down by the rivers in such quantities that they seem destined at no distant period to convert a large portion of the gulf into dry land. It would appear, however, that alluvium is not the only agent employed in carrying on this process of shallowing, since it has been proved that the whole coast of Sweden is continually rising, the rise being greatest in the north.

The interior of Sweden is by no means generally mountainous, and its surface has far less of a highland than of a lowland character. The most elevated portion of it commences in the west near the parallel of 62°, and is continued north along the frontiers of Norway, not so much in a continuous chain as in

isolated mountain-masses rising from an elevated table-land, which, where loftiest, is at least 4000 feet, and forms the base of several summits which rise more than 6000 feet above sea-level, and owing to their high latitude are covered with perpetual snow. The loftiest mountain is Sulitjelma, in lat. 67°, 6485 feet, and is partly within the Norwegian frontier. The highest mountain entirely within the boundaries of Sweden is Areskutan, in lat. 63° (4810 feet). The whole of the northern part of the country slopes down towards the Gulf of Bothnia, sending down numerous torrents, which in their course often expand and form chains of lakes and dreary swamps. The same slope is continued south of 62° N., but besides it there is a south slope which attains its lowest level near lat. 59° N., on the shores of the magnificent lakes which there stretch almost continuously across the country east to west. To the south of 59° N. the country is generally flat, though in many parts finely diversified.

RIVERS AND LAKES.-These are very numerous, and some of the latter are on a gigantic scale, giving to the scenery of the country several of its grandest features. The rivers all belong to the basins of the Baltic Sea and the German Ocean. The former receives the far larger share. To it belong the Tornea, which, rising in the Norwegian mountains, pursues its course south-south-east for nearly 290 miles, augmented by numerous large affluents, and falls into the northern extremity of the Gulf of Bothnia; the Lulea, Pitea, Skelleftea, and united Windel and Umea, which flow precipitously south-east into the same gulf; the Angermann, which has a length of 230 miles, and in the lower part of its course becomes so wide and deep that vessels of 600 tons can ascend nearly 70 miles from the sea; and the eastern and western Dal, which, uniting their streams, receive the discharge of numerous lakes, and pursue a more circuitous course than usual in Swedish rivers. The principal rivers belonging to the basin of the German Ocean are the Klar and the Göta, the former of which, issuing from Lake Fämund on the edge of the Dovrefjeld Mountains, furnishes Lake Wener with its chief supply of water; while the latter, which may be considered only as its continuation, discharges it into the ocean.

The lakes not only add to the beauty of the scenery, but, both by their natural depth and the canals which have been cut to connect them, are of vast navigable importance, and furnish a long line of internal communication. In this way a direct channel has been opened from Gothenburg on the west to Söderköping on the east coast, and communicating with the important towns of Venersborg, Carlstad, Mariestad, Jönköping, and Linköping. In the same manner the capital has been enabled to extend its connections with the interior. In general, however, the rivers are too rocky for navigation. The largest lake is Lake Wener, in Swedish, Venern (area 2014 square miles); the next in size, Lake Wetter, in Swedish, Vettern (715 square miles). The banks of the latter are more picturesque than those of the former, and its water is exquisitely clear. Lake Mälar (468 square miles), better known than the other large lakes, from having the capital on its shores, is also remarkable for the number of islands which so crowd its surface that it is scarcely possible to find a square mile of open water. Hjelmar, which has both a natural and an artificial communication with Lake Mälar, has an area of 188 square miles. The rivers and lakes are well stocked with salmon and trout.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALS.-Almost the whole of the country is composed of primary rocks, principally gneiss, crystalline limestone, and granite. Patches of porphyry are found here and there, especially in the north of Sweden proper. Silurian rocks are also found in various localities, as near Lake Storsjön in Norrland, near Lake Siljan in Sweden proper, and in the western part of Götaland. In the south of Götaland occur triassic and Jurassic formations, in which the only coal-fields of Sweden are found. The isle of Gotland is mainly a plateau of limestone of the Silurian formation, over which are plentifully scattered boulders of granite and porphyry deposited by ice. The minerals include silver, found in limited quantities in several places, particularly Sala, about 25 miles north of Lake Mälar; zinc, found in considerable quantity in the läns of Orebro and

Norrköping; copper, found chiefly near Falun; and inexhaustible supplies of iron. The last, indeed, not only occurs in beds of immense thickness, inclosed in strata of gneiss, but forms the principal mass of whole mountains. The most celebrated iron-mines are those of Dannemora in län Upsala, where the iron worked is perhaps the best in the world, and is admirably adapted for steel. The quantity produced, however, is much smaller than in some other districts (Carlstad, Orebro, Gefle, Falun, Vesteraas), where the quality is also excellent. The mountains of iron above referred to are principally in Lapland, where unfortunately the scantiness of the population and the dearth of fuel make this mineral wealth almost useless. The most celebrated of these iron mountains is Gellivara, 1750 feet high, said to consist entirely of magnetic iron ore containing from 60 to 80 per cent of pure metal, and to be able to supply all the blast furnaces of the world with raw material for thousands of years. The production of the coal-fields of Sweden has considerably increased since the opening of a railway through them, from Helsingborg to Hessleholm, in 1875. Among the minerals of less importance are cobalt, sulphur, alum, red ochre, and lead.

CLIMATE.-The climate of Sweden varies considerably with the latitude and elevation. Speaking generally, the climate of Sweden, though modified by the proximity of the sea, so as to be milder in all respects than the interior of the northern parts of the Russian and Asiatic continents, is much more extreme than that of our own island, even where the two countries are in the same latitude, and experiences greater degrees both of cold and heat. Hence at Stockholm, which is in the latitude of the Orkneys, the thermometer has been known to descend 26° below zero in January, and to rise in July to the almost tropical heat of 968. The most disagreeable season in Sweden is not winter, but the long and gloomy autumn, and the inconstant spring with its extraordinarily variable temperature. The mildest climate is that of the isle of Gotland.

AGRICULTURE, &c.-About seven-ninths of the entire population of Sweden are dependent on agriculture. The landed properties are for the most part small, seldom much above 60 acres, while the average size is about 30 acres. In the northern part of Sweden proper (the former province of Dalecarlia or Dalarne), the subdivision of the land has been carried to the greatest extreme. Some estates are subject to much heavier imposts than others, the least heavily burdened being those which formerly belonged to the nobility, and which, though the least numerous, are the largest in size. In general agriculture is in a very flourishing condition, especially in the south, where there are several districts that can vie with the best cultivated parts of England. This agricultural prosperity dates only from about 1819, since which time a large outlay has been made for the improvement of the soil, and much has been done otherwise to improve the methods of cultivation. Down to that date Sweden was a grainimporting country, but since 1853 the country has grown a surplus of grain for export. The principal grains are oats, rye, and barley. Wheat is grown to a much smaller extent. Potatoes are grown in almost all parts of the country, and form one of the main articles of food among the lower classes. The most important auxiliary crops are hemp and flax, particularly the latter, which

is of excellent quality; on a few favoured spots tobacco, hops, and madder are grown. Cherries, apples, and pears are tolerably abundant in the southern districts. The principal domestic animals are cattle, sheep, and in the north, as in Norway, reindeer. In cattle-rearing the people of Sweden are behind-hand. The races of cattle are generally inferior, and the attention paid to the animals is deficient. The wild animals are the same as those of Norway.

The forests of Sweden are estimated to cover upwards of 40 per cent of the whole surface. In the very northern extremity of Sweden, at least in those parts where the surface is not very elevated, fine specimens of pine, fir, and birch are found. These, however, occupy only occasional patches, and the true forestland must be considered as having its limit near 64°. Below this latitude, and chiefly in the central and southern parts of the kingdom, the forests sometimes stretch continuously for 80 miles in length by 20 miles in breadth. The prevailing trees are pines, firs, beeches, alders, and ashes. Forests in which oak and beech are the prevailing trees occur only in the south. Till recently the management of the forests was very wasteful, but an improvement is now going on in this respect. Upwards of 13,000 square miles of forest-land belong to the state, and in these tracts an example of better management is set.

FISHERIES. The fisheries of Sweden are not nearly so important as those of Norway, but form nevertheless a lucrative branch of industry on the west coast, where cod, mackerel, and herring, as well as lobsters, crabs, and oysters, are caught. About the beginning of the present century the herring suddenly disappeared from this quarter, thereby plunging the fishing population of the coast into the deepest poverty; but within the last decade or two it has returned, and the herring fishery is once more pursued there with great activity. Some of the Swedish fishermen fit out boats for fishing in Norwegian waters.

MANUFACTURES.-Manufacturing industry has advanced very rapidly in Sweden in recent years. It is chiefly centred in the capital, Gothenburg, and Norrköping. The chief branches of manufacture, besides metallurgy, are the construction of machines (especially at Motala), the spinning and weaving of cotton, the manufacture of woollen cloth, paper, lucifer matches, leather, glass, and porcelain. There are also several tobacco manufactories and sugar refineries, and in the south there are some manufactories of beetroot sugar. weaving is carried on to a considerable extent, especially that of woollens and cottons in Gefleborg, and that of fine linens in Westnorrland. In the north of Sweden proper many of the peasantry find subsidiary employment for themselves in clockmaking.

Domestic

COMMERCE AND COMMUNICATIONS. The chief seats of the external commerce of Sweden are Stockholm and Gothenburg. The countries with which that commerce is principally carried on are Great Britain, Germany, and Denmark, the first mentioned country receiving about half of the exports and furnishing about a third of the imports. The principal articles of export are wood, iron and other metals, and oats; the principal imports manufactured articles, coal, colonial wares, tobacco and salt. In the internal trade of the country as well as the trade with Norway the canals afford the principal means of transport. The

use that has been made of the great lakes in constructing this system of inland navigation has already been referred to. Since 1856 a considerable network of railways, about a third of which belong to the state, has been laid in the south of Sweden. When compared with the whole area of the country the total length of this railway system is equal to about one mile for every 50 square miles of surface; but when compared with the area of the land surface of Götaland and Sweden proper, to which the system is nearly confined, the proportion is about one mile for every 20 square miles of surface. The number of letters

conveyed by the post-office is equal to about six per head of the population, and the number of telegraphic messages to about one for every five of the population.

MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.-See under NORWAY.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.-The Lutheran Church is the religion of the state, and to it the great mass of the people adhere. The form of government is episcopal. The head of the church is the Archbishop of Upsala, under whom there are eleven bishops. A general assembly of the clergy is held every five years, and without the consent of this body no change can be made in ecclesiastical law. Education is widely diffused, primary education being gratuitous and compulsory. In 1877, 98 per cent of the children between eight and fifteen were attending the public schools. For the higher education there are two universities, those of Upsala (founded in 1477) and Lund (founded in 1668), attended by about 2000 students. Women are admitted to university degrees, and almost all careers are legally open to them.

PEOPLE, &c.—The people of Sweden are of the same origin as those of