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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



and in going out to their daily tasks the 

 bright colors of their costumes blend 

 harmoniously with the green grass and 

 rich foliage. 



They do not make the plea that, being 

 the weaker sex, they should have the 

 lighter work. Even if the men swing the 

 scythes, the women deftly toss the new- 

 mown hay in the sun and hang it upon 

 racks to dry. The men when at work 

 wear for protection a leather apron, and 

 when once put on they, believing that 

 it would give them a cold should they 

 dispense with it, wear the apron every 

 day and Sunday, too. However, when 

 Sunday demands the long "church coat," 

 the leather badge of work is laid aside 

 for the day. 



Because of the insufficient supply of 

 warm sunshine in this high latitude it is 

 necessary to hang the cut grain upon 

 racks to ripen. When properly cured it 

 is hauled to the barns upon two-wheeled 

 carts, there to rest until a lull in the gen- 

 eral work permits the annual threshing. 

 This labor calls into service the entire 

 force of the farm — men, women, and 

 children — some to pass the sheaves, one 

 to feed the machine, another to pitch the 

 straw, and others to take care of the 

 grain, while I won the everlasting grat- 

 itude of my farmer host by driving one 

 of the horses on this important occasion. 



The farms are usually small, for the 

 owner upon dying divides it in equal 

 shares among his children, and these 

 shares after repeated subdivisions be- 

 come mere patches. Sometimes one may 

 buy out his brother, or he may secure 

 possession of one or more distinct par- 

 cels and thus own a number of discon- 

 nected pieces. My host was the owner 

 of 26 such tracts, some exceedingly small 

 and so narrow in fact that a horse and 

 wagon could not be turned around upon 

 one of them, and others were several 

 miles from his home. 



Many farmers have back from the lake 

 in the hill country pasture land or ground 

 too rough or too remote for cultivation. 

 Here the stock, and especially the cows, 

 are kept during the summer months. In 

 this distant retreat one or more members 



of the family remain to look after the 

 cows, make butter and cheese, pack away 

 a supply for winter use, and cure such 

 hay as may not be needed for the grazing 

 cows. 



The flax, which in its finished state 

 forms such an important part of the 

 dress of men as well as women, and used 

 so extensively in making the bed and 

 table linen, is raised on many farms. At 

 one time every farmer had his patch of 

 flax, but now the manufactured goods 

 are crowding out the home-made and 

 only the old-fashioned folks, who will 

 not be satisfied with anything but the 

 best, still hold fast to the oroducts of 

 their own looms. 



The lace also, which plays such an im- 

 portant role in ornamenting the fancy 

 kerchiefs and head-dresses, is a home in- 

 dustry. Each parish has its own patterns 

 of lace, and the expert in one pattern 

 has no temptation to learn a new one, 

 but goes on perfecting herself in the pat- 

 tern of her own parish. 



The houses of the farmer class are 

 very simple, made in many cases of 

 rough, unhewn logs, with the cracks 

 filled up with the moss which grows in 

 such abundance here. In one corner of 

 the room are two stationary beds, one 

 above the other, in another corner the 

 great open fireplace, and benches are 

 about the walls. A plain table, wooden 

 bowls and spoons, and a corner cupboard, 

 in which the household treasures are 

 stored, complete the furnishing of the 

 average home. A narrow shelf over the 

 window is the place of honor for the 

 Bible and the book of Psalms, and near 

 by is suspended the long pole on which is 

 strung the loaves of ring-like rye bread 

 to dry. This bread apparently never 

 grows stale, but is always just to the 

 farmer's taste. 



Here, as elsewhere in Sweden, cofifee 

 is all-important. The first thing in the 

 morning is coffee with "dip" — that is, a 

 bread of finer texture baked especially 

 for this purpose ; then at 9 o'clock break- 

 fast, a rather substantial meal with po- 

 tatoes, fish cooked on glowing coals, and 

 frequently a kind of gruel for those who 



