Travels Into North America (Complete)
9781465685582
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
The present Volume of Professor Kalm’s Travels through North America, is originally written in theSwedish language, but was immediately after translated into the German by the two Murray’s, both of whom are Swedes, and one a pupil of Dr. Linnæus, and therefore we may be sure that this translation corresponds exactly with the original. Baron Sten Charles Bielke, Vice president of the Court of Justice in Finland, was the first who made a proposal to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, to send an able man to the northern parts of Siberiaand Iceland, as places which are partly under the same latitude with Sweden, and to make there such observations and collections of seeds and plants, as would improve the Swedish husbandry, gardening, manufactures, arts and sciences. Dr. Linnæus found the proposal just, but he thought that a journey throughNorth America would be yet of a more extensive utility, than that through the before-mentioned countries; for the plants of America were then little known, and not scientifically described, and by several trials, it seemed probable that the greatest part of the North American plants, would bear very well the Swedish winters; and what was more important, a great many American plants promised to be very useful in husbandry and physic. Thus far this journey was a mere scheme; but as Captain Triewald, a man well known for his abilities inEngland, gave his Observations on the Cultivation of Silk in a series of Memoirs to the Royal Academy of Sciences, and mentioned therein a kind of mulberry tree, which was discovered by Dr. Linnæus, and which bore the rigours of the Swedish climate as well as a fir or pine tree; this circumstance revived the proposal of such a journey in the year 1745. Count Tessin, a nobleman of established merit both in the political and learned world, becoming president of the Royal Academy, it was unanimously agreed upon to send ProfessorKalm to North America. The expences were at first a great obstacle; but the Royal Academy wrote to the three universities to assist them in this great and useful undertaking. Aobo sent first her small contribution,Lund had nothing to spare, but Upsala made up this deficiency by a liberal contribution.
