84 
LINNAEUS 
the conditions of the houses, such as blackened, sooty 
doors and holes in place of windows. There was 
always a nauseous smell of sour “ sik ” [gwyniad, a 
fish], and the rooms were so hot, that his nose was 
nearly scorched off, and so smoky, that his eyes were 
constantly running. He noted with regret the ex¬ 
tensive moors, exclusively covered with heather which 
defied eradication. The natives declared that two 
plants would destroy the world, namely, heather and 
tobacco. 
Linnaeus remained in Abo till the 5th October, 
and then journeyed by Aland and Grisslehamn, 
reaching Uppsala on the 10th at one in the afternoon. 
It was not surprising that this journey thus briefly 
sketched, should awaken great interest in Sweden, 
and not the least because of the kindly reception 
which so greatly helped the young naturalist. With¬ 
out the explanations and help of every kind, which 
were so generously given him, the result of his travels 
would not have been so rich and valuable as they 
proved to be. Only in one place, Jockmock, where 
the clergyman and the schoolmaster wondered why 
the Royal Society should have sent a young student 
to search through Lapland, when older and more 
competent men could be entrusted with that enter¬ 
prise, was there any unpleasantness. The conver¬ 
sation he had with these two worthies is amusing. 
The chaplain held that the sky was solid; that Nostoc 
was a plant [by accident he was right here], with 
similar notions, and when Linnaeus attempted to put 
the matter in a true light, they laughed derisively 
and considered him mad. 
A report of this journey was presented to the 
Royal Society of Science at its meeting on the 9th 
November. The minute drafted by Dr. N. Rosen 
runs thus : “ Herr Linnaeus’s account of his journey 
to and from Lapland, with its perils and labours, was 
read; it included the history of novelties in all three 
kingdoms of nature, which he supported with his 
