Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/528

 504 SWEDEN oysters are abundant. Great numbers of the stromming, a small fish about as large as a sprat, are caught in the gulfs of Bothnia and Finland, and cured. It is said that more than 80 kinds of salt and fresh water fish are sold in the markets of Gothenburg. The domes- tic animals are mostly small and of inferior quality, but efforts are making to improve the breeds, particularly of sheep. Fine ani- mals are imported from foreign countries, and there are public breeding establishments. In 1870 there were in Sweden 1,966,500 horned cattle, 1,595,000 sheep, and about 428,500 horses. The three great divisions of Swe- den, Gothland (Sw. Gotaland), Svealand, and Norrland, are subdivided into 24 liins or dis- tricts, the extent and population of which in 1874 were as follows: DIVISIONS. Are., sq. m. Popula- tion. CAPITAL. GOTHLAND. Malmo 1847 825909 Malmo Christianstad ... . 2,507 227 008 Christianstad Blekinge 1,165 129,521 Carlscrona. Kronoberg. 8,840 162,233 Wexio. 4299 184210 4446 236 914 Ostero'otland 4'l45 261 891 Halland 1,901 130 008 Halmstad Skaraborg 8,310 249,089 Mariestad. Elfsborg 4,948 283,692 Wenersborg. Gothenburg and Bohus. . . Gottland (Island) Lakes Wener and "Wetter 1,953 1,212 2,729 239,587 54,284 Gothenburg. Wisby. Total 88302 2484.346 SVEALAND. Stockholm 2860 280 801 Stockholm Upsal 2015 102 629 Upsal Sodermanland ' 2,603 138 696 Westmanland 2,549 119,485 Westerns! Orebro . 8503 174 893 Orebro Wermland. 6520 265027 Carlstad Kopparberg 11 240 181 253 Fahlun Lakes Mselar and Hjelmar. 659 Total 31 949 1 262 789 NOEBLAND. Gefleborg 7464 157 196 Gefle Wester Norrland f ... .1 iii 1 1 1 la lid 9^515 195S6 143,614 73598 Hernosand. Westerbotten 23865 96084 Norrbotten 41 069 80 850 Total 101.41)9 550,887 Total of Sweden 171,750 4,297,972 Gothland (the region originally inhabited by the Goths) lies S. .of lat. 59, and comprises also the islands of Oland and Gottland ; Svea- land, the original country of the Svenskar or Swedes, extends from Gothland northward to about lat. 60 15' at its eastern extremity, and lat. 62 15' at the western; and Norrland is the whole northern part up to the Norwegian frontier of Finland. In 1874 Sweden had 89 towns, only one of which, Stockholm, the cap- ital, had more than 100,000 inhabitants (147,- 249). Of the others, Gothenburg had 61,599, Norrkoping and MalmC from 25,000 to 30,000 each, and Carlscrona, Gefle, Upsal, Lund, and Jonkoping from 12,000 to 18,000 each. Be- sides the Swedes proper, the population of Sweden in 1870 included 6,611 Lapps, 27,079 Finns, and 12,015 foreigners ; of the last, 2,856 were Germans, 2,795 Danes, 2,570 Norwegians, 2,018 Finlanders, 806 Russians, 355 English, 157 Americans, 122 French, and a few of oth- er nationalities. Besides the members of the Lutheran church, to which nearly all the native population belong, there were in 1870 3,809 Baptists, Methodists, and Mormons, 1,836 Jews, 573 Roman Catholics, 30 Greek Catholics, and 190 of the Reformed church. The number of householders in 1870 was 1,017,323. The average number of marriages in every 10,000 inhabitants during the decade ending in 1870 was 65*44; the whole number of divorces du- ring the same period was 1,301. The propor- tion of illegitimate births in the whole king- dom in 1873 was 11 per cent., and in Stock- holm 38*15 per cent. In 1870 the number of paupers wholly supported at the public expense was 85,147, and the number of convicts in all the prisons was 5,951. Intemperance, which has heretofore prevailed so extensively as to mar the character of the people, has been checked by wise legislation, and crime has decreased ; but the consumption of distilled spirits as drink is still large, in the proportion of about 2 gallons a year to each inhabitant. Monday, as well as Sunday, is often spent by working men in dissipation, which has given rise to the phrase " free Monday." Like the other branches of the Scandinavian race, the Swedes are tall and of a sandy or florid com- plexion and powerful physique. As a nation they are enterprising, energetic, honest, and thrifty. More than half of the population be- long to the peasantry or londe class, who are gradually absorbing the landed property of the kingdom. They are mostly engaged in agri- culture, and are industrious and prudent. The cottager or torpar, who hires his house and patch of ground, is below the peasant in social rank. The law formerly prescribed the cos- tumes for the lower classes, but now all dress as they please. In Dalecarlia (the region on both sides of the Dal) the peasants of each parish have different and fanciful costumes. Wooden shoes or leather shoes with wooden soles are largely worn. Men, women, and chil- dren labor together in the fields; women do various kinds of outdoor work in the towns, such as the mixing of mortar and the tending of masons, and most of the drudgery in fac- tories. By law no children under 12 years of age can be employed in a factory, and none under 18 can be required to work after dark. In 1873 more than 26,000 persons were employed in the mines and in mining indus- try. The class of burghers are members of the various mercantile guilds or are engaged in manufacturing. The nobility consists of about 1,600 families. They formerly possessed one fifth of the landed property of the king- dom, but many of them are now very poor, and their pride will not permit them to en-