SWEDEN. 



A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE LANDSCAPE, FAUNA, 



AGPx-ICULTURE, AND FIELD SPORTS OF THAT 



COUNTRY. 



With a few Notes on the Ichthyology of the Great Lake Wenern^ 

 and some Remarks on the Northern Salmon Rivers. 



It is no easy task to endeavour to give a good general description 

 of the climate, scenery, or fauna of a country like Scandinavia, 

 which extends from r^^ to 71° N. lat., and occupies an area of 

 nearly 300,000 square English miles, diversified with every descrip- 

 tion of landscape, from the low flat sandy plains and open turf 

 mosses of the south, and the dense pine forests of the midland dis- 

 tricts, to the barren fells of the north, whose snow-capped summits 

 afford a scanty sustenance to nothing but the wild reindeer and the 

 ptarmigan. Over so wide a surface we must expect to find soil of 

 every description 3 and it is the diversity of landscape that adds the 

 great charm to travelling through these northern climes. Still, rich 

 as it is in natural productions, rich as it is in every branch of its 

 fauna, it is a land comparatively little known to the English 

 traveller, while almost every other part of the Continent, whose 

 natural beauties can scarcely surpass this country in the summer, 

 are as well known to the British tourist as the woods and glades of 

 merry England. 



Before proceeding into more minute details respecting the agri- 

 culture and natural productions of the land, it will be as we/ 1 to 

 cast a slight glance at tlie fauna of this interesting country , and the 



