fortia’s travels in Sweden . 5 ,l '7
make. As there is no poft-houfe at Skantzen, it will be requifite to bargain with thepoftiliion who drives you from Kolbeck, to proceed to Skultuna or Weiteros.; in cafe ofhis refufing, you rnufl of neceflity return to take horfes at Kolbeck.
The canal of Stromlholm begins at Norberg, in Weftmania, and ends at Stromlholm,where it joins lake Mceler ; it is ten miles in length. In fome parts the river was foundto be navigable, but in moft it was either deepened or new channels cut. The firftlock is at Semla, fix miles and a half beyond Skantzen, and the laft at Stromlholm:there are to be five and twenty. This canal was begun in 1777, and poflibly may becompleated in 1794 if great exertion be ufed ; throughout the whole length there is fixfeet depth of water, at the bottom it is fixty fe£t broad, and at the furface ninety '; thelargeft velfels which the canal will bear are forty-feven feet in length, draw five feet water,and are one hundred and fifty fchippunds burthen, (about forty-five tons). When wefaw it, velfels proceeded no farther than to the fixteenth lock : twenty-nine pafied annu-ally, but this number will be vaftly increafed when the canal is entirely .finished ; thepaifage by it is clofed in November and refumed in May. Above the lock numberfourteen, there areTix hundred fathoms of mafopry, on account of the quality of thefoil. Three hundred fathoms below this, is lock number fifteen ; and a hundred fa-thoms beyond number fixteen ; at a diftance thence of one thoufand five hundredfathoms are numbers feventeen and eighteen cut out of the rock, after which the canalmakes a fiiarp turning through the natural rock to the left. The original plan waschanged in this fpot. Five hundred fathoms from number eighteen are the locks nine-teen, twenty,and twenty one, which are together. One fingle lock coils icc,ooo dol-lars koppermunt, 1330I. fterling ; the double and triple locks in proportion. Each locklias a fall of nearly fixteen Swedifh feet from furface to furface. The total fall of thecanal is one hundred and ninety-two fathoms: in lefs than half an hour’s walk you meetwith eight locks, that is to fay from number fourteen to number twenty-one, from thefirft to the laft the fall of water is fixty four fathoms ; in the neighbourhood ofnumber fixteen is a fteel furnace; near to twenty-one a fmall hammer for iron. Themalts of the veflels are fixed fo as to lower at pleafure, as on many of the locks thereare bridges., Over the fixteenth lock is a very pretty.fmall bridge, with para-pets and corner ftones of granite, with this infcription in the Swedifh language:“ This bridge, the firft built of Swedifli granite, was conftrudled in the reign of Gulla-vus III. the granite hewn by order of the fenator Baron Charles de Sparre. The workwas directed by John Ufftroeum, the peafantry hewed the ftones in 1787..” Employedon this work are about five hundred men, who are paid from 16 to 48 {killings per f ofa cubic fathom, according to the nature of the ground. Veflels palling along the canalpay 14 fchillings 8 rundftiicks per fchippund, of which dfchillings 8 rundftiicks towardsthe locks. This canal will be of great utility for tranfporting at fmall expence the pro-duce of the mines, which is very abundant in the part where it begins; once arrived atlake Mceler, the after expence of tranfport to Stockholm will be very trivial. It will benecefiary the traveller Ihould obtain a letter of addrefs to Mi;. Berger , the director ofthe canal. From Skantzen to Skultuna is two and a quarter miles, on the way you crofsthe Swartz : there is no inn at Skultuna nor any remedy but in taking up your abode■vvitlrthe proprietor of the manufactory.
Skultuna. . Here is a brafs manufactory. M. Galen in his work on the art of trans-forming copper into brafs, which makes a part of the arts and trades, has very welldefcribed this operation ; he took his detail from the manufactory eftablilhed at Mora-kioeuping, to which all in Sweden bear refemblance. At that at Skultuna are threelarge kilns, the chimneys of which, built of brick, rife to a conftderable height; in oneof thefe kilns there are five furnaces, four in the fecond, and three in the third, altoge-
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