TOUR IN SKANE 267 



stroyed by fire at Fredriksborg as a protestion against 

 the flying sand. Skanor and Falsterbo often suffer from 

 a sandy whirlwind. The roads in SkSne are proverbially 

 bad ; the ground is soft ; stones are scarce, save the errant 

 boulders. About Linnaeus's time the governor of the pro- 

 vince constructed from Malmo to Ystad so excellent a 

 road that it lasted for fifty years without needing repair. 

 It was formed of small stones. It is said that Macadam 

 took his idea of road-making from this very road. 



Linnasus then turned inland to Marswinsholm, a 

 fine estate belonging to Baron Sioblad, grandly built 

 like an old feudal castle. The inscription, dated 1644, 

 says it belonged in Danish times to Otto Marswin, lord 

 of Dybeck, &c. Linnaeus's celebrity made him a wel- 

 come guest at these fine country seats of the nobility ; 

 the difficulty was to get away from the hospitalities 

 poured upon him, so as to continue his tour. His visits 

 were valued and valuable, since in merely .glancing 

 round these domains he was able to offer many sugges- 

 tions for development and improvement. It seems he 

 was the first to point out the merits for the table of the 

 ortolan, 1 which is frequently met with in Sk&ne. At 

 that time a ducat (nine shillings) a piece was given for 

 them in France so says Smith. It reads like tearing 

 himself away when, after dilating on the charms of these 

 places, he says, June 28, ' I sought the mineral springs 

 of Nibbla and Gumarslof.' 



1 Emberiza Hortulanus, so called from its partiality to garden 

 hedges. 



