88 SWEDEN. 



sfpects, characteristical of the Swedish nation, for it represents them as 

 they are, prone to the conception of grand enterprises, and distinguish- 

 ed by mechanical invention. As a work of art, and of bold and perse- 

 vering design, it is not too much to say that it is the first in the world ; 

 even the duke of Bridgewater's canal in England, and that of Lan- 

 guedoc in France, not excepted."* 



Metals, minerals.. ..The mines of silver, copper, lead, and iron, 

 in Sweden, constitute the principal wealth of the country. In the 

 year 1738, a gold mine was likewise discovered near Adelfors, in the 

 province of Smoland; but from the year 1741 to 1747 it produced 

 only 2,389 gold ducats, each valued at 9s. Ad. sterling ; and at present 

 will not defray the expence of working. The silver mines, though 

 greatly reduced in value, are more profitable ; but by far the most 

 valuable are the mines of copper and iron, though these are much 

 less productive than they were formerly. The copper mines near 

 Fahlun, in Dalecarlia, have been worked lor nearly 1000 years : they 

 are sunk to the depth of 1080 feet, and employ 1200 workmen. The 

 copper is found, not in veins, but in great masses. The iron mines 

 near Danemora, in Smoland, are accounted to produce the best iron 

 in the world. The metal is sometimes found in vast masses, of 

 which the most remarkable is the hill of Taberg, in Smoland, which 

 is one immense lump of iron ore, above 400 feet high, and three Eng- 

 lish miles in circuit. The iron mines in Sweden, together with the 

 smelting houses and furnaces, are said to employ nearly 26,000 

 workmen. 



Sweden likewise produces porphyry, rock-crystal, cobalt, antimo- 

 ny, zinc, and molybdena. Coal mines have been discovered within 

 these few years in the province of Smoland. 



Climate, soil, agriculture. ...The winter in every part of Swe- 

 den is extremely severe. The largest lakes, and the whole Gulf of 

 Bothnia, is frozen over, and a kind of high road is made over the lat- 

 ter for sledges to pass into Finland. The southern parts have a 

 somewhat milder temperature than the northern. The spring con- 

 tinues only for a week or two, when the heat of summer becomes 

 extreme, from the great length of the days, and the reflexion of the 

 sun's rays from the rocks and mountains; so that in some of the north- 

 ern provinces the harvest is sown and reaped in the space of seven 

 or eight weeks. Frequent winds purify the atmosphere, the salubri- 

 ty of which is evinced by numerous instances of longevity. The 

 soil is in general very indifferent, but in some vallies, surprisingly 

 fertile. The Swedes, till of late years, had not industry sufficient 

 to remedy' the one or improve the other. The peasants now follow 

 the agriculture of France and England, and raise almost as much 

 grain as is requisite for the consumption of the country. Even Fin- 

 land produces rich pasturage, and considerable crops of different 

 kinds of grain. 



The cultivation of tobacco has succeeded very well throughout the 

 whole country. It grows in the greatest quantities near Stockholm 

 and Abo; and perhaps Sweden at present does not require any im- 

 portation of this commodity from foreign countries, except to have 

 it somewhat superior in quality to that of its own growth. 



Vegetables, animals. ...The pine and the fir are the principal for- 

 est trees of Sweden ; the birch grows in all the provinces ; but it 



* Acerbi's Travels in Sweden, Finland, and Lapland, vol, i. p. 20, 



