786 



SWEDEN. 



9. Vegetable Productions. The spruce and Scotch firs are the mos*^ common tree. Vast 

 forests of birch, poplar, and mountaui ash overspread many parts. The oak, beech, and elm 

 flourish in the south. Fruit trees are not indigenous ; but a variety of berries are produced, 

 the most delicious of which is the Arctic raspberry (^Rubus arcticus), which, when ripe, is su- 

 perior in fragrance and flavor to the finest strawberries. 



10. JMineral Springs. There are about 360 mineral springs in Sweden, among which the 

 baths of Medevi, and the wells of Loka Later, Rambosa, and Rottenby, are the most cele- 

 brated. 



11. Minerals. The mines of silver, copper, lead, and especially iron, constitute the chief 



wealth of this country. In 1738, a 

 gold mine was discovered near Adel- 

 fors, which formerly yielded 40 marks 

 annually, but it is now nearly exhaust- 

 ed. The principal copper mines are in 

 Dalecarlia ; that of Fahlun has been 

 worked upwards of 1,000 years, and 

 produces 2,000,000 lbs. of copper 

 annually. The iron mines at Danne- 

 mora, in Upsala, produce the best 

 iron in the world ; they were discov- 

 ered in 1488, and have no subterra- 

 nean galleries, but are worked in the 

 open air, like gravel-pits ; they con- 

 sist of 12 excavations, the whole ex- 

 tent of which collectively is 760 feet 

 in length, by 500 feet in depth ; the 

 mines belong to 13 proprietors, who 



mamtain 1,579 workmen. The noted mountain of Taberg, in Smaaland, is one entire mass 

 of rich iron-ore, 400 feet high, and 3 miles in circumference, and has been worked 200 years. 

 The mines of Carlstadt are also numerous and productive ; the most remarkable are those of 

 Persberg ; these are 13 in number, dug into a mountain wholly composed of veins and beds of 

 iron'Ore. In the wide abyss, suddenly appears a vast prospect of yawning caverns and prodi- 

 gious machinery. Immense buckets, suspended by rattling chains, pass up and down ; lad- 

 ders ;:cale the inward precipices, upon which the workmen look like pigmies ; the clankrng of 

 chains, the groaning of pumps, the hallooing of the miners, the creaking of the blocks and 

 wheeis, the trampling of horses, the beating of hammers, and the loud subterraneous thunder 

 from Liie blasting of rocks, produce an effect that no one can witness unmoved. There are 

 rich nimes of iron in other parts, which, owing to the difficulties of transportation, are not 

 worked. The whole annual produce of Sweden, is nearly 2,000,000 tons. Sweden likewise 

 produces porphyry, rock-crystal, coal, cobalt, alum, sulphur, vitriol, and antimony. Nearly 

 all the fine modern works in porphyry, are of the porph3ay of Elfdal. 



12. Animals. The wild animals of Sweden are wolves, bears, beavers, elks, reindeers, 

 foxes, hares, and squirrels. The Swedish wolves are not so fierce as those which infest the 

 southern parts of Europe. In winter, the foxes and squirrels become gray, and the hares as 

 white as snow. About 300 species of birds are found in the country. The rivers and lakes 

 abound in fish. 



13. Face of the Country. Sweden is intersected by numerous marshes, hills, and lakes , 

 and, beyond the 60th degree, appear vast tracts of wild and uninhabited land, approximating, as 

 we proceed northwards, to the sterility and bleak aspect of the polar districts. Nature in vari- 

 ous places presents the wildest and most sublime features ; but in general the scenery is uni- 

 form. The coasts surrounding the Bothnian Gulf and the Baltic are bold and rugged, indented 

 with numerous bays, and stretching out into imposing promontories. 



14. Divisions. Sweden may be divided into 3 parts, viz. northern, southern, and middU 

 Sweden ; which are subdivided into 24 Isens or provinces. The ancient divisions were Goth 

 land, Lapland, Norland, and Sweden Proper. 



15. Canals. The Canal of TroUhatta opens a communication between the North Sea 

 and Lake Wener, by forming a new channel where the Gotha is rendered unnavigable by cata- 

 racts. Lake Malar is united with the Hielmar by the Canal of Arboga ; with Lake Barken, 



Mine in Sweden. 



