THE SWEDES AT WORK Let us now have a peep at the Swede at work, for, although he is very fond of pleasure, he is very hard-working and industrious, and is taking a foremost place among the manufacturers of the world. Although only about one-tenth of the country is under cultivation, nearly one-half of the people are engaged in the fields. The people are very much devoted to the land. In most cases the farmer owns the farm, and, with the aid of his family, he is able to cultivate all his ground. Farming has changed very much of late years. A great deal of grain used to be grown, but nowadays more attention is being paid to rearing horses and cattle, and dairying. The farmers are very intelligent and well educated, and employ the latest methods in their work. They have made the export of butter one of their chief industries, and in most districts have erected cooperative dairies. The carts go to the farms, collect the produce, and take it to a central dairy, where the butter is made. This is exported in large quantities, with eggs, to Denmark and Britain. They employ the finest machinery, and have well-constructed dairies. Most of their appliances are made in Sweden. In Stockholm they manufacture a separator which is sent to every part of the world. It was invented by a Swede--Gustaf de Laval--and separates the cream from the milk. In some parts of Sweden farmers have to be very economical as well as industrious. Sometimes you will see little yellow bundles hanging on trees; these are birch twigs, and when they are thoroughly dried, they are used as fodder for the sheep. In the Far North, the sun is not sufficiently strong to make hay, so they erect poles which look like fences, and as soon as the grass is cut, they hang it on these poles, and allow it to remain until it is cured.