Stockholm in the end of May, hire a 

 good guide, and proceed from river to river up the coast, 

 see what the salmon-fishing was like, and then hire 

 the stream. I am certain I should find many a good 



