The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

FINLAND: CLIMATE. 215Climate.— Vegetation. — Fauna.The northern section of Finland lies within the arctic circle, and even in thesouthern provinces the winter days are only a few hours long, while in midsummerthey are connected by the ruddy gloaming of the sun setting a few degrees belowthe horizon. " The night," says Turgenev, " resembles a sickly day," and aFinnish legend describes twilight and dawn as two betrothed lovers condemned toa long divorce, but ever seeking to be united. In the fair season this union is atlast effected in mid-heaven, where their united nuptialtorches light up the plains,the hills, and all the seas.In these high latitudes the climate is severe. The isothermals, in Scandinaviadeflected northwards by the atmospheric and marine currents, here incline southwards,while the neighbourhood of the great eastern plains gives full play to thecold east and north-east winds. But although extremelv cold in winter, theclimate is rendered hot in summer by the south and south-west winds. Thecultivation of the land, and especially the destruction of the coast forests, are saidto have raised the mean temperature, while at the same time causing more suddenand frequent atmospheric variations.The vegetation is more uniform and less rich than in Scandinavia, whose 2,330species are here reduced to 1,800, which are, moreover, confined to a smaller area.The oak, which reaches the latitudes of Trondhjem in Norway, is confined in Finlandto the southern seaboard between the sixtieth and sixty-first parallels.The cherrydoes not ripen beyond Yasa, and the apple ceases to blossom beyond the sixtyfourthparallel in the province of Fleaborg.Northwards the vegetation diminishesgradually, the last forests of stunted conifers reaching the shores of Lake Enare,beyond which stretch the tundras to the Frozen Ocean. Here nothing growsexcept mosses and lichens, and in some sheltered spots the dwarf birch, the whitealder, and the sorb, the sacred tree of the ancient Finns.In summer vegetation springs up and ripens with astonishing rapidity, andnear Uleaborg wheat is sown and reaped within the space of forty-two days. Themoisture of the atmosphere and the frequent fogs also keep the forests and pasturelands perennially fresh, and in certain districts, especially in the neighbourhood ofTavastehus, the peasants' huts are not thatched or planked, but covered withsmooth grass-grown turf.pleasant.The effect of these well-kept elevated plots is extremelyThe wooden framework of the roof is protected from damp by layers ofbirch bark disposed beneath the green sods.The fauna of Finland resembles that of the neighbouring lands, though less richin the number of species. The bear, wolf, lynx, glutton, and fox still abound, butthe marten has already disappeared. The arms of the Aland archipelago bear theelk, formerly common in those islands, but exterminated at the time of the Russianinvasion in 1809. The beaver also has become so rare that its existence has evenbeen questioned.** "Wild animals killed in Finland between 1871—5 :—Bears, 421 ; wolves, 1,862 ; lynxes, 433 ;gluttons,195; foxes, 12,391. Domestic animals destroyed by beasts of prey, 1868—70:—Horses, 1,802;horned cattle, 5,5S4 ; sheep, 14,061 ; reindeer, 2,714 ; swine, 1,400.Q 2