Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/463

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TKADi; AND INDUSTRY.

42 7

The principal articles of export from Sweden to the United Kingdom are deals and timber, oats, and iron in bars. The value of the deals, exclusive of all other wood and timber, exported to Great Britain, was 1,588,595/. in 18(55 ; 1,499,024/. in 186G ; 1,569,962/. in 1867 ; 1,862,973/. in 1868, and 1,693,594/. in 1869. Of oats, the exports were to the amount of 1,108,171/. in 1869; and of bar iron, unwrought, 580,853/. The imports of British home produce are of a miscellaneous nature, the most notable being cotton manufactures, of the value of 196,266/. in 1869.

The commercial navy of Sweden numbered 1,347 vessels regis- tered for foreign trade, of a total burthen of 220,304 tons, at the end of the year 1869. At the end of 1867, the number of vessels regis- tered for foreign trade was 1,296, of a total burthen of 216,144 tons, while at the end of 1864 the number of vessels was 1,238, of 193,611 tons burthen. The port of Goteborg had the largest shipping in 1868, namely, 154 vessels, of 43,608 tons, and next to it came Stockholm, possessing 63 vessels, of a total burthen of 14,916 tons. In 1864, Stockholm had 117 vessels, of 29,100 tons, regis- tered for foreign trade, and Goteborg 137, of 36,216 tons; so that while the shipping of the former port suffered a great decrease, that of the latter showed a more than corresponding increase.

Mining is the most important department of Swedish industry, and the working of the iron mines in particular is making constant progress by the introduction of new machinery. There were raised in the year 1867, throughout the kingdom, 11,401,833 cwt. of iron ore from mines, besides 418,436 cwt. from lake and bog. The pig- iron produced amounted to 5,838,535 cwt. ; the cast goods to 307,759 ; the bar iron to 4,010,369 CAvt., and the steel to 537,916 cwt. There were also raised in the same year 2,691 lbs. of silver ; 46,922 cwt. of copper, and 442,048 cwt. of zinc ore. There are believed to be large veins of coal, but the quantity raised as yet does not amount to more than 300,000 tons per annum.

Within recent years a network of railways, very important for the trade and industry of Sweden, has been constructed in the