Chapter I: Part 1

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* * * * *

_Lachesis Lapponica_,

OR A
TOUR IN LAPLAND,

NOW FIRST PUBLISHED
FROM THE
ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL
OF THE CELEBRATED
LINNAEUS;

BY

JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M. D. F. R. S. ETC.
PRESIDENT OF THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

"Ulterius nihil est, nisi non habitabile frigus."
OVID.

_LONDON_:

PRINTED FOR WHITE AND COCHRANE, HORACE'S HEAD,
FLEET-STREET,
BY RICHARD TAYLOR AND CO., SHOE-LANE.

1811.

* * * * *

TO

THOMAS FURLY FORSTER, ESQ.

FELLOW OF THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY.

_My dear Sir,_

_Among the various consultations and communications which have taken place between us in the course of our long and uninterrupted friendship, I recollect that one object of your anxious curiosity has always been the_ Lachesis Lapponica _of Linnaeus, so often alluded to by himself and his pupils, and the original Swedish manuscript of which came into my hands with the rest of his collection. Of this I now present you with an English translation; and I offer it to you with the more satisfaction, because you are, amongst all my Linnaean acquaintance, one of the most capable of entering into every feeling of the original writer. His love of truth and of nature were not more ardent than your own, nor was his mental profit more. You, who have so deeply studied the works he prepared for the public, will with no less pleasure listen with me to his familiar conversation. We here behold, not the awful preceptor of the learned world in his professorial chair, but a youthful inexperienced student, full of ardour and curiosity, such as we ourselves have been, recording his ideas and observations for his own use, not delivering them forth for the instruction of others; and while we admire his perseverance and acuteness, we can sympathize with his embarrassments, and readily pardon his very inconsiderable mistakes. Happy are those who, like you, can equally sympathize in his pious and benevolent affections, his disdain of hypocrisy and oppression, and his never-ceasing desire to turn his scientific acquisitions to practical utility!_

_Be pleased, my dear Sir, to accept, with your usual favour, this sincere tribute of respect and esteem, from_

_Your very faithful friend,_

_J. E. SMITH._

PREFACE

BY THE EDITOR.

The biographers of Linnaeus have often mentioned the Journal of his Lapland Tour, to which he himself has frequently adverted, in various parts of his voluminous works, under the title of _Lachesis Lapponica_. The publication of this Journal has been anxiously desired; and so valuable was the manuscript considered, that on his whole collection and library being sold, after the death of his son, it was remarked that these papers at least ought to have been retained in Sweden, as a national property; the journey which they record having been undertaken at the public expense, and the objects illustrated thereby being, necessarily, more important to the author's countrymen than to any other people. This remark, however, was not made till long after the manuscript, with all the treasures which accompanied it, had escaped, by land and by sea, the pursuit instituted by the Swedish monarch to recover them, and had reached England in safety. It became a duty for their fortunate possessor to render them useful. To place the authority of this collection, as far as possible, out of the reach of accident, he has made it his chief object to extend any information to be derived from it, not only to his own countrymen, but to his fellow-labourers in every quarter of the globe. The Banksian herbarium was, in the course of seven months, compared with that of Linnaeus throughout, to their mutual advantage, by a copious interchange, not only of information, but of specimens. Plants or insects were for many years continually sent from France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, and even Sweden, as well as from America, for comparison with the authentic originals named by the hand of Linnaeus. The time and labour devoted to this task have been richly compensated, by the acquisition of various novelties, and of much instruction, as well as by the pleasure of so extensive an intercourse with persons occupied in the same favourite and delightful pursuit, and by the acknowledgements with which most of them have overpaid the trouble.

The manuscripts of Linnaeus were no less freely consulted; but great was our disappointment to find the _Lachesis Lapponica_ written in Swedish. For a long time therefore it remained unexplored. At length Mr. Charles Troilius, a young gentleman in the mercantile line, resident in London, undertook the task of translating it. The manuscript proved to be the identical journal written on the spot during the tour, which certainly rendered it the more interesting; but the difficulty of decyphering it proved from that very circumstance unexpectedly great. The bulk of the composition is Swedish, but so intermixed with Latin, even in half sentences, that the translator, not being much acquainted with this language, found it necessary to leave frequent blanks, giving a literal version only of what he was able to read. The whole abounds also with frequent cyphers and abbreviations, sometimes referring to the publications or opinions of the day, and intended as memorandums for subsequent consideration. It is, in short, such a journal as a man would write for his own use, without the slightest thought of its ever being seen by any other person. The composition is entirely artless and unaffected, giving a most amiable idea of the writer's mind and temper; and it cannot but be considered as highly curious, to contemplate in these pages the development of such a mind as that of Linnaeus. As not a word throughout the whole was written for the use of any person but the author, the reader may perhaps be disappointed at not meeting with any thing like a professed description of Lapland, or even a regular detail of the route of the traveller. What was familiar to Linnaeus, either in books or in his own mind, is omitted. By the brilliant sketches he has left us in his _Flora Lapponica_, published a few years after his return, we see what he might have written had he here undertaken to communicate his own knowledge or remarks to others; and the same may be said of such of his dissertations, in the _Am[oe]nitates Academicae_, as professedly treat of subjects belonging to Lapland. The curious and learned reader will, however, here and there, meet with the first traces of ideas, opinions or discoveries, which scarcely acquired a shape, even in the mind of the writer, till some time afterwards. If on the one hand the Journal may seem defective in communicating information, the occasional quotations, references and allusions, the familiar and sufficiently correct use of the Latin language, and the general accuracy of the whole, give a very high idea of the author's accomplishments. The extemporaneous journals of the most illustrious travellers, made without a single book to refer to, or a companion to consult, would few of them perhaps stand the test of criticism so well.

To render the translation fit for the public view, the editor found himself under the necessity of writing the whole over; but in doing this, though often obliged to supply the forms of whole sentences, of which only hints or cyphers exist in the manuscript, he has been careful to give as literal a translation of the rest as the materials would allow. This principle ever kept in view, and the difficulty of the undertaking, which, small as the book is, has taken up much of his time for seven years past, must apologize for any inelegancies of composition. Yet in many parts the original displays a natural and striking eloquence, of which the translation may possibly fall short. Such passages, when they occurred, repaid the labour and perplexity of studying for hours to decypher some obscure mark, or some ill-written Swedish or Latin word, which the original translator had given up in despair.

The sketches with a pen, that occur plentifully in the manuscript, are not the least curious part of the whole. They are often necessary to explain descriptive passages in the work, and about sixty of them have been selected to illustrate the book. These have been cut in wood, with such admirable precision, that every stroke of the pen, even the most casual, is retained, and it is but justice to the artist, Mr. R. T. Austin, to record his name. Several plants, but rudely sketched in this manuscript, being more completely represented in the _Flora Lapponica_, it was thought unnecessary to publish such figures, except a few, for the sake of curiosity, or of particular illustration.

The notes are entirely supplied by the editor. Every name or remark that he has added to the text, is scrupulously inserted between crotchets; nor is there, throughout the whole, any one passage or word of the original author's so inclosed.

The "Brief Narrative," subjoined to the Journal, having been drawn up by Linnaeus himself, to lay before the Academy of Sciences at Upsal, could not with propriety be omitted. Part of it throws great light on the body of the work; and though there are some repetitions, there is little that can be thought superfluous.

* * * * *

_Norwich_, April, 1811.

JOURNEY TO LAPLAND.

Having been appointed by the Royal Academy of Sciences to travel through Lapland, for the purpose of investigating the three kingdoms of Nature in that country, I prepared my wearing apparel and other necessaries for the journey as follows.

My clothes consisted of a light coat of Westgothland linsey-woolsey cloth without folds, lined with red shalloon, having small cuffs and collar of shag; leather breeches; a round wig; a green leather cap, and a pair of half boots. I carried a small leather bag, half an ell in length, but somewhat less in breadth, furnished on one side with hooks and eyes, so that it could be opened and shut at pleasure. This bag contained one shirt; two pair of false sleeves; two half shirts; an inkstand, pencase, microscope, and spying-glass; a gauze cap to protect me occasionally from the gnats, a comb; my journal, and a parcel of paper stitched together for drying plants, both in folio; my manuscript Ornithology, _Flora Uplandica_, and _Characteres generici_. I wore a hanger at my side, and carried a small fowling-piece, as well as an octangular stick, graduated for the purpose of measuring. My pocket-book contained a passport from the Governor of Upsal, and a recommendation from the Academy.

_May_ 12, 1732, old style.

I set out alone from the city of Upsal on Friday May 12, 1732, at eleven o'clock, being at that time within half a day of twenty-five years of age.

At this season Nature wore her most cheerful and delightful aspect, and Flora celebrated her nuptials with Ph[oe]bus.

_Omnia vere vigent et veris tempore florent,
Et totus fervet Veneris dulcedine mundus._

Spring clothes the fields and decks the flowery grove,
And all creation glows with life and love.

Now the winter corn was half a foot in height, and the barley had just shot out its blade. The birch, the elm, and the aspen-tree began to put forth their leaves.

Upsal is the ancient seat of government. Its palace was destroyed by fire in 1702. With respect to situation, and variety of prospects, scarcely any city can be compared with this. For the distance of a quarter of a Swedish mile it is surrounded with fertile corn-fields, which are bounded by hills, and the view is terminated by spacious forests.

I had no sooner passed the northern gate of the city than I perceived signs of a clay soil, except in the hills, which consist of sand and stones. The road here is level, and for a quarter of a mile destitute of trees. In ditches by the way side the Water Byssus was observable (_Byssus Flos aquae_), particularly in places sheltered from the wind. It greatly resembles the cream of milk, and is called by the peasants _Watnet blommar_, or Water Flower.

A number of mares with their colts were grazing every where near the road. I remarked the great length of the young animals' legs, which according to common opinion are as long at their birth as they ever will be; therefore if a measure be taken from the hoof up to the knee of a young colt, and so on from the knee to the extremity, it will give the height of the horse when full grown. A similar observation has been made on the size of the bones in the ear of an infant.

I observed the same kind of moss, or rather _Lichenoides terrestre_, _daedaleis sinubus_, (_Lichen nivalis_,) which is found on the hill near the palace at Upsal.

Geese were now accompanied by their goslings, which are all uniformly of the same yellow hue when hatched, whatever colour they may acquire afterwards.

I left old Upsal on the right, with its three large sepulchral mounds or _tumuli_.

The few plants now in flower were _Taraxacum_ (_Leontodon Taraxacum_), which Tournefort erroneously combines with _Pilosella_ (_Hieracium Pilosella_), notwithstanding the reflexed leaves of its calyx; _Draba caule nudo_ (_D. verna_), which in Smoland is called Rye Flower, because as soon as the husbandman sees it in bloom he is accustomed to sow his Lent corn; _Myosotis scorpioides_; _Viola tricolor_ and _odorata_; _Thlaspi arvense_; _Lithospermum arvense_; _Cyperoides_ (probably some species of _Carex_); _Juncoides_ (_Juncus campestris_); _Salix_ (_S. caprea?_); _Primula veris_, as it is called, though neither here nor in other places the first flower of the spring; _Caltha palustris_, known by the name of Swedish Caper, as many people are said to eat it instead of the true Caper; the report of its giving a colour to butter is certainly false.

The lark was my companion all the way, flying before me quivering in the air.

_Ecce suum tirile, tirile, suum tirile tractat[1]._

[1] "The lark that tirra-lirra chaunts."
_Shakspear's Winter's Tale._

The weather was warm and serene. Now and then a refreshing breeze sprang up from the west, and a rising cloud was observable in that quarter.

Okstad (more properly H[:o]gsta) is a mile and a quarter from Upsal. Here the forests began to thicken. The charming lark, which had till now attended my steps, here left me; but another bird welcomed my approach to the forest, the Red-wing, or _Turdus iliacus_, whose amorous warblings from the tops of the Spruce Fir were no less delightful. Its lofty and varied notes rival those of the Nightingale herself.

In the forest innumerable dwarf Firs are to be seen, whose diminutive height bears no proportion to their thick trunks, their lowermost branches being on a level with the uppermost, and the leading shoot entirely wanting. It seems as if all the branches came from one centre, like those of a palm, and that the top had been cut off. I attribute this to the soil, and could not but admire it as the pruning of Nature. This form of the Fir has been called _Pinus plicata_.

L[:a]by is a mile and a quarter further. Here the forest abounds with the Red Spanish Whortle-berry (_Arbutus Uva Ursi_), which was now in blossom, and of which, as it had not been scientifically described, I made a description; (see _Flora Lapponica_; and _Engl. Bot. t. 714_.)

A large and dreary pine-forest next presented itself, in which the herbaceous plants seemed almost starved, and in their place the soil, which was hardly two inches deep, all below that depth being pure barren sand (_Arena Glarea_), bore Heath (_Erica_), _Hypnum parietinum_, and some Lichens of the tribe called _coralloides_.

Above a quarter of a mile beyond the post-house, near the road, is a Runic monument; but I did not allow myself time to copy the inscription, finding it had lately been deciphered by somebody else.

A quarter of a mile further stands a land-mark of a curious construction, consisting of four flattish upright stones placed in a square, with a fifth in their centre.

I discovered a large stone of the kind called _Ludus Helmontii_[2], and, wishing to break it, I took a smaller stone, which proved to be of the same kind. My endeavours were vain as to the former; but the small one broke into many fragments, and proved to contain minute prismatic crystals, which were quite transparent; some white, others of a deep yellow.

[2] So I understand the original, which is _Lapis marmoreus
polyzonos_.

Before the next post-house, I noticed on the right a little farm, and on the other side of the way a small ditch used to wash in. Here stood a plain sloping stone of white granite, in which were three large dark-grey squares, seeming to have been inlaid by a skilful stone-cutter. It was evident, however, on examining one end, that they were continued through the whole substance of the stone.

Opposite to Yfre is a little river, the water of which would at this time have hardly covered the tops of my shoes, though the banks are at least five ells in height. This has been occasioned either by the water continually carrying away the loose sand, or, as I am more inclined to believe, the quantity of water is less than it has been.

_Chrysosplenium_ (_alternifolium_) was now in blossom. Tournefort defines it _foliis auriculatis_, but erroneously, as the leaves are all separate and distinct[3]. It has eight stamens, placed in a quadrangular position, and two pistils. Thus it evidently approaches nearer to the _Saxifragae_, as former botanists have justly thought, than to the _campaniformes_, or flowers with a monopetalous corolla.

[3] Tournefort by this definition probably meant to compare the
shape of the leaves, with the ears of some animal. In the criticism
of Linnaeus respecting the natural affinity of this plant, we may
observe how his own system, professedly artificial, and yet so
affectedly despised by some botanists for not being natural, led him
to the real truth. In fact, some truth is to be learnt from every
system and every theory, but perfection is not to be expected from
any one.

At Yfre, two miles further, I noticed young kids, under whose chins, at the commencement of the throat, were a pair of tubercles, like those sometimes seen in pigs, about an inch long, of the thickness of their mother's nipples, and clothed with a few scattered hairs. Of their use I am ignorant.

Near the church of Tierp runs a stream, whose bank on the side where it makes a curvature is very high and steep, owing to timber placed close to the water. The great power of a current, and the way in which it undermines the ground, is exceedingly visible at this place. Hence the strongest earthen ramparts, made with the greatest expense and labour, are often found insufficient to secure the foundations of large palaces or churches in some situations. But where timber has been used, the attacks of water are little to be dreaded. On both sides of the church were several small sepulchral mounds. It now grew late, and I hastened to Mehede, two miles and a half further, where I slept.

_May 13._

Here the Yew (_Taxus baccata_) grows wild. The inhabitants call it Id or Idegran.

The forest abounded with the Yellow Anemone (_Anemone ranunculoides_), which many people consider as differing from that genus. One would suppose they had never seen an Anemone at all. Here also grew Hepatica (_Anemone Hepatica_) and Wood Sorrel (_Oxalis Acetosella_). Their blossoms were all closed. Who has endowed plants with intelligence, to shut themselves up at the approach of rain? Even when the weather changes in a moment from sunshine to rain, though before expanded, they immediately close. Here for the first time this season I heard the Cuckoo, a welcome harbinger of summer.

Having often been told of the cataract of Elf-Carleby, I thought it worth while to go a little out of my way to see it; especially as I could hear it from the road, and saw the vapour of its foam, rising like the smoke of a chimney. On arriving at the spot, I perceived the river to be divided into three channels by a huge rock, placed by the hand of Nature in the middle of its course. The water, in the nearest of these channels, falls from a height of twelve or fifteen ells, so that its white foam and spray are thrown as high as two ells into the air, and the whole at a distance appears like a continual smoke. On this branch of the cascade stands a saw-mill. The man employed in it had a pallid countenance, but he did not complain of his situation so much as I should have expected.

It is impossible to examine the nature of the inaccessible black rock over which the water precipitates itself.

Below this cataract is a salmon fishery. A square net, made of wicker work, placed at the height of an ell above the water, is so constructed that the salmon when once caught cannot afterwards escape.

Oak trees grow on the summits of the surrounding rocks. At first it seems inconceivable how they should obtain nourishment; but the vapours are collected by the hills above, and trickle down in streams to their roots.

In the valleys among these hills I picked up shells remarkable for the acuteness of their spiral points. Here also grew a rare Moss of a sulphur-green colour[4].

[4] This appears to have been _Bartramia pomiformis_, _Bryum
pomiforme_ of Linnaeus. See _Fl. Lapp. n. 400_.

From hence I hastened to the town of Elf-Carleby, which is divided into two parts by the large river, whose source is at Lexan in Dalecarlia. The largest portion of the town stands on the southern side, and contains numerous shops, occupied only during the fairs occasionally kept at this place.

I crossed the river by a ferry, where it is about two gun-shots wide. The ferryman never fails to ask every traveller for his passport, or license to travel. At first sight this man reminded me of Rudbeck's Charon, whom he very much resembled, except that he was not so aged. We passed the small island described by that author as having been separated from the main land in the reign of king John III. It is now at a considerable distance from the shore, the force of the current rendering the intermediate channel, as Rudbeck observes, every year wider. The base of the island is a rock. Only one tree was now to be seen upon it.

The northern bank of the river is nearly perpendicular. I wondered to see it so neat and even, which may probably be owing to a mixture of clay in the sand; or perhaps it may have been smoothed by art. Horizontal lines marked the yearly progress of the water. The sun shone upon us this morning, but was soon followed by rain.

Elf-Carleby is two miles and a half further. On its north side are several sepulchral mounds.

Here for the first time I beheld, what at least I had never before met with in our northern regions, the _Pulsatilla apii folio_ (_Anemone vernalis_), the leaves of which, furnished with long footstalks, had two pair of leaflets besides the terminal one, every one of them cut half way into four, six or eight segments. The calyx, if I may be allowed so to call it, was placed about the middle of the stalk, and was cut into numerous very narrow divisions, smooth within, very hairy without. Petals six, oblong; the outermost excessively hairy and purplish; the innermost more purple and less hairy; all of them white on the inside, with purple veins. Stamens numerous and very short. Pistils cohering in a cylindrical form, longer than the stamens, and about half as long as the petals.

We had variable weather, with alternate rain and sunshine.

A mile from Elf-Carleby are iron works called H[:a]rn[:a]s. The ore is partly brought from Danemora in Roslagen, partly from Engsi[:o] in Sudermannia. These works were burnt down by the Russians, but have since been repaired.

Here runs the river which divides the provinces of Upland and Gestrickland. The soil hereabouts is for the most part clayey. In the forests it is composed of sand (_Arena mobilis_ and _A. Glarea_). The post-houses or inns are dreadfully bad. Very few hills or lakes are to be met with in Upland. When I had passed the limits of these provinces, I observed a few oak trees only in the district of Medelpad.

GESTRICKLAND.

The forests became more and more hilly and stony, and abounded with the different species of Winter-green (_Pyrolae_).

All along the road the stones were in general of a white and dark-coloured granite.

I noticed great abundance of the Rose Willow (_Salix Helix_), which had lost all its leaves of the preceding season, except such as composed rosaceous excrescences at the summits of its branches, and which looked like the calyx of the _Carthamus_ (_Safflower_), only their colour was gone.

Near Gefle stands a Runic monumental stone, rather more legible than usual, and on that account more taken care of.

I noticed a kind of stage to dry corn and pease on, formed of perpendicular posts with transverse beams. It was eight ells in height. Such are used throughout the northern provinces, as Helsingland, Medelpad, Angermanland, and Westbothland.

_May 14._

I left Gefle after divine service, having previously obtained a proper passport from the governor of the province and his secretary. I was well received and entertained by the Comptroller of the Customs, L[:o]nbom.

At this town is the last apothecary's shop and the last physician in the province, neither the one nor the other being to be met with in any place further north. The river is navigable through the town. The surrounding country abounds with large red stones.

At the distance of three quarters of a mile stands Hille church. Here begins a chain or ridge of hills extending to the next post-house, three quarters of a mile further, and separating two lakes. On its summit, a quarter of a mile from Gefle, a number of different sepulchral mounds are observable, composed of stones.

The Fir trees here all appeared tall and slender, and were laden with cones of three different stages of growth; some a year old, not larger than large peas, and of a globular figure; others two years old, ovate and pointed; and the remainder ripe, with their scales open and reflexed, having been four years on the tree.

In the marshes on the left the note of the Snipe (_Scolopax Gallinago_) was heard continually.

At the distance of a quarter of a mile before we come to Troye, on the right, are the mineral springs of Hille.

Troye post-house, which Professor Rudbeck the elder used to call Troy, is surrounded by a smooth hill.

The road from hence lay across a marsh called by the people the walls of Troy, a quarter of a mile in extent, destitute of large trees. The Sweet Gale (_Myrica Gale_), laden with catkins about its upper branches, was abundant every where, as well as the Dwarf Birch (_Betula nana_). These form a sort of low alley through which the road leads. This _Betula_ had also catkins upon it, which are sessile and erect, not pendulous as in the Common Birch, about half an inch long and as thick as a goose-quill, situated about the lower part of the branches. The female catkins are more slender than the male, erect, and sessile upon the upper branches. Their scales ovate and almost leafy, green, pointed, three-cleft, with three pair of purplish pistils. Here and there grew the Marsh Violet (_Viola palustris_), with its pale grey flowers, marked with five or seven black forked lines on the lower lip.

In the forest on the other side of this marsh were many kinds of Club-moss (_Lycopodium clavatum_, _Selago_, _alpinum_, and _complanatum_).

A quantity of large stones lay by the road side, which the governor of the province had caused to be dug up in order to mend the high-way. They looked like a mass of ruins, and were clothed with _Campanula serpyllifolia_ (the plant afterwards called _Linnaea borealis_), whose trailing shoots and verdant leaves were interwoven with those of the Ivy (_Hedera Helix_).

On the right is the lake Hamr[:a]nge Fj[:a]rden, which adds greatly to the beauty of the road.

The morning of this day was bright, but the afternoon was diversified with sunshine and rain, like the preceding. The wind however changed from north to south.

On the mountainous ridge at Hille, above described, I remarked on the ends of the Juniper-branches a kind of bud or excrescence, consisting of three leaves, longer than when in their natural state, and three or four times as broad, which cohered together except at their tips. They enveloped three smaller leaves, of a yellow hue, in the centre of which lodged either a maggot or a whitish chrysalis. (This produces the _Tipula Juniperi_. See _Fauna Suecica_ 438, and _Fl. Suec._ 360).

I arrived at Hamr[:a]nge Post-house during the night.

The people here talked much of an extraordinary kind of tree, growing near the road, which many persons had visited, but none could find out what it was. Some said it was an apple tree which had been cursed by a beggar-woman, who one day having gathered an apple from it, and being on that account seized by the proprietor of the tree, declared that the tree should never bear fruit any more.

_May 15._

Next morning I arose with the sun in order to examine this wonderful tree, which was pointed out to me from a distance. It proved nothing more than a common Elm. Hence however we learn that the Elm is not a common tree in this part of the country.

I observed that in these forests plants of the natural family of _bicornes_ (with two-horned antheras) predominated over all others, so that the Heath, _Erica_, in the woods, and _Andromeda_[5], in the marshes, were more abundant than any thing else. Indeed we meet with few other plants than _Vaccinium Myrtillus_ and _Vitis-Idaea_, _Arbutus Uva-Ursi_, _Ledum palustre_, &c. The same may be said of the upper part of Lapland.

[5] It is a curious circumstance that Linnaeus in his MS. here has
the word _Daphne_; but his remark is not in any respect applicable
to that genus, and he evidently can mean only _Andromeda polifolia_.
He had not as yet named either of these genera in print. The origin
of _Andromeda_ will be explained hereafter, and the fanciful idea
which gave rise to it had not perhaps at this time occurred. He
therefore now either intended to call this plant _Daphne_, or he
accidentally wrote one name by mistake for the other, having both in
his mind.

The spiders had now spread their curious mathematical webs over the pales and fences, and they were rendered conspicuous by the moisture with which the fog had besprinkled them.

The Red-wing (_Turdus iliacus_), the Cuckoo (_Cuculus canorus_), the Black Grous (_Tetrao Tetrix_), and the Mountain Finch (_Fringilla Montifringilla_), with their various notes made a concert in the forest, to which the lowing herds of cattle under the shade of the trees formed a base. The weather this morning was delightfully pleasant.

_Lichen islandicus_ grows abundantly in this forest.

After travelling about a mile and half from Hamr[:a]nge I arrived at the river Tonna, which divides Gestrickland from Helsingland, and empties itself into the bay of Tonna. The abovementioned lake, called by the inhabitants Hamr[:a]nge Fj[:a]rden, extends almost to the sea. I was told it did actually communicate with the ocean. At least there is a ditch in the mountain itself, whether the work of art or nature is uncertain, called the North Sound, hardly wide enough to admit a boat to pass. This is dammed up as soon as the hot weather in summer sets in, to prevent the lake losing too much water by that channel, as the iron from several founderies is conveyed by the navigation through this lake.

HELSINGLAND.

I had scarcely travelled a quarter of a mile beyond the river when I observed a red earth close to the road, which promises to be very useful in painting, if it should prove sufficiently plentiful, and capable of being cleansed from its impurities. The people at the next post-house informed me that the same earth, but of a much better quality, was found in the parish of Norrbo.

The Common and Spruce Firs (_Pinus sylvestris_ and _P. Abies_) grow here to a very large size. The inhabitants had stripped almost every tree of its bark.

A number of small white bodies were hanging on the plants of Ling (_Erica_), of a globular form, but cut off, as it were, though not open, on the lower side, each about the size of a Bilberry (_Vaccinium Myrtillus_), and consisting of a thin white silky membrane. A small white insect was lodged within.

There were also affixed to some plants ovate white bodies of a silky texture, apparently formed of innumerable silky threads. These contained each a small insect.

A little further on I observed close to the road a rather lofty stone containing in its substance large fragments of _mica_.

At last to my great satisfaction I found myself at the great river Liusnan. From this part of the forest to the sea the distance is three miles. Here and there in the woods lay blood-red stones, or rather stones which appeared to have been partially stained with blood. On rubbing them I found the red colour merely external, and perfectly distinct from the stone itself. It was in fact a red Byssus (_B. Jolithus_).

Many sepulchral mounds are in this neighbourhood.

Not far from Norrala, situated about a mile from the last post-house, the water in the ditches deposits a thick sediment of ochre.

Several pair of semicircular baskets made of wicker work were placed in the water, intended principally to catch Bream (_Cyprinus Brama_). Here I observed the Lumme, or Black-throated Diver (_Colymbus arcticus_), which uttered a melancholy note, especially in diving.

From Norrala I proceeded to En[:a]nger, through a heavy fog, as it had rained violently while I rested at the former place. Towards evening it thundered and lightened. In the course of this whole day's journey I observed a great variety in the face of the country as well as in the soil. Here are mountains, hills, marshes, lakes, forests, clay, sand, and pebbles.

Cultivated fields indeed are rare. The greater part of the country consists of uninhabitable mountainous tracts. In the valleys only are to be seen small dwelling-houses, to each of which adjoins a little field. Even in these there is no great proportion of fertile land, the principal part being marshy.

The people seemed somewhat larger in stature than in other places, especially the men. I inquired whether the children are kept longer at the breast than is usual with us, and was answered in the affirmative. They are allowed that nourishment more than twice as long as in other places. I have a notion that Adam and Eve were giants, and that mankind from one generation to another, owing to poverty and other causes, have diminished in size. Hence perhaps the diminutive stature of the Laplanders[6].

[6] The original is very obscure, and I have been obliged partly to
guess at the sense of the intermingled Latin and Swedish. I beg
leave to suggest that the deficiency of brandy among this
sequestered people is perhaps a more probable cause of their robust
stature, and even of their neatness and refinement, than that
assigned by Linnaeus.

Brandy is not always to be had here. The people are humane and civilized. Their houses are handsome externally, as well as neat and comfortable within; in which respects they have the advantage of most other places.

The old tradition, that the inhabitants of Helsingland never have the ague, is without foundation. In every parish where I made the inquiry I found many persons who had had that disorder, which appears to be not unfrequent among them.

Here were plenty of Mountain Finches (_Fringilla Montifringilla_); but, what is remarkable, they were all males, known by the orange-coloured spot on the breast.

_May 16._

Between Eksund post-house and Spange is the capital iron forge of Eksund, which has two hammers and one blast furnace. The sons of Vulcan were working in their shirts, and seemed masters of their business. The ore used here is of three or four kinds. First, from Dannemora; second, from Soderom; third, from Grusone, which contains beautiful cubical pyrites; fourth, a black ore from the parish of Arbro, which lies at the bottom of the sea, but in stormy weather is thrown upon the shore. At this place, as well as further north in the same district, a kind of blueish stone[7] is used for building the tunnels or chimneys, which is considered as more compact and better able to resist heat than _Lapis molaris_ or _Pipsten_ (_Cos molaris?_). The limestone placed between the other stones was procured from the sea shore, and abounded with petrified corals.

[7] Probably _Saxum fornacum_, _Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 12. v. 3. 79_.

Granite, I believe of all the different kinds existing in the world, abounds every where in the forests.

In every river a wheel is placed, contrived to lift up a hammer for the purpose of bruising flax.

When it is not wanted, a trap door is raised, to turn the stream aside.

Several butterflies were to be seen in the forest, as the common black, and the large black and white. Here I noticed _Lichenoides terrestre scutatum albicans_, (_Lichen arcticus_), which has larger fructification than the common _L. caninus_, with which it agrees in other respects, except colour. (See Linnaeus's opinion respecting this Lichen, in which however he is certainly mistaken, in _Fl. Lapponica n. 442_.)

By the road side between Nieutaenger and Bringstad, a violet-coloured clay, used in building bridges, is here and there to be met with.

On a wall at Iggsund I found a nondescript hemipterous insect. (What this was cannot now be ascertained.)

Between the post-house of Iggsund and Hudwiksvall the abovementioned violet-coloured clay is found in abundance, forming a regular stratum. I observed it likewise in a hill near the water which was nine ells in height.

The strata of this hill consisted of two or three fingers' breadths of common vegetable mould; then from four to six inches of barren sand (_Arena Glarea_); next about a span of the violet clay; and lastly barren sand. The clay contained small and delicately smooth white bivalve shells, quite entire, as well as some larger brown ones, of which great quantities are to be found near the water side. I am therefore convinced that all these valleys and marshes have formerly been under water, and that the highest hills only then rose above it. At this spot grows the _Anemone Hepatica_ with a purple flower; a variety so very rare in other places, that I should almost be of the opinion of the gardeners, who believe the colours of particular earths may be communicated to flowers.

I observed that the mountains, after the trees and plants had been burnt upon them, were quite barren, nothing but stones remaining.

The produce of the arable land here being but scanty, the inhabitants mix herbs with their corn, and form it into cakes two feet broad, but only a line in thickness, by which means the taste of the herbs is rendered less perceptible.

Hudvikswall is a little town situated between a small lake and the sea.

Near this place the Arctic Bramble (_Rubus arcticus_) was beginning to shoot forth, while _Lychnis dioica_ and _Arabis thaliana_ were in flower.

The larger fields here are sown with flax, which is performed every third year. The soil is turned up by a plough, and the seed sown on the furrow; after which the ground is harrowed. The linen manufactory furnishes the principal occupation of the inhabitants of this country.

Towards evening I reached Bringstad. The weather was fine, it having rained but once in the course of the day.

_May 17._

Continuing my journey at sunrise, I saw some sepulchral mounds near the church of J[:a]ttedahl. As soon as I had passed the forest, I overtook seven Laplanders driving their reindeer, which were about sixty or seventy in number followed by their young ones. Most of the herd had lost their horns, and new ones were sprouting forth. I asked the drivers what could have brought them so far down into the country. They replied that they were born here near the sea coast, and intended to end their lives here. They spoke good Swedish.

Near the post-house at Gnarp, to the westward, grows a birch tree, with more than fifty or sixty of those singularly matted and twisted branches which this tree sometimes produces.

MEDELPAD.

Between Gnarp and the post-house of Dingersj[:o] stands the boundary mark between Helsingland and Medelpad or Medelpadia, consisting of two posts, one on each side the road. Here I began to perceive the common Ling, _Erica_, to grow more scarce, its place being supplied by a greater quantity of the Bilberry (_Vaccinium Myrtillus_). Birch trees became more abundant as I advanced. On the left of the road are large mountains of granite. At the foot of those rocks the whole country was covered with stones, about twice as large as a man's fist, of a greyish green colour, lying in heaps, and covered with a fine coating of moss, seeming never to have been disturbed.

I had scarcely passed the limits of Helsingland, when I perceived a brace of Ptarmigans (_Tetrao Lagopus_) in the road, but could not get near enough to fire at them. Viewed through my spying-glass, they appeared for the most part of a reddish cast, but the wing feathers were snow-white.

Close by the post-house of Dingersj[:o] grew the large Yellow Aconite (_Aconitum lycoctonum_), called by the peasants Giske or Gisk. All over the country through which I passed this day, it is as common as heath or ling. Not being eaten by any kind of cattle, it grows luxuriantly, and increases abundantly, in proportion as other herbs are devoured. Thus Nature teaches the brute creation to distinguish, without a preceptor, what is useful from what is hurtful, while man is left to his own inquiries.

To the north of Dingersj[:o], on the right hand of the road, stands a considerable mountain called Nyaeckers-berg, the south side of which is very steep. The inhabitants had planted hop-grounds under it. As the hop does not in general thrive well hereabouts, they designed that this mountain should serve as a wall for the plants to run upon. They were not disappointed as to the success of their plantations; for the hops were very thriving, being sheltered from the cold north wind, and at the same time exposed to the heat of the sun, whose rays are concentrated in this spot as in a focus.

At the distance of a quarter of a mile from the post-house, on the left, stands the highest mountain in Medelpad, according to the inhabitants, which is called Norby Kullen, or more properly Norby Knylen. It is indeed of a very considerable height; and being desirous of examining it more minutely, I travelled to Norby, where I tied my horse to an ancient Runic monumental stone, and, accompanied by a guide, climbed the mountain on its left side. Here were many uncommon plants, as _Fumaria bulbosa minima_, _Campanula serpyllifolia_ (_Linnaea borealis_), _Adoxa moschatellina_, &c., all in greater perfection than ever I saw them before. I found also a small rare moss, which I should call _Sphagnum ramosum_, _capsulis globosis_, _petiolus_ (pedicellis) _longis erectis_, if it may be presumed a _Sphagnum_, as I saw no calyptra. The little heads or capsules were exactly spherical[8].

[8] Linnaeus's ideas concerning the genera of Mosses were at this
time in a very unsettled state. Could this be any thing else than
_Bartramia pomiformis_?

After much difficulty and fatigue, we reached the summit of the mountain to the westward. Here the country-people kept watch during the war with the Russians, and were obliged to attend twice a day, as this place commands an extensive sea view. They had collected a great quantity of wood, on which stood a pole, with a tar-barrel placed transversely on its top. This was to be set on fire at the landing or approach of the enemy, being conspicuous for many miles around.

I brought away with me a stone, which seemed of a very compound kind. Every sort of moss grows on this mountain, that can be found any where in the neighbouring country. The trees towards the upper part were small, but some of considerable dimensions grew about the sides of the hill.

When at the summit, we looked down on the country beneath, varied with plains and cultivated fields, villages, lakes, rivers, &c. We saw the appearance of a smoke between us and the lower part of the mountain, which was not perceptible as we descended, being a slight mist or exhalation from the ground. The dung of the hare was observable all over the very highest part of the hill; a certain proof of that animal's frequenting even these lofty regions.

We endeavoured to descend on the south side, which was the steepest, and where rocks were piled on rocks. We were often obliged to sit down, and in that position to slide for a considerable way. Had we then met with a loose fragment of rock, or a precipice, our lives had been lost. About the middle of this side of the mountain, an Eagle Owl (_Strix Bubo_) started up suddenly before us. It was as large as a hen, and the colour of a woodcock, with black feathery ears or horns, and black lines about the bill. I wished for my gun, which I had left, finding it too troublesome to carry up the hill. Immediately afterwards we perceived a little plat of grass, fronting the south, and guarded, as it were, with rocky walls on the east and west, so that no wind but from the south could reach it. Here were three young birds and a spotted egg[9]. Of these birds one was as large as two fists, healthy and brisk, clothed all over with very soft long whitish feathers like wool. This we took away with us to the house. The other two were but half as large. The egg fell to pieces as I took it up, and contained only a small quantity of a thin watery fluid, the abominable smell of which I shall not venture to describe, lest I should excite as much disgust in my readers as in myself. I believe the two smaller birds were the offspring of the Eagle Owl. Close to the nest lay a few small bones, of what animal I am ignorant. These birds were all quite full fed. Near them was a large dead rat, of which the under side was already putrefied and full of maggots. I verily believe that these young birds cannot digest flesh, but are obliged to wait till it decays and affords them maggots and vermin. Their bills and cere were black. The egg was almost globular, white, the size of that of a guinea-hen.

[9] So I interpret Linnaeus's cypher in this and another place, which
is _ovum_ [square with dot] _sum_, (ovum maculosum). If I am wrong,
the candid reader will rather compassionate than condemn me; yet
Linnaeus says, a little further on, that the egg was white.

Here and there among the rocks small patches of vegetation were to be seen, full of variety of herbaceous plants, among others the Heart's Ease, _Viola tricolor_[10], of which some of the flowers were white; others blue and white; others with the upper petals blue and yellow, the lateral and lower ones blue; while others again had a mixture of yellow in the side petals. All these were found within a foot of each other; sometimes even on the same stalk different colours were observable: a plain proof that such diversities do not constitute a specific distinction, and that the action of the sun may probably cause them all. There could scarcely be a more favourable place for vegetation than this, exposed to the sun, sheltered from the cold, and moderately watered by little rills which trickled down the mountain.

[10] More probably, from the place of growth, as well as the
description, _Viola lutea_ of _Fl. Britannica_, and _English Botany,
vol. 11. t. 721_.

Leaving this mountain, and proceeding further on my journey, I observed by the road a large reddish stone, full of glittering portions of talc. The greater part of my way lay near the sea shore, which was bespread with the wrecks of vessels. How many prayers, sighs and tears, vows and lamentations, all alas in vain! arose to my imagination at this melancholy spectacle! It brought to my mind the student[11], who in going by sea from Stockholm to Abo had experienced so severely the terrors of the deep, that he rather chose to walk back to Stockholm through East Bothnia, Tornea, West Bothnia, &c., than trust himself again to so cruel and treacherous a deity as Neptune.

[11] This was Tillands, afterwards Professor at Abo, who hence
assumed this surname, expressive of his attachment to land, and
Linnaeus named in honour of him a plant which cannot bear wet. See
his _Ord. Nat. 291_.

Towards evening I reached Sundswall, a town situated in a small spot between two high hills. On one side is the sea, into which a river discharges itself at this place.

About sunset I came to Finstad, but continued my route the same evening to Fj[:a]hl, where I was obliged to pass a river by two separate ferries, the stream being divided by an island.

_May 18._

Being Ascension day, I spent it at this place, partly on account of the holiday, partly to rest my weary limbs and recruit my strength.

The country bears a great resemblance to Helsingland, but is rather a more pleasant residence.

I took a walk about the neighbourhood to amuse myself with the beauties of Flora, which were here but in their earliest spring. I found an aquatic Violet with a white flower, which very much resembled the large wild Violet (_Viola canina_), of which I should have taken it for a variety had I not compared them together. It always grows near the water. The odd petal, or lip, is always more or less of a blueish colour; the rest whitish, generally indeed quite white[12]. Close to this grew the little Marsh Violet, mentioned some time since, (_V. palustris_, see _p. 20_,) but here it was remarkable for a purplish tinge; (_V. palustris [beta] Fl. Brit.?_)

This evening it rained very hard.

[12] Linnaeus appears to have neglected to describe this _Viola_ in
his printed works. May it not be _V. lactea_, _Fl. Brit. 247._
_Engl. Bot. vol. 7. t. 445_?

_May 19._

On the following morning I arose with the sun, and took leave of Fj[:a]hl. Having proceeded about a quarter of a mile, I came within sight of the next church, called Hasj[:o]. Here I turned to the left out of the main road, to examine a hill where copper ore was said to be found. The stones indeed had a glittering appearance, like copper ore; but the pyrites to which that was owing were of a yellowish white, a certain indication of their containing chiefly iron. Some stones of a blackish colour lay about this hill, decomposed by the action of the air. An opening not more than six feet in breadth, and as much in depth, was the only examination that had as yet been made into this mine. The mountain is named Balingsberget.

Not far distant, close to the church on the north-east, a huge stone is to be seen. The credulous vulgar relate that, when the church was building, some malignant beings of gigantic size were desirous of knocking it down, but the stones thrown for that purpose fell short of the sacred spot. As a confirmation of this history, they show the evident marks of four huge fingers and a thumb on the upper side of the stone.