12 THE LAPLAND ALPS. 



When the reindeer are milked, as the v 

 cast their coat during the whole course of 

 the summer, the hair flies about very in- 

 conveniently, often covering the milk in 

 the pail. Some hair sticks also to the dugs 

 of the animal, and it is found necessary to 

 clean and soften them before the milking 

 is begun. This is generally done by dip- 

 ping the fingers into the milk M'hich may 

 be in the pail already, and washing them 

 therewith. Whenever it happens that one 

 of the reindeer strays from its master's 

 herd to that of a neighbour, the person to 

 whom it comes milks it, without any offence 

 to the proper owner. Such an accident 

 often happens ; for these animals love so- 

 ciety, and the more of them there are to- 

 gether, the better they thrive and enjoy 

 themselves. They are marked at the ears, 

 like cows, that every person may know his 

 own. 



The furniture of these Laplanders con- 

 sists of kettles and pots, made sometimes 

 of brass, sometimes of copper ; rarely of 



