220 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



as to brace and stimulate the faculties, and produce that 

 state of wholesome intoxication which affords its pleasures 

 without its penalties. Guthrey says that ' the inhabi- 

 tants live so long as to find life tedious, and therefore 

 go to other climes of less salubrity.' Never mind, they 

 would find less inconveniently fine air in some of the 

 mining districts where they were going ; mayhap they 

 would even find diseases. Their object was to go to 

 RoraSs, high up in the dreary mountain range dividing 

 Sweden from Norway, where they might chance to die 

 of cold and privation, aided by mining dangers, arse- 

 nical fumes, and others. Though the copper exhala- 

 tions are so deleterious to vegetation, they seem to offer 

 some hygienic advantages to mankind. Falun, like 

 Swansea, has always been exempt from cholera and 

 other pestilence, and this immunity is attributed to the 

 smelting of the copper ores. This is considered an 

 excellent disinfectant. 



Sohlberg, a former pupil of Carl's at Upsala, one of 

 the Dalecarlians of the party, led the way, because he 

 knew it, and because his office was to quarter the troop 

 comfortably on their arrival at the end of the day's 

 journey. The rest rode more at ease, making busy 

 notes for the journal, whose early pages are naturally 

 the fullest and neatest. There are different hand- 

 writings in each leaf, and a broad margin on the outside 

 of each page, which Linnasus fills with his comments, 

 which show how carefully he read every day's report. 



The papers each day begin with the geographer's 



