.a8 SEASONSINSWEDEN. 



/(7«i;/ they fucceed very ill : nonpareils and golden rennets will not ripen even at 

 Edinburgh without the help of a wall. Yet in the middle o'i Augujl 1769, I have 

 feen, at Cajlle Bratm, in Rofsjlnre, in about lat. 57. 42, Turkey apricots, orange 

 nedtarines, and a foft fmall peach, againft a common wall, ripe : but at the fame 

 time other peaches, nedtarines, and green-gages, far from maturity. 



Notwithftanding England is fo noted for its vaft produce of apples, yet fuch is its 

 demand for them, that it imports great quantities from Normandy, and even North 

 America. In 1785 the duty at the cuflom-houfe amounted to 565/. lbs. at the 

 duty of about is. per bufhel ; that was in a year of fcarcity : but in the preced- 

 ing year, which was remarkable for its plenty, it amounted to 278 /. lis, 



Wood-ftrawberries are the mofl: delicious fruit in Sweden, and abound in moft 

 amazing quantities. The great Linnjdus kept himfelf free from a fit of the gout 

 for feveral years by the liberal eating of this fruit. 



In refpeft to the production of Ceres, it may be faid, that the goddefs extends 

 her bounty in form of wheat with a fparing hand, and that only in the foutheru 

 provinces. Barley is the general fobd of the common people; and in the fub-al- 

 pine parts of the country, oats alone will attain maturity *. 



Winter begins in Stueden with what are called the Jarnnatter or iron nights^ 

 which feldom exceed three or four, and happen between the 19th and 3iil of 

 Auguji, in the latitude of Upfal. After thefe, barley ceafes to grow, and the 

 plants which require a green-houfe are no longer fufFered to be abroad. Water- 

 fowls almoft of every denomination difappear in autumn. In OiJober, the bear, 

 badger, hedgehog, and mole, retire to their winter quarters. In the fame month is 

 the firft appearance of ice. In November is alternate fnow and ice, an unpleafant 

 thaw, and rain. The ditches are filled with water, till the fnow takes firm polTef- 

 fion of the ground, and winter reigns uninterrupted for many months. Between 

 the 20th and 28th of February are the days of Jleel ; the ice on the lakes cracks 

 longitudinally, the timbers of the houfes fnap with a great noife, and horfe-dung 

 fpurts out icy particles a foot high. In March begins the unpleafmg fpring : the 

 fnow begins to melt againfl the walls, the ice is loofened from the ftones, and the 

 hills begin to appear of their own color. Inundations of fnow- water, in April, cowtt 

 the ground ; the rivers are unbound, and the ice floats down. Birds of various 

 kinds return ; the fight of the wheat-ear confirms the flight of any more fevere frofh, 

 except the few leaden nights in May ; after which fummer is confirmed, and the 

 return of birds is completed. In yune are the brazen 7iights, which, with the 

 leaden, reach Siveden eight days after they are felt in Lapland, on the thaw of its 

 ffflow. Thefe are the revolutions of a Swedijh year. 



• Amen. Acad. III. 77^ 



5 . Amon^- 



