The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

15JSCANDINAVIA.between Christiania and Stavanger, and two-thirds of all the navigation are conductedunder the Norwegian flag, now familiar to every foreign seaport. Mostof the poorer classes in the towns, instead of placing their spare cash in thesavings banks, invest it in a " share " of some vessel, so that all are shipowners,directly or indirectly. Hence the astonishing expansion of navigation inrecent years. The tonnage of the Norwegian shipping exceeds by one-half that ofthe whole of France.The development of the Swedish seaboard, the relatively dense population ofthe southern provinces, and the trade in bulky wares, such as timber and iron,also attract large numbers of vessels to the Swedish seaports. But not morethan one-third sail under the national flag, nearly all the rest belonging eitherto Norway or Denmark. The difference of about 1,000,000 tons between theyearly arrivals and departures is due to the greater weight and bulk of theSwedish exports, so that thousands of ships enter, the Swedish ports withoutFig. 77. Table of Relative Tonnage in 1877.return cargoes. Altogether the Swedish commercial navy is scarcely one-thirdthat of Norway, though still relatively four times superior to that of France.The inland navigation of the lakes and fiords employs over half the shipping, sofar as the number of vessels is concerned, but one-fifth only of the total tonnage.The mercantile navy is manned altogether by about 29,000 hands.*Canals.— Railways. — Postal Service.The hilly character of the surface in Norway has restricted canalisation to afew ramifications from mountain torrents ; but the more open nature of thecountry has enabled Sweden to open up water highways to the interior of itsplains. According to Sidenbladh essays at canalisation were here made so earlyas the beginning of the fifteenth century ; but two centuries passed before thefirst canal with locks was opened between Lake Millar and the outlet of LakeHjelmar at Eskilstuna. Since then the whole of South Sweden has been con-* Commercial marine :—Norway, 8,064 vessels (including 273 steamers) of 1,493,300 tons liurdcn .Sweden, 4,472 vessels (including 7uli Bteamers) of 544,200 tons burden.