the whole stock of Swedish reindeer may be put at about 4'/2 million kronor,!
at a rough valuation of 17 kronor per reindeer. The profit on them, however,!
may be estimated in normal years at the rate of about 2 5 ^ , and thus amounts
to the respectable sum of more than 1 million kronor per annum. About half
of this profit seems to be consumed direct in the shape of food; clothing, and
other necessaries for the Lapps; the. bulk of the other half, on the other hand,
is employed in trade, chiefly in the form of entire reindeers, skins, and meat,
to a certain extent also in sinews (for stitching boots and shoes) and horn (for.)
making glue). Trade is also done in manufactured goods, such as Lapp furriery;
and, above .all, Lapp shoes. There is also a fairly considerable export of reindeer'
products, either direct through Sweden to Germany, or via Norway to Francel
England, and even America. This export consists mainly of hides and entire!
animals. There are no reliable statistics available, which deal with this export,
The distribution of the reindeer among the different Ians is shown by tie!
following table.
Mountain Forest
Reindeer Reindeer
Number of Reiudeer iu Norrbotten ban, 1911..................... 129 500 40 100
, > , j Vasterbotten > 1909—1 0 . . . . 74 500 1400
» » > » Jamtland » > . . . . 25 700
, , > i Kopparbcrg > > . . . . 1600
The opinion often expressed, that reindeer-breeding in Sweden is a decaying
industry, which is bound to disappear with a more settled mode of existence,:
must unhesitatingly be set down as erroneous.1 On the contrary, it would at'
present be more to the point to speak of an over-production of reindeer, seeing
that their numbers overtax the capacity of the available pasture-grounds. As-
to the peasants, it is true that a good many disputes occur between them and the
Lapps, but as the subject of these disputes is generally some damage don?
to the “grass marshes” (sldttermyrar), and as the utilization of their scanty and!
almost worthless grass belongs to a most primitive method of agriculture, which!
will certainly disappear sooner or later, these quarrels will probably cease!
entirely. Under ‘ these circumstances, it is quite unwarrantable to look upon
reindeer-breeding as doomed to extinction. Precisely in virtue of its nomad
character, it has a definite mission to fulfil: for it is only by a nomad mode of
existence that the supply of grass and reindeer moss in the mountains and pin»
barrens can be ,' economically speaking, utilized to the full. There is therefoM
every reason for encouraging Swedish reindeer-breeding, and for regarding it »
a branch of Swedish industry destined to survive, and as one bidding (fair for
the future.
Rabbits.
Towards the close of the Middle Ages this ancient branch of industry un<M
went a great development in Europe, thanks to the efforts of the monks.
Sweden, however, the interest in rabbit-breeding has always been very sligM
notwithstanding that private persons and societies have laboured to improve iM
There is no doubt whatever that rabbit-breeding can also be rendered profitable ft
Sweden; but rabbit-breeding, like that of all other domestic animals, requu®
time and thought, and thus rabbit-keeping is not as well suited for Swedis
a few Lapps have also been included among them. In consequence of certain regulation
practically all the reindeer owned by peasants are from the Lan of Norrbotten.-: la
maining 5 800 reindeer were “unknown” or “unmarked”. ,
1 It is not possible to support this statement by statistics, early data as to the numbers 01 re
being unreliable.
(peasants as is commonly believed. The great majority of Swedish rabbit-breeders.
(keep unimproved breeds of county rabbits. There also occur in Sweden a
(number of foreign breeds, such as the large French rabbit, the little silver
(rabbit, and the white Danish country rabbit. The latter is considered to be
[suitable for crossing with the Swedish country rabbit, to improve the breed.
Poultry-Breeding.
1 Oocks and hens, ducks, and geese were found in Sweden as long ago as the
(Iron Age. On the other hand, the turkey, was not introduced before the end
I j f the 16 th century. The hen-roost and the goose-pen were ordinary parts of
[the equipment of an ancient northern cottage, and in many parts of the country
(they were retained far into the last century; nowadays, poultry has, almost
(everywhere, been relegated to the barn-yard, or to special poultry-houses.
The total number of poultry in Sweden is estimated to be at least 4 250 000.
[Poultry-breeding, as a whole, is not. in a thriving condition in Sweden,
(except in the southernmost provinces, from which a large export of eggs and
[poultry takes place. Skâne and Gland do a thriving trade in geese: in the
[autumn they send a considerable number to other parts of Sweden and to
[Denmark.
[ A number of different breeds of poultry have been introduced into Sweden;
[the Leghorn, Plymouth Bock, Wyandotte, and Orpington fowls, thé Bouen,
(“Svenska Blâ”, Aylesbury, .and Peking ducks, the Skâne, Toulouse, Emden, and
Pomeranian geese, and the Bronze turkey have the best reputation and are the
[breeds most. widely spread.
I Interest in poultry-breeding seems to be increasing. In 1898 was formed
rSveriges Allmànna Fjâderfâavelsforening” (Society of Swedish Poultry Breeders),
[which was joined by a large number of members from different parts of the
[country: in 1912 the number of members was 6 701, belonging to 23 provincial
[associations. The Society receives a subsidy from the- State, to which must be
[reckoned the contributions made by the Agricultural Societies to the provincial
[associations. The Society works in a variety of ways for the promotion of
[poultry-breeding in Sweden. It employs salaried experts, arranges exhibitions,
[inspects and subsidizes breeding-establishments, attends to the control of egg-
distributes breeding-eggs and breeding-fowls, etc. Furthermore, on the
[initiative of the Society, many small producers, who carry on poultry-breeding
pith great advantage, have been induced to form “Egg-Selling Associations”,
[whereby better conditions of trade have been secured. The export of eggs from
pweden is mainly due t o .- the existence of these associations.
[ -^n 1910 there were in Malmohus Lan no less than 60 of these associations,
[which collected eggs from 160 places.
®Sgs are exported from the southern provinces to England, direct or via
Denmark. Table 25 shows that the import of eggs has remained almost at a
[standstill during recent years; the export, however, has increased to such an
fxtent that in 1913 it exceeded the import.
Bee-Keeping.
I The bee has been domesticated in Sweden since time immemorial.
L , mosl places in Sweden the conditions are extremely favourable for making
fee-keeping pay. Bee Associations, by disseminating knowledge as to the manage-
:enj 01 bees, and the Agricultural Societies, by granting subsidies, have
| eavouied to obtain for bee-keeping its proper place among the most impor