GRAVESEND. 381 



around, and become injurious to the crops sown, and also 

 to the kitchen garden plants. 



Vagar. Roads. 



Almost everywhere on both sides of the high roads, 

 were hawthorn hedges planted, so that one walked or 

 travelled here as in an A lUe, or in a garden. 



These high roads had not the character, as with us in 

 Sweden, that the road lay higher than the land around, 

 but here exactly the opposite is the case — viz., so that 

 the road goes in most places deep down in the earth, to 

 a depth of 2, 4, or 6 feet, so that many would believe the 

 road was only some dry stream-course. There is com- 

 monly on one side of the road [T. II. p. 16], if not on 

 both sides, on the walls or the high sides, a footpath, 

 gangwag, on which those who travel on foot go, so that 

 they are not in danger from those who drive or ride. 



That the roads are so deep seems to come from this, that 

 in this country very large wagons, vagnar, are used with 

 many horses in front, on which wagons a very heavy load 

 is laid. Through many years' driving, kdrning, these 

 wagons seem to have eaten down into the ground, and 

 made the road so deep. On the other hand, the hedges 

 which are planted on both sides of the road had in- 

 creased their mould, partly from dust which had been fixed 

 by them, partly from the leaves which they let fall yearly, 

 partly from the earth which is shovelled up like a little 

 wall against the roots when the hedge is made or laid 

 down. But the principal cause, nevertheless, seems to 

 be due to the wagons, because the arable-fields, pastures, 

 and meadows on the sides equally in most places lie higher 

 than the road. The soil, jordmon, which here consists of 

 sandy gravel and pebbles, sandgrus och klapper, and 

 which immediately absorbs water, causes these roads to 

 suffer little injury from rain. During heavy rain some 



