56 ÅNGERMANLAND. 



the country covered with snow, in patches 

 some inches deep. The prettj spring flowers 

 had gradually disappeared. The buds of 

 the birch, which so greatly contribute to 

 the beauty of the forests, were not yet 

 put forth. I saw nothing but wintry plants, 

 the heath and the whortle-berry, peeping 

 through the snow. The high mountains 

 which surround this tract, and screen it 

 from the genial southern and western 

 breezes, added to the thick forests which 

 will hardly allow the first mild showers of 

 spring to reach the ground, may account 

 for the Ions: duration of the snow. 



This part of the country is very moun- 

 tainous, and is watered by many small 

 rills, originating on the sides of the moun- 

 tains from the copious rains falling upon 

 them, and running from thence, by various 

 channels, to swell the streams of Helsing- 

 land and Medelpad. 



The cornfields afford a crop two years 

 successively, and lie fallow the third. Rye 

 is seldom or never sown here, being too 



