Middletown transcript., 1872-05-18
Folk-Life in Sweden.


Lapland, has a population about equal to
that Of the State Of New York, aud an
area nearly four times greater. The dis.
tribution Of population is quite different.
In New York, third Of the population
i. concentrated in the two great contiguous
cities Of New York and Brooklyn. and
fully nm eighth in cities and towns Of from
IL, 900 to l25, 900 inhabitants. Nearly
half the population are, therefore. resi-
dents Of towns. The population Of Swcd.
en- is almost entirely rural. BY the census
Of 1865. ou, Of a population Of 4.100.-
900. there were $500. 900 living in the
country. Goo, 600 in towns. Stockholm.
the capital, has l25, 900 inhabitants. abou,
equal to Buffalo Next comes Gotten
burg, with $4,000, about equal to Troy.
There are four towns having from 10000
10 %. 900, and Gvc having from 5000 to
10 900 inhabitants. The whole aumLe:
Of people residing in towns Of 5000 and
upward is less than 400. 900.
or the entire population fully four
fif,hs are agricultural. Foreign writers
usually dcnomina,c this class as ''peas-
ants !" but this word conveys nm erroneous
idea of their condition. Their dcsigna-
ton in Swedish. Bonde plural Bontier).
is derived from the verb bo, to reside"
and means simply dwcllcrs." Some
times the Bondc is the owner Of the farm
Which he cul,iyates oftcncr he holds ],
on lease from The crown or from other
proprciors These leases are for such
long periods, and upon such easy terms,
that they arc practically equivalent to
freehold. Others are cotters who rent
little plo, Of ground, and keep COW or
two, ,cw pigs, sheep, and goats, and
I perhaps horse. They work during har-
yes, for their richer ncighbors, and their
wages, added to the products Of their lit
tie plots Of ground, maintain them in
to,crlblc comfort, Mere dag y-laborcrs are
aln1s, entirely unknown ia the rura: dis
lyic,s Mechanics and artisans are rare
except in III, towns. Every Bonlc can
pcrfcrm the work required fer builling
aud furnishing his house, and carrying on
his farm, even TO shocing his horse
There are, however. i'iner-nt tailors aud
shocmakcrs, who 90 about from farm TO
farm, pnd rarely have settled homes Of
their own.
Sometimes The dwellings Of the Bondcr
stand alone; but quite ms often a few are
grouped together iu,o little hamlcts. The
Dwellings, u tho better class are built
maea alike. Sometimes the barns and
cattle. houses ARE detached oftcncr they
form three sides Of quadrangle. the
dwclling-i9u,e constituting the fourth
side They NJ universally bailt Of squared
logs. the end. nnichcl into each other.
the inlers;ices being filed IN with moss
The roofs are usually nf boards. covered
over with layers @. birch bark or turf
Roof, Of tiles or tha.cl are rare Glass
windows cf good sizf are universal The
dwelling house consists mainly of onc
large room, used by the whale family for
sitting, working eating, and sleeping
p5a one side is u hugo fireplace. and
around ,la walls are wooden sct,ccs, which
, ou opening. form beds for the family
/, In a recess, usually provided with curtains
is the bed nf the master aud mistress n'
the family The floor ia strcwn with
iwies Of ,ptuer, pine. or Juniper II otter
happens that til, beds are insufficient for
tic accommodation uf the family nnC
: guests or chance travellers. in that cas,
bundles of straw are laid on the aoor
upon which the occupants sleep. dressed
! IN ihrir ordinary clothing. On Christmas
!, night all the family mus. sleep in IN,
room the ehilircu upon the straw-cov
cred iinur. To commemorate the fact that
III, child Jesus made his advent into III,
r world upon bed of straw This bed o,
Al
sanf or . lro,hcr.nnd. sister-bcd y Il
9 the chimney il u slide which Is close,
q when the wood has hrcn burned 10 coal
!. SO that no smoke Is produced combustio,
e then goes on slowly, aud all the hea, o
Il the fire is thrown into the room Open
5 ing into the main apartment, is n smallc
4 aae. nomiHally spare beletamber; bu
' it i. seldom used for that purpose, an,
u .cfvcs mninly ns u wardrobe for the sun
: day iucfy q; the faulty Another smal
4 rom i, used n kitchen.
d The food Of the people is sbundan, an
!. uuiriiivc. though. according to our ideas
rather coarse The staple dish is n "brosc'
s Of rye or oat meal npi milk. The nca
y is also made into thin loaves, with hol
!. in the middle These. strung upon hari
/. sou,al poles. are suspended from the raft
q crs. Potatoes are the usual vegetable
. Milk, butter aud cheese are abundan,
c Meat is much more common than is usua
|. among the peasaniry of other Europea
countries but il is usually saltcd III
common people, indeed, have an avcrsio
Is to fresh meat of any kind.
5 Education is compulsory upon all elias
is scs Every child must attend schoc
d until he has acquired specified prof
n cheney the minimum is reading, writing
!, elements Of arithmetic, the catcchism
}, Bible history. and singing. In sparscl
5, settled districts the the children often hav
= to walk long distances TO school. Th
,c statistical :, ports show that 90. 900 hav
l. to go three or four miles. aud 10000 tw
v miles They set ont in the morning. cal
Is rying their dinners with them, and :,