a piece of ground attached, which remains his own during the whole period of service, sometimes extending over thirty years, or even longer. In time of peace, the infantry of the Indelta are called up for a 20 days' annual practice, and the cavalry for 20 to 26 days. In time of war, an extraordinary Indelta has to be raised partly by landowners, who, on this account, enjoy certain privileges, including non-contribution to the cost of the peace establishment.

4. The Beväring, or conscription troops, drawn by annual levy, from the male population between the age of 20 and 25 years. The right of purchasing substitutes, which formerly existed, was abolished by the Diet in 1872. The Beväring are divided among the Värfvade and the Indelta troops, and are mobilised with these. Still there are two corps composed only of Beväring.

3. The militia of Gothland, consisting of four battalions of infantry, and three batteries of artillery. They are not compelled to serve beyond the Isle of Gothland, and have a separate command.

The total strength of the armed forces of Sweden was as follows in 1884:

There are also Volunteers, in time of peace individually free; but in time of war they may be compelled to place themselves under the command of the military authorities. However, they can be required only to serve within the limits of their own districts. At the end of 1883, the volunteers numbered 11,057 men.

The personnel of the Royal Navy is divided into three classes, viz.: 1. The Active List; 2. The Reserve; 3. The Beväring. The fleet consisted in 1884 of the following vessels :

The largest ironclad of the Swedish navy is the monitor Loke, of 1,600 tons displacement, and 430 horse-power, built in 1870. The other three monitors, called John Ericsson, Thordön, and Tirfing, of earlier construction, are nearly the same size. They have 5-inch armour at the water-line, and each carries two heavy guns in a turret. In 1884 the Royal Navy (active list) was officered by 5 flag-officers, 5 commodores, 20 captains, 43 commanders, 43 lieutenants, and 29 sub-lieutenants, while 79 commissioned officers belonged to the Reserve. The naval Beväring at. the same date numbered about 35,000 men. The chief fortifications of Sweden are, on the coast, Marstrand, Carlskrona with Kungsholen and Drottningskär, Stockholm with Waxholm and Oscar-Fredriksborg: in the interior, Karlsborg.

Area and Population.

The first census took place in 1749, and it was repeated at first every third year, and subsequently, after 1775, every fifth year.

At present, a general census is taken every ten years, besides which there are annual numerations of the people.

The population of Sweden amounted in 1800 to 2,347,303, in 1850 to 3,482,541, in 1860 to 3,859,728, in 1870 to 4,168,525, and in 1880 to 4,565,668. The increase during the last decade was 9.5 per cent., notwithstanding a large emigration, or nearly 1 per cent. per annum.

The area and population of Sweden, according to the census taken on 31st of December 1880, are shown in the following table:

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In 1883 there were 2,230,782 males and 2,372,813 females. In 1880 the foreign-born population numbered 18,587, of whom 3,289 were born in Germany, 4,575 in Denmark, 4,433 in Norway, 3,402 in Finland, 1,039 in Russia, and 506 in England.

The following table gives the births, deaths, and marriages, with the surplus of births over deaths, for each of the five years from 1878 to 1882:

In addition to the births given for 1882 there were 3,764 stillborn, or 2.7 of the whole births. Of the total births 14,275, or 10.3 per cent., were illegitimate; in Stockholm alone the ratio was 30.8 per cent.

Emigration from the country, commencing in recent years, showed at first a tendency to assume considerable proportions; after some years it began to decrease, though in recent years it has again rapidly risen. In 1860, the number of emigrants to countries beyond Europe was 348; in 1865 it rose to 6,691; in 1868 to 27,024; and in 1869 to 39,064; but it fell to 20,003 in 1870, and to 7,791 in 1874. The number was 9,727 in 1875, 9,418 in 1876, 7,610 in 1877, 9,032 in 1878, 17,637 in 1879, 42,109 in 1880, 45,992 in 1881, in 1882, 50,176, and in 1883, 29,490. Over four-fifths of these went to the United States.

The population of Sweden is mainly rural. In 1871 the town population numbered only 551,106, and in 1883 749,887, showing an increase of 39.6 per cent., or more than four times the rate of the general average of the kingdom, and but two towns had, in 1883, more than 50,000 inhabitants, namely, Stockholm, the capital, 194,469, and Göteborg, 81,507; Malmö, 41,678; Norrköping, 27,961; Gefle, 19,358; Karlskrona, 18,842; Jönköping, 18,321; Uppsala, 17,682; Lund, 14,349 inhabitants. The number of persons devoted to agricultural pursuits, and of their families, amounted to 2,309,790 in 1870, or considerably more than one-half of the population. About a quarter of a million individuals are owners of the land which they are cultivating, At the census of 1870,

410,371 persons were engaged in or dependent on mining, metal works, and manufactures, and 139,916 on trade. The nobility, comprising 940 heads of families, enjoyed formerly considerable privileges; but they have nearly all been annulled.

With the exception of 16,412 Finns, 6,600 Lapps, and about 12,000 of foreign birth (mostly from Norway, Denmark, and Germany), the Swedish population is entirely of the Scandinavian branch of the Teutonic family.

In 1882 there were 1,956 men and 355 women accused of serious crimes, and 1,811 men and 222 women sentenced.

In 1882 the number of paupers was returned as 224,392, or 4.90 of the total population.

Trade and Industry.

The commercial intercourse of Sweden is chiefly with Great Britain, as regards exports, and, next to it, with France, Denmark, and Germany. As regards imports, the commercial intercourse is largest with Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Russia, Norway, and the United States, in the order here indicated. The imports consist mainly of textile manufactures, coal, and colonial merchandise, the last largely on the increase, while the staple exports are timber, bar iron, and corn. Both the imports and exports more than doubled in the ten years from 1871 to 1880, the total imports rising from 7,500,000l. to 15,700,000., and the total exports from 5,000,000l. to 12,500,000l. In 1881 the value of the imports was 16,000,000l. and exports 12,400,000l.; and in 1882 the former 12,768,000l., and the latter 14,104,8007. In 1882 the following were the values of the leading imports and exports:

The commerce of Sweden with Great Britain is twice as great as that with any other country. Subjoined is a tabular statement giving the total value of the exports from Sweden to Great Britain and Ireland, and of the imports of British and Irish produce into Sweden, in each of the ten years from 1874 to 1883: