784 S W E 
as the canal shall be extended to the Malar lake. The other 
great lakes are the Wetter and the Hjelmar,both to the south¬ 
ward of the capital, and at some distance from it. Of the 
the rivers of Sweden, the Ljusna, the Dal, and the Clara, 
rise in the mountains bordering on Norway, and flow, the 
first two into the gulf of Bothnia, the last into the lake of 
Wetter. From that lake issues the Gotha, which flows south¬ 
ward with a full stream, but not a long course, until reaching 
the Cattegat; while the waters of the Wetter lake are convey¬ 
ed to the Baltic by the Mottala. The other rivers of Sweden 
are of secondary size; but approaching Lapland we meet with 
several streams of magnitude, all flowing into the gulf of Both¬ 
nia, viz., the Angerman, the Umea, the Skeleftea, the Pitea, 
the Luleathe Torneo. In winter these waters, flowing from 
frost-bound mountains, are, like the Rhone and other rivers in 
Switzerland, comparatively inconsiderable; but in summer 
the melting of the snow often swells them prodigiously, and 
makes them overflow large tracks of country adjacent to 
their banks. 
The plants of Sweden are similar to those of Britain, 
With the exception, however, of several, such as broom, 
furze, and walnut trees, which have not strength to withstand 
the continued cold of a Swedish winter. The list of these 
deficiencies increases the farther we proceed to the northward, 
but throughout all the temperate part of Sweden, the oak, 
the elm, the alder, thrive as in England, while some trees, 
such as the spruce and Scotch fir, succeed better. Apple, 
pear, and cherry trees grow here but languidly; while 
berries of many different kinds are produced spontaneously, 
and spread luxuriantly. As to corn, wheat succeeds only 
in the southern provinces; oats are raised more generally, 
and in larger quantities; but rye and barley are the species 
of grain most frequently met with. 
In the domestic animals, there is very little difference be¬ 
tween Sweden and Britain. Horses, oxen, cows, and sheep 
are spread over the kingdom as in that country, and the 
chief difference consists in a marked inferiority of size, the 
consequence of poorer pasture, and of less skill and capital 
on the part of the agriculturists. The Swedish horses are well 
shaped, and uncommonly sure-footed; and it is remarked 
that all the domestic animals of this country, without except¬ 
ing the watch dog, possess a great share of tameness. As to 
beasts of game, hares and foxes are as abundant as in Britain, 
with a long list of animals, the natural inhabitants of wilds, 
unknown in Britain, such as beavers, wolves, and, in the 
cold provinces of the north, bears. In the birds there pre¬ 
vails a greater similarity between Britain and Sweden. The 
naturalists of the latter have calculated the different species 
of the winged tribe in their country at about 300. Fish is 
plentiful, as well along the coast as in the rivers and lakes: 
in the latter salmon and pike are the principal fish, trout 
being found only in the mountain streams. On the coast of 
the Baltic is caught the stracmming, a species of herring pe¬ 
culiar to that sea. 
Hardly a thirtieth part of the surface of this country is ara¬ 
ble, and if the wilds of Norrland were included, it would 
not be a sixtieth. The farms are here, as in many parts of 
the continent, miserably small, not exceeding on on average 
27 or 28 English acres. The quantity of corn sown on each 
averages only 4§ Winchester quarters, and the average crop 
does not amount to a quarter per English acre, owing in a 
great measure to the scarcity of manure. The chief part 
of Sweden resembles a great forest, where, as in North 
America, a farm is a small cultivated patch, with a wood of 
many hundred acres attached to it, and appropriated in 
summer to the pasture of the cattle. All improvements 
requiring the application of capital, are of course excluded 
from Swedish agriculture, but there are many requiring less 
capital than skill, which are seldom thought of. 
Manufactures are in no better state than agriculture in 
Sweden, and seem to have a more doubtful prospect of 
improvement; the thinness of the population, and the li¬ 
mited supply of raw produce raised within the country, being 
evils not easily remedied. As yet, the metals, particularly 
iron and copper, have been the staple articles of manufacture. 
DEN. 
In the latter half of the 18th century, Sweden exported cop¬ 
per to an annual value of £100,000, but that is since 
diminished, a number of the mines, at Fahlun and else¬ 
where, having become less productive. The iron works 
employ a much greater number of hands; the forges are 
small, but the ore, and consequently the iron is in general 
of superior quality. A stagnation has, however, been pro¬ 
duced in this important branch, by the very great extension, 
during the present age, of the iron works of England, where 
the abundance of coal, and the command of inland naviga¬ 
tion, form more than a counterpoise to the cheap labour 
and the wood fuel of Sweden. 
Commerce.—The foreign trade of Sweden, favoured for a 
time by her neutrality in the war of the French revolution, 
became after 1807 exposed to great losses from participating 
in hostilities; and since the peace of 1814, it has had its full 
share of the fluctuations and distress so general throughout 
Europe. 
The revenue of Sweden is derived from various sources; 
the rent of the royal domains, a portion of the great tythes, 
duties on imports and exports, a tax on spirituous liquors, 
and one, of more questionable policy, on mines, forges, and 
chimnies, along with a poll tax and a few monopolies. The 
amount of revenue is about one million sterling, and as it 
never was greater, the military force of Sweden lias at no 
time been so large as might have been imagined from the 
brilliancy of its achievements. The troops which crossed the 
Baltic along with Gustavus Adolphus, did not exceed 10,000 
men; and though they subsequently received reinforcements 
from Sweden, the chief part of his army were Germans. 
A progressive increase took place towards the close of the 
IIth century; but even in the splendid exploits of Charles 
XII., a large proportion of his military followers were 
foreigners, supported by the resources of the conquered terri¬ 
tory. In the reign of Gustavus III., assassinated in 1792, 
the Swedish army was larger; and in 1808, the aid of a 
British subsidy, 1,200,000/. a year, carried it to 50,000 re¬ 
gulars, and a reserve of 30,000. At present it is thus orga¬ 
nized: the corps of the army is one of engineers, three 
regiments of artillery, seven of cavalry, 28 of infantry. The 
officers are 18 generals, 29 major-generals, and a staff of 
somewhat more than 100. This forms the regular army; 
but there is also a national force or militia, for the levy and 
support of which, the whole country is divided into petty 
districts, called henimans, each of which is bound to furnish 
a soldier, and a spot of land for his maintenance. This 
land the soldier, in time of peace, cultivates himself, being 
pledged to attend at exercise only a specified number of days 
in each year. When permanently absent, the inhabitants of 
the district are bound to cultivate the land for him. The 
officers are supported in the same manner; the colonel by a 
property placed in the centre of his regiment; the captain by 
a less extensive lot in the centre of his company, and so on 
down to the corporal. When in the field, these troops re¬ 
ceive the same pay as the rest of the army, but at other times 
the government expense on them is limited to clothing. 
Religion and Education .—The Swedes have long been 
accounted among the most vigorous supporters of the re¬ 
formed faith, having adopted it with almost complete unani¬ 
mity in the reign of Gustavus Vasa, and having subsequently 
made the most signal exertions for its maintenance in Ger¬ 
many. The established creed is Lutheranism; and though 
particular sects, such as the Swedenborgians, have arisen, the 
dissenters are, on the whole far from numerous. To the 
Catholics there prevails a general and decided antipathy, nor 
would it have been prudent, before the latter part of the 18th 
century, for a Catholic priest to have shewn himself openly 
in the provincial part of Sweden. 
The Swedish language bears a great resemblance to the 
Danish, and not a little to the English, or rather Scottish. 
It is evidently sprung from the same source as the Saxon or 
German; but being very little known out of the country, 
and the circulation of literary works at home being very 
limited, men of letters have been frequently led to adopt 
Latin as the medium of their publications. The necessity of 
seeking 
