132 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



Gothland. 1 From Bunga we travelled southwards on 

 the east coast, through a forest that was being hewn 

 down by the lime-burners. Tar-kilns were built on the 

 ground. The numerous peat bogs are jestingly called 

 Gothland's gold-mines. Another source of wealth is 

 the eider-down. The feathers lining the nests are 

 grey with white spots. The bird tears the down out of 

 herself when she broods, and covers the eggs with it ; it 

 is, however, mixed with moss and brushwood. We 

 travelled in the great heat to Kyllei. 



4 July 1. We sought Furilen, an island near Kyllei, 

 early in the morning ; and also went to St. Olofsholm, 

 a round elevated island half-encircled by the bay. 

 Walnut trees had been planted on one side of the island, 

 but they had died in this last cold winter. Wall-rue 

 fern 2 clothes the walls of St. Olof s chapel. From here 

 to Slite, where we took up our night-quarters, is one 

 mile and a half [Swedish]. c Slite is one of the best 

 harbours in Gothland. We could not visit Carl swards 

 Schange, a fortress on a small island called after 

 Charles X., because time would not allow us to wait for 

 the strong east wind to change. 



' Sjiistromar ' [Istromar] ' lies at the outflow of the 

 lake of Bogewick into the sea. The land between the 

 sea and the lake is half a buck shot wide. Four canals 

 are dug across it, over which four canals the high-road 



1 ' There are upwards of one hundred churches in Gothland, 

 mostly of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.' LAING'S Sweden. 



2 Asplenium Ruta-muraria. 



