In the evening I arrived at the town of Abo, which is as large as Orebro, and well built. It has often been ruined by the enemy, and often burnt down by accidental fires, which, if not occasioned otherwise, might easily happen from the stoves of the huts. I remarked that these stoves were less lofty than some I had seen, and that several stones lay loosely piled on one another above the opening, which serve to retain the heat.
September 30.
The Finnish liquor called Lura is prepared like other beer, except not being boiled, instead of which red-hot stones are thrown into it. Hence its purgative quality from the iron.
Here I saw a flying squirrel (Sciurus volans) from Tavasthia.
The long black rat, with a white lower lip, catches birds, both on trees and in the water. He holds fast by his claws, and bites with his four prominent teeth. The Finlanders call this animal Mink. (This seems to be Viverra Lutreola, Faun. Suec. ed. 2. 5.)
A quarter of a mile from the city is a mineral spring, of which Tillands has taken notice. (See v. 1. 43, note.) It is older than that of Medevi (near Vadstena). The current is so strong that one of the burghers of the city has built a mill, to which the water is led, but it does not always go. Near the town a mine has lately been
opened, containing iron here and there, with small quantities of pyrites. The mountain itself is a black mica, immediately adjoining to the city.
The library here is miserable. There are two colleges close together.