Sweden

a kingdom of Europe occupying the eastern part of the Scandinavian peninsula. The native name is Sverige. The latitude of Sweden is about the same as that of Alaska. It has a direct coast line of 1,550 miles, which, by including gulfs and bays, is more than doubled in length. The surface slopes gradually to the east, and is approximately evenly divided between highland and lowland. The highest mountain peak is Mt. Kebnekaise, 7,024 feet high. One-tenth of the area is covered by lakes, the two largest being Vanern and Vattern. The largest waterfall in Europe is found in Sweden. It is called Njuomelaska. It consists of two cataracts of 103 feet with a descent of 150 feet more in the course of one and one-third miles. Two other falls in Sweden have a height of 100 feet or more. The largest river is the Tornea.

ROCKS AND MINERALS. The fundamental rocks of the country are of three varieties: the gray gneiss, containing such minerals as the garnet and the graphite; the red iron gneiss, in which, however, no iron mines are found; and the granulite, containing Sweden's richest mineral deposits, which are iron ore, copper pyrites, and zinc blende. Many parts of the country abound in granite, sandstone, red and gray limestone, and greenstones. Mining is engaged in extensively, and the excellent iron ore obtained from the Swedish mines is largely used in the manufacture of the highest grade of steel tools. The mines at Dannemora are the most noted.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION. The climate is varied, being arctic in the extreme north and mild as the climate of middle Europe in the south. As a partial evidence of its salubrity, it may be stated that the average length of life is 52.3 years, and that the death rate is very low, being in 1907 only 1.46 per cent. Birch thrives as far north as the 69th parallel, pine and hemlock as far as the 65th, rye the 67th, oats the 65th, fruits the 65th, wheat the 63rd, elm, oak, and basswood the 61st. More than one-half of the entire area of the country is covered with valuable forests of fir, birch, and pine. Lumbering is a big industry, and lumber products are the chief articles of export. The lumber is especially noted for hardness and durability.

ANIMALS. The animal life of Sweden shows almost as great a diversity as that which exists between Massachusetts and that of the Rocky Mountains. In the mountains of the extreme north, the wild reindeer, glutton, arctic fox, ptarmigan, and the bear may yet be found. The wolf and the fox sally out into the cultivated lands, particularly in the winter time. The lemming, various squirrels, the woodpecker, the wood grouse, as well as the roedeer and the reindeer, may be found in the forests. The field mouse, the dormouse, the hedgehog, together with the marten, the weasel, and the badger, are found in farming districts. Most of the perching and singing birds of Europe, including the cuckoo and the nightingale, nest in Sweden. Several owls, hawks, and eagles are common. The inland lakes and the coasts of the Baltic are noted for waterfowl. The woodcock, the snipe, and other wading birds are abundant. Flocks of swans, herons, cranes, ducks, and geese migrate to southern Sweden on their way to and from their northern nesting places. The rivers and lakes are well stocked with fish. The fisheries of the Baltic are noted for herring, codfish, and mackerel. In all, about one hundred forty kinds of fishes are found in Swedish waters.

OCCUPATIONS. Agriculture is the leading industry of Sweden. The most common crops are oats, rye, barley, wheat, and potatoes. Much live stock is also raised. Butter is exported to Great Britain. Orchards are common. Almost one-third as much land as is devoted to agriculture is planted to orchards. Comparatively speaking, Sweden is not a manufacturing country, but iron works, woolen mills, and match factories are important factors in considering the occupation of the people. The railways also employ a large number of men, the railway system being very large in proportion to the population of the country. The trunk lines are owned by the state, but branch lines and short lines are as a rule built by private companies. A line built from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Norwegian coast is the first railroad of the world to cross the Arctic Circle.

AREA AND POPULATION. The country is sixth in size of European states. The average population per square mile is about thirty-one, very nearly the same as for the world as a whole. The largest three cities are Stockholm, the capital (population 332,738), Gothenburg (population 160,523), and Malmo (population 79,817). Since 1851 the emigration from Sweden has been tremendous. About 22,000 have left their native shores annually. The bulk of this emigration has been to the United States, where the Swedes have settled mainly in the North Central States. Denmark, Norway, and Germany have also received small accessions from this stream of emigration. An attempt made in recent years to divert a part of this emigration to Argentina has not proved successful. About one-fifth of the loss in population sustained by emigration has been offset by immigration.

GOVERNMENT. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy. The executive council consists of seven heads of departments and three consulting councilors, one of whom is president of the council. Its legislative body (Riksdagen) consists of two chambers, and meets annually. Members of the first chamber are elected for nine years and serve without pay. Members of the second chamber are elected for three years. The administration of justice is vested in lower courts of different rank. From these appeals may be taken to one of the three superior courts of the country. Further appeal may be taken to the supreme court, whose decisions are issued in the name of the king. The army in time of peace numbers about 21,500. Between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five every able-bodied man must spend a certain time each year in camp learning the art of war. The largest vessel in the navy is Oscar II, built in 1907. The money unit of the country is the krona, worth about twenty-six cents of American money.

EDUCATION. Elementary education is compulsory, and the laws are strictly enforced. The percentage of illiteracy is very low. Secondary schools are established in the populous centers. The country supports two universities, one at Upsala, founded in 1477, generously endowed by Gustavus, Adolphus, and the other at Lund, founded in 1668. Besides these, there are a number of other government schools, such as normal schools, technical schools, agricultural schools, schools for the blind, the deaf and mute, and naval and military academies. An institution, known as the Swedish Academy, limited to eighteen members, is charged with the function of promoting the development of the Swedish language and its literature.

HISTORY. The early history of Sweden dates back to a period before the beginning of the Christian era. The northern part of the country was peopled by the Svea, or Swedes, and the southern by the Gota, or Goths. The latter appear to have been an offshoot of the former. The Goths were migratory, adventurous, and warlike; the Swedes restless, courageous, and indomitable. Gradually the Swedes established their supremacy in the country, and bands of Goths at different times migrated to Germany and Russia, and their descendants in turn invaded the Roman empire. The government of the country was tribal, and for hundreds of years these tribal chieftains were at war with one another. At the time of the age of the vikings (800-1000), when sea rovers from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark plundered the coasts of France, Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, and Ireland, some of the more powerful chieftains conquered adjoining territory and built up small kingdoms. Such kingdoms centered around places like Upsala and Lund. The Upsala kings were the first to succeed in building up a native kingdom. The Danes overwhelmed the southern kingdom with Lund as its capital, and maintained their supremacy there for many centuries. Christianity was introduced into Sweden during the middle of the ninth century by St. Ansgar. A struggle between Christianity and paganism followed which lasted for almost 300 years. During the next 400 years interest centers around the Crusades, two of which were undertaken against the pagan Finns, civil wars between rival houses for the throne, and the union of the three Scandinavian countries for a period of two hundred years with Denmark at its head.

Beginning with 1521 Sweden achieved its independence of Denmark under the leadership of Gustavus Vasa. During the reign of this great king the Reformation was established, and the country made independent of the Hanseatic League. Fifty years of internal struggles largely inspired by religious controversy followed, and the grandson of Vasa the Great, Gustavus Adolphus, became the king of Sweden. His varied activities during a short reign of eleven years include the organization of the judiciary, the reorganization of the army, the extension of commerce, the colonization of Delaware, the founding of a college at Vesteras, the endowment of the University of Upsala, and the military leadership of the Protestant cause during the critical period of the Thirty Years' War. After his death his able minister of state, Axel Oxenstjerna, brought to a partial realization, at least, many of his policies; and as a result, Sweden became for almost 100 years after the peace of Westphalia one of the great powers of Europe. The loss of territory on account of the unfortunate wars in which Charles XII became involved reduced Swedish influence on the continent, and the cost of a series of wars which lasted almost eighteen years drained the country of its resources, so that Sweden, weak in spirit and shorn of strength, was compelled to retire from her position of eminence and power. As the unnerved nation gradually recovered its balance, governmental autocracy was curtailed, principally through the wise measures of the able president of the king's council, Count Arvid Horn; economic conditions were improved by the introduction of manufacturing enterprises, largely due to the efforts of the Swedish philanthropist, Jonas Alstromer; scientific knowledge was diffused through such men as Polhem, Swedenborg, and Linnaeus; and the nobility was checked in its oppression of the common people by Gustavus III.

As Sweden became involved in the Napoleonic wars, she suffered the loss of Finland, but at the close of the wars she was reimbursed by receiving Norway. The Norwegians, however, did not accept their transfer from Denmark to Sweden without a struggle, but after a military demonstration by the Swedish king and an offer of arbitration, the union of the two countries was effected in 1814. This union lasted until 1905, when Norway effected a peaceful dissolution and established an independent kingdom. During the latter half of the nineteenth century a brilliant galaxy of men added luster to the Swedish name. The chemist, Jacob Berzelius, the botanists, Agardh and Fries, the zoologist and archaeologist, Sven Nilsson, the inventor, John Ericsson, and the sculptor, Fogelberg, made valuable contribution to the world's progress along their respective lines. Among eminent men who at the present time are engaged in enterprises which are of interest to the world at large are Sven Hedin, the explorer of the Himalaya mountains, and C. Skottsberg, who has achieved distinction for his geological and botanical expedition to Magellan's Land. Of late years the discontent of the common people with their political conditions has affected the economic condition of the country seriously.--S. A. CHALLMAN.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See Goths; Gustavus Vasa; Gustavus Adolphus; Thirty Years' War; Gustavus Iii; Charles Xii; Swedenborg; Linnaeus; Berzelius; Ericsson; John; Hedin; Sven; Tegner; Esaias; Lagerlof; Selma