rich in historic sites and remains. In ecclesiastical architecture
Sweden possesses the noble cathedrals of Lund, Upsala and Linköping;
while that of Skara, near the southern shore of Lake Vencr,
dates originally from 1150, and that of Strengnäs on Lake Mälar
was consecrated in 1291. There is a remarkably perfect Romanesque
church, with aisles, eastern apse and ambulatory, at Varnhem
in Skaraborg Län, and there are a few village churches of the same
period in this district and in Skåne. The monastic church at
Vadstena on Lake Vetter is a beautiful example of Gothic of the
14th and 15th centuries. But the richest locality as regards ancient
ecclesiastical architecture is the island of Gotland (q.v.).
Travel and Communications.—As a resort for foreign travellers and tourists Sweden lacks the remarkable popularity of Norway. The Göta canal route, however, is used by many; the uplands of Dalecarlia (Dalarne) are frequented; and the railway through the Jemtland highlands to Trondhjem gives access to a beautiful region, where numerous sanatoria are in favour with the Swedes themselves. The northern railway offers a land route to the Arctic coast of Norway. Along the southern coasts there are many watering-places. Marstrand near Gothenburg is one of the most fashionable; Strömstad, Lysekil and Varberg on the same coast, Ronneby on the Baltic, with its chalybeate springs, Visby the capital of Gotland, and several villages in the neighbourhood of Stockholm may also be noted. The headquarters of the Swedish Touring Club (Svenska Turistföreningen) are in Stockholm, but its organization extends throughout the country, and is of special value to travellers in the far north.
The first railway in Sweden was opened for traffic in 1856, and the system has developed extensively; more so, in fact, in proportion to population, than in any other European country. About 8000 m. of railway are open, but extensions are constantly in progress. About two-thirds are private lines and one-third government lines. The central administration of the government Railways. lines is in the hands of a board of railway directors, and there are local administrative bodies for each of five districts. A railway council, created in 1902, acts as an advisory body on large economical questions and the like. Private railways are controlled by the regulations of the board, while a joint traffic union has as its object the provision of uniformity of administration, tariff, &c. The government has made grants towards the construction of some of the private lines, and has in a few cases taken over such lines. The railways form a network over the country as far north as Gefle and the district about Lake Siljan. The government works the trunk lines from Stockholm to Malmö, to Gothenburg and to Christiania as far as the Norwegian frontier, and other important through routes in the south. The great northern line is also worked by the government. It runs north from Stockholm roughly parallel with the east coast, throwing off branches to the chief seaports, and also a branch from Bräcke to Östersund and Storlien, where it joins a line from Trondhjem in Norway. At Boden the main line joins a line originally built to connect the iron-mines of Gellivara with the port of Luleå; the system is continued past Gellivara to Narvik on the Ofoten Fjord in Norway, this being far north of the Arctic Circle, and the line the most northerly in the world. The gauge of all the government lines and about 66% of the private lines is 1.435 metres (4 ft. 812 in.). Nearly all the lines are single. Passenger travelling is slow, but extremely comfortable. The principal connexions with the south are made across the sound from Malmö to Copenhagen, and from Trelleborg to Sassnitz in Germany.
The extensive system of natural waterways, especially in central Sweden, has been utilized to the full in the development of internal navigation, just as the calm waters within the skärgård afford opportunity for safe and economical coastwise traffic. The earliest construction of canals dates from the 15th century, the patriot Engelbrekt and King Gustavus Inland Navigation. Vasa both foreseeing its importance. The theories of construction remained rudimentary until early in the 19th century, when the Göta (q.v.) canal was opened. The total length of the canalized water-system of Sweden is a little over 700 m., though wholly artificial waterways amount only to 115 m. out of this total. A large local traffic is carried on by steam launches on the lakes during the season of open navigation; and vessels have even been introduced on some of the lakes and rivers of the far north, principally in connexion with the timber trade. Posting, which is of importance only in the highland districts and the valley roads of Norrland, is carried on by posting-stations (skjutsstation) under government regulations; similar regulations apply when, as in the upper valleys of the great northern rivers, rowing boats on the lakes form the only means of travel. The condition of the high roads is fair as a whole, and has been much improved by increased state grants towards their upkeep; but in Norrland they are naturally not of the best class. The postal and telegraph system is efficacious, and the telephone service, maintained partly by the state and partly by companies, is very fully developed. About twenty telephones are in use per thousand of population, and a system of trunk-lines between the important towns has been established since 1889.
Agriculture.—Of the total land area of Sweden only about 12% is arable or meadow land, but the percentage varies greatly in different parts. as will be understood from a recollection of the main physical divisions. Thus in Skane nearly 69% of the land is under cultivation; in the midlands about 30%; in the north from 4.5% in southern Norrland to 3% in northern Norrland. Almost exactly half the total area is under forest, its proportion ranging from 25% in Skane to upwards of 70% in the inland parts of Svealand and in the south of Norrland. Land which is neither cultivable nor under forest (marsh land or, in the northern mountainous districts, land above the upper limit of the forests) amounts to 61% in the far north and 36% in the Småland highlands, but only to 15% in the central plains and in Skåne. In the more highly cultivated districts of the south reclamation of such lands is constantly proceeding. Agriculture and cattle-breeding employ over one-half the whole population. The average size of farms is 25 acres of cultivated land; only 1% exceeds 250 acres, whereas 23% are of 5 acres or less. The greater part of the land has always been held by small independent farmers (only about 15% of the farms are worked by tenants), but until late in the 18th century a curious method of parcelling the land resulted in each man's property consisting of a number of detached plots or strips, the divisions often becoming so minute that dissension was inevitable. Early in the 19th century various enactments made it possible for each property to become a coherent whole. A legal parcelling (laga skifte) was introduced in 1827 and slowly carried out in the face of considerable local opposition; indeed, in the island of Gotland the system could not be enforced until 1870–1880. Roughly about 48.5% of the total cultivated area is under cereals, 33.8 under fodder plants, 5.8 under root-crops, and 11.8 fallow, this last showing a steady decrease. Oats, rye, barley, mixed grain and wheat are the grain-crops in order of importance. During the 19th century the percentage under wheat showed a general tendency to increase; that under oats increased much in the later decades as livestock farming became common, rye maintained a steady proportion, but barley, formerly the principal grain-crop, decreased greatly. This last is the staple crop in Norrland, becoming the only grain-crop in the extreme north; in the richer agricultural lands of the midlands and south rye is predominant in the east, oats in the west. The high agricultural development of the plains of Skåne appears from the fact that although that province occupies only one-fortieth of the total area of Sweden, it produces 30% of the entire wheat crop, 33% of the barley, 18% of the rye and 13% of the oats. A system of rotation (cereal, roots, grass) is commonly followed, each division of land lying fallow one year as a rule; not more than two ripe grain-crops are commonly taken consecutively. Potatoes occupy 4.4% of the total area, and other root-crops 1.4%. These include the sugar-beet, the profitable growing of which is confined to Skåne and the islands of Öland and Gotland. The sugar industry, however, is very important. Orchards and gardens occupy about 1% of the cultivated area. Fruit-trees are grown, mainly in the south and midlands; northward (as far as Hernösand) they flourish only in sheltered spots on the coast. Between 1850 and 1900 the total head of livestock increased from 4,500,000 to 5,263,000, and the great advance of cattle-farming is evident from the following proportions. Whereas in 1870–1875 imported cattle and cattle-farming produce exceeded exports as 12 to 7, in 1900 the value of exports was nearly double that of imports; and it may be added that whereas as late as 1870–1880 the exports of agricultural produce exceeded imports in value, in 1896–1900 they were less than one-tenth. The principal breeds of cattle are the alpine in Norrland, and Ayrshire, short-horn, and red-and-white Swedish in the midlands and south. The Gotland, an old native light yellow breed, survives in the island of Gotland. Oxen, formerly the principal draught animals, have been replaced by horses. Cattle, especially cows, and pigs form the bulk of the livestock, but sheep and goats have greatly decreased in numbers. The Lapps own upwards of 230,000 head of reindeer. Dairy-farming is profitable, England and Denmark being the principal foreign consumers of produce, and the industry is carefully fostered by the government. A board of agriculture had been in operation for many years when in 1900 a separate department of agriculture was formed. There are one or more agricultural societies in each län, and there are various state educational establishments in agriculture, such as the agricultural high schools at Ultuna near Upsala, and at Alnarp near Lund in Skåne, an important agricultural centre, with dairy schools and other branch establishments. Finally, there are numerous horticultural societies, large nurseries and gardening schools at Stockholm, Alnarp and elsewhere, and botanical gardens attached to the universities of Lund and Upsala.
Forests and Forestry.—Of the forests about one-third are public; the majority of these belong to the Crown, while a small proportion belongs to hundreds and parishes. The remainder is in private hands. The public forests are administered by the office of Crown lands through a forest service, which employs a large staff of forest-masters and rangers. The private forests are protected from abuse chiefly by the important legislation of 1903, which prescribes penalties for excessive lumbering and any action liable to endanger the regrowth of wood. The administration of the law devolves upon local forest conservancy boards. In the great fir forests of the north the limit set in respect of cutting down living trees for sawing and export is a diameter of the trunk, without bark, of 814 in. at 1512 ft. from the base. Members of the forest service undergo a preliminary course of instruction at a school of forestry,
and a further course at the Institute of Forestry, Stockholm, which
