THE NORTH SWEDISH PROVINCES 145 



Next morning I rose with the sun to examine this 

 wonderful tree. It proved to be nothing more than a 

 common elm. Hence, however, we learn that the elm 

 is not a common tree in this part of the country. 



' The redwing, cuckoo, black grouse, and mountain 

 finch made a concert in the forest, to which the lowing 

 herds of cattle under the shade of the trees formed a 

 bass. Iceland moss grows abundantly in this forest. I 

 arrived at the river Tonna, which divides Gestrickland 

 from Helsingland and empties itself into the Bay of 

 Touna. The lake called Hamrange Fjarden extends 

 almost to the sea. I was told it did actually commu- 

 nicate' [with the Bothnia]. ; At least there is a ditch 

 in the mountain itself whether the work of art or 

 nature is uncertain called the North Sound, hardly 

 wide enough to admit a boat to pass. This is dammed 

 up as summer sets in, to prevent the lake losing too much 

 water by that channel, as the iron from several foundries 

 is conveyed by the navigation through this lake. 



'HELSINGLAND. 



' The common and spruce firs grow here to a very 

 large size. The inhabitants had stripped almost every 

 tree of its bark. A red byssus stains the stones here, 

 and near Norrala there is a bright red ochre in the 

 earth, and staining the water. Several pairs of semi- 

 circular wicker baskets were placed in the water to catch 

 bream. Here I observed the black-throated diver, 

 which uttered a melancholy note, especially in diving. 



VOL. I. L 



