pellucid. Body greyish, oblong and narrow. A white scale was placed on each side at the insertion of the wings. The legs were black, with a white joint in the middle of each, the base being speckled. The hind part of the shoulders was whitish. Antennæ simple, minute, parallel, and pointing right forward. The wings lay one over the other so as to resemble a single one, notched at the extremity, when the insect was at rest. Each of us was beset by a whole legion of these flies towards sun-set. What rendered them peculiarly troublesome was their manner of running over the face, and flying into the nose, mouth and eyes. When they were approaching in order to inflict their bite, they were not to be driven away by our blowing ever so hard. The Laplanders call these insects Mockere, alluding to the smallness of their head; the Swedes Knott. (Culex reptans. Linnæus mentions in the Fauna Suecica the extremely tiresome noise made by these gnats in their approach.) They covered
our linen so as to render it quite black. It was to no purpose to attempt to drive them away. (See v. 1. 208.)
I visited the Laxholms, islands so called from the salmon fishery. Here the Common Salmon (Salmo Salar, named Lax by the Swedes,) is found with the under jaw occasionally hooked, which variety is termed Kroklax, or Hooked Salmon. I inquired whether this hooked kind was esteemed a distinct species, or whether a difference arising from age; to both which questions I was answered in the negative. I was shown fish of the smallest size, which had in proportion as large a hook to the lower jaw as the largest. Bonge has therefore fallen into an error in his dissertation upon salmon. (Daniel Bonge, Dissertatio de Salmonum naturâ, corumque apud Ostrobothnienses piscatione, Upsal. 1730. 4to. under the presidency of Professor Roberg, with wooden cuts.) I inquired whether the hooked salmon were furnished with roe or with milt. I was answered that they
had always milt. On opening seven of them I found this verified, whereas four salmon which were not hooked had all of them roes. The hooked (or male) salmon is so called, because the point of its lower jaw is bent inward, and has a taper form, resembling a finger; while on the contrary the upper is furnished with a cavity to receive that point, embracing it like a sheath, for about half its length. The female fish has a more obtuse lower jaw, but not less inflexed, there being only a very slight furrow in the upper one; so that the two sexes may be distinguished from each other by these marks from the earliest age.
Those who fish for salmon come to this place about a fortnight before midsummer, and remain till St. Bartholomew's day, August 24th, as during that space of time the salmon keep ascending the river. After the day last mentioned none of the fishermen remain. Few of the fish escape being taken, so as to return down the river. At Michaelmas the fishermen come here
again, when they catch a smaller sort of salmon.
This day I observed the harvest beginning. The corn now cutting, though sown but a few days before midsummer, was nevertheless quite ripe. The lent rye was not yet ripe enough to be cut, but the winter rye ripens some time before the other corn. Thus it appears that corn (barley) springs up and ripens at this place in the space of sixty days.
In my walks I gathered the berries of the Strawberry-leaved Bramble (Rubus arcticus), which proved delicious. They have somewhat of the flavour of Blackberries (Rubus fruticosus), but are more agreeable. This fruit does not separate from its calyx like other specie of its genus. It is a compound berry, in size and structure somewhat between what the Smolanders call Kodden (Rubus saxatilis), and Raspberries (R. idæus). Its colour is a brownish crimson.
The (Pedicularis) Sceptrum Carolinum
is perennial, with scales, not a fibrous tuft or beard, at the root[7]. The stem is round, not quadrangular. Calyx five-cleft[8]. Lower lip regular, divided into three equal segments.