The corn and rye when cut are put on pine-tree trunks to dry. They saw down the small pines, chop off the branch a foot from the trunk, plant them in a line along the field, and loosely throw their crop over these stumps exposed to the sun and wind; then, after binding by hand, carry them on sledges—summer sledges—to the farmstead, where thrashing, also by hand, completes the business of harvesting.
Farm work is very primitive still in parts of Finland; the small plough, behind which the native plods, guiding it in and out of the stones, which his small sturdy pony drags, is a long and tedious business.
A talkko relieves labour much; and thus it comes to pass that, after Jones and party have helped Smith on Monday, Smith and party help Jones on Tuesday; a very socialistic arrangement, like many others in Suomi.
From the poor the rich have taken a hint, and where, in England, we have work parties for bazaars, or to make garments for the village clubs, in Finland they have a talkko. Especially is this the custom just before Christmas time, when many presents have to be got ready, and all the girl friends assemble and prepare their little gifts for distribution on Christmas Eve. On this night there is much festivity. A tree is lighted even in the poorest homes, and presents are exchanged amid much feasting and merriment.
Christmas comes in the winter, when snow and ice are everywhere; therefore the richer folk drive to their balls and parties in sledges, rolled up in furs, and big skating-parties are the order of the day.
It is amusing at these gatherings to hear the young people all calling one another by their Christian names, and as some of the real Finnish names are musical and pretty, we give a few of the most usual—
| Men. | Women. | Surnames. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onni | Aino | Aaltola | ||
| Ilmari | Saima | Vuorio | ||
| Yrjö (George) | Helmi | Lallukka | ||
| Väinö | Aili | Ritola | ||
| Armas | Kyllikki | Aitamurto | ||
| Aarne | Eine | Haapaoja | ||
| Arvo | Aura | Häkli | ||
| Reijo | Sirkka | Sutinen | ||
| Esko | Lempi | Pösö | ||
| Heikki (Henry) | Siviä | Matikainen | ||
| Urpo | Rauha (Friede, Irene) | Koskinen | ||
| Eero (Eric) | Hellin | Piispanen | ||
| Mauno (Magnus) | Ainikki | (Kalevala) | Pilvi (a cloud) | |
| Lauri (Laurence) | Ilpotar | " | Vitikka | |
| Vilho (William) | Inkeri | " | Vipunen (Kalevala) | |
| Toivo | Louhi | " | Korhonen | |
| Pekka (Peter) | Lyyli, or Lyylikki | Lyytikäinen | ||
| Ahti | (Kalevala) | Mielikki | (Kalevala) | Päivärinta |
| Sampsa | " | Tellervo | " | Päiviö |
| Antero | " | Tuulikki | " | Makkonen |
| Youko | " | Hilja | Porkka | |
| Kullervo | " | Tyyne | Rahkonen | |
| Kalervo | " | Suoma | Ojanen | |
| Untamo | " | Alli | Reijonen | |
| Kammo | " | Impi | Alkio | |
| Nyyrikki | " | Laina | Teittinen | |
| Osmo | " | Ilma | ||
| Valio | Iri | |||
| Ensi | ||||
Winter in the South of Finland generally sets in about the last week of November, and when it comes is usually very severe, while the nights are long and the days short. As a rule the air is dry, and therefore that delightful fresh crispness, which is so invigorating, prevails, as it does in Norway, where, one day when we were with Dr. Nansen at Lysaker, the thermometer registered 9° below zero Fahr., yet we found it far less cold than England on a mild damp day.
The mean temperature of the North of Finland is 27° Fahr., and round Helsingfors in the South, 38° Fahr.
As November advances every one in the Southern districts looks forward eagerly to black ice; that is to say, that the ice should form before the first fall of snow covers the land. This often happens, and then the lakes, the rivers, and all round the coast, rapidly freeze some inches thick, the surface being as flat as a looking-glass, unless the wind has seriously disturbed the ice much while forming, and Finland becomes one enormous skating-rink from end to end. Every one throughout the country skates—men, women, and children. Out they come in the early morning, and, with some refreshments in their pockets, they accomplish visits and journeys which, to the uninitiated, seem impossible. Fifty or sixty miles a day can be managed on skates, and even the peasantry avail themselves of this opportunity of enjoying sport, and, at the same time, accomplishing a vast amount of friendly visiting and work. It is during this black ice that the ice-boats are most in requisition; for the bumpiness so often experienced when snow has settled on the frozen surface does not exist, and the ice-boats' speed, which is tremendous at all times, becomes absolutely terrific and wildly exciting, as we know from our experiences in Holland.