LINNAEUS’S TRAVELS IN LAPLAND. 
3 8 9 
« He has now another work in hand, to which he gives the name of 
« Lachesis Lapponica. He will give a proper description in it of the 
« ceconomy of the Laplanders, of the causes of their longevity, and not 
« on ly contradict Scheffer and other writers on Lapland , but make 
« plain truth the characteristic of his narrative. Linnaeus can boast of 
« being the first who travelled in summer through the mountains of Lap- 
« land. He says : that he generally found a very grey similarity be- 
“ tween those mountains and the Alps, even with regard to the plants. 
« Their summits are generally of so very sandy a nature that no plants 
« can grow upon them. He further adds : that in the province of 
« Lapmark, the soil is every where so very sterile on account of the 
« cold northern winds which constantly blow from the monntains, 
« that no corn will grow, except on the banks of the rivers, and that 
“ hardly one hundred inhabitants are to be found in the whole district.” 
(l He observes, however, that he discovered in that province and in 
« Finnmark a kind of wild corn, which shoots forth from the dry sand, 
« and bears the most rigorous cold blasts which prevail in Lapland , 
K even in summer, without the least prejudice to its growth.” 
LINNAEUS’S 
