THE SWEDES AT WORK
Let us now have a peep at the Swede at work, for, although he is very
fond of pleasure, he is very hard-working and industrious, and is
taking a foremost place among the manufacturers of the world.
Although only about one-tenth of the country is under cultivation,
nearly one-half of the people are engaged in the fields. The people
are very much devoted to the land. In most cases the farmer owns the
farm, and, with the aid of his family, he is able to cultivate all his
ground. Farming has changed very much of late years. A great deal of
grain used to be grown, but nowadays more attention is being paid to
rearing horses and cattle, and dairying.
The farmers are very intelligent and well educated, and employ the
latest methods in their work. They have made the export of butter one
of their chief industries, and in most districts have erected
cooperative dairies. The carts go to the farms, collect the produce,
and take it to a central dairy, where the butter is made. This is
exported in large quantities, with eggs, to Denmark and Britain. They
employ the finest machinery, and have well-constructed dairies. Most
of their appliances are made in Sweden. In Stockholm they manufacture
a separator which is sent to every part of the world. It was invented
by a Swede--Gustaf de Laval--and separates the cream from the milk.
In some parts of Sweden farmers have to be very economical as well as
industrious. Sometimes you will see little yellow bundles hanging on
trees; these are birch twigs, and when they are thoroughly dried, they
are used as fodder for the sheep. In the Far North, the sun is not
sufficiently strong to make hay, so they erect poles which look like
fences, and as soon as the grass is cut, they hang it on these poles,
and allow it to remain until it is cured.
As you sail round the coast and call at the various ports, you see
great piles of timber, and ships from many countries loading planks;
also huge ponds full of logs, and close at hand sawmills cutting them.
You are here reminded that one of Sweden’s greatest industries is the
timber trade. You would expect this if you travel through the country,
for everywhere you see large forests, especially in the Norrland. More
than half of the country is covered with forest. This industry is
greatly helped by the many rivers. Men go up in the winter to these
forests to cut down the trees, which they haul over the snow, when it
is deep upon the ground, to the rivers. They have to make special
roads in the woods for this, and in the spring the logs are allowed to
float down the river to its mouth, where the sawmills are. Sometimes
they take months, sometimes they take years. Very few are lost. At
other times the logs are formed into huge rafts, which are kept in the
centre of the stream by men with long poles. They usually try to get
them done before the end of the summer, or they will need to return
the following year, as the rivers are usually frozen every winter. As
soon as they arrive at the river’s mouth, they are taken to the
sawmills, and cut into planks of various sizes.
What is done with all this timber? A large number of the thin, short
logs are sent to Britain to be props in the pits. Perhaps, when you
are travelling in the train, the sleepers on which the rails are laid
may have come from Sweden. A great deal of the timber is crushed into
pulp, and then used for the making of paper. The Swedes make doors and
windows for us. They even export wooden houses.
Another great industry is match-making. They do a wonderful thing in
this industry. A Swede invented a so-called “complete machine,” which
reduces the manual labour very much. The match material, which is
first cut by other machines, is placed into the “complete machine” at
one end, and comes out at the other ready made and packed in boxes,
without a workman having to touch them. A machine can turn out 40,000
boxes in eleven hours.
These are but a few of the occupations of the Swedes. Very many are
employed at iron and steel works. There are great ore-mines in the
North. Swedish steel is considered the best in the world, and is used
greatly in Sheffield for the well-known cutlery. Employment is found
for great numbers of men in granite quarries, in manufacturing
machinery, and in weaving cloth. Glass-works are numerous, and a great
deal of very fine cut glass is exported. It would take too long to
mention all the industries. Enough has been said to show that Sweden
is not a poor but a rich and progressive country. There is work for
all. The one drawback is the want of coal, which has all to be
imported, but the Swedes are trying to utilize the waterfalls, and
make them provide the power to drive machinery. When that is
accomplished they will be able to take a place in the front rank of
iron and steel-producing countries.