A tour through North America

Lower Canada—Inhabitants—Climate—Soil—Mode of Selling Land—Productions and Prices—Farming near Montreal—Climate affecting Agriculture and Farmers.

Canada originally consisted of one country, and was divided into two provinces, Upper and Lower Canada, in 1791. It was discovered by Jacques Cartier, a Frenchman, in 1535, and continued under dominion of the French until 1759, with exception of a year or two, when it was ceded to the English.

The descendants of the French, after the conquest by the English, were allowed to retain their laws and religion, which so attached them to the British government, that their fidelity remained unshaken during the war with the colonies to the south, which now form part of the United States. In the late war between Great Britain and the United States the population again continued faithful; and their antipathy to the inhabitants of the States seems to be unconquerable.

About two-thirds of the inhabitants of Lower Canada are descendants of the French, who speak the French language, and retain most of their old manners and customs. The rest of the inhabitants consist of all nations, and are chiefly descended from British subjects. The French Canadians profess the Catholic religion; and lands held by Catholics pay one twenty-sixth of the grain produce to the clergy. The exaction, however, seldom extends beyond the wheat crop; and the people of all religions represent the Catholic clergy of Lower Canada as the best disposed and most inoffensive class of men in the province.

The French Canadians are chiefly engaged in agriculture, and are a most unenterprising race of individuals, and lead the same kind of life which their forefathers did upwards of two hundred years ago. They appear to be poor, indolent, and a mirthful loving people. The commerce of the province is carried on chiefly by British subjects. In politics, there is a French and British party. At present the French interest is the most numerous; it will, however, ultimately dwindle away.

The province of Lower Canada lies between forty-five and fifty-two degrees of north latitude, and sixty-three and eighty-one of west longitude, from Greenwich. The climate of America is very different from places of the same latitude in Europe, the degrees of heat and cold being much greater. Although lying considerably farther south than England, Fahrenheit’s thermometer ranges between ninety and one hundred degrees in summer. In winter, the thermometer occasionally indicates thirty degrees below zero, and for six months the surface of the earth is covered with snow. The St Lawrence, which divides the province, runs in a north-easterly direction, and the climate becomes mild as the river is ascended. In the western part of the province, spring commences a month earlier than it does at Quebec, the capital of the district, and the climate is in all respects superior for agriculture.

The climate of Lower Canada is perhaps as healthy as any in America, which may be owing to the length of time the banks of the St Lawrence, where the population chiefly reside, have been cultivated. In newly settled districts, fever and ague, the scourge of America, is frequently known.

The soil, which has been surveyed, is estimated by Bouchette at about 16,000,000 acres, and is said to be inferior sand in the eastern parts, and to improve to the westward. This gradation of soil seems to be pretty general in most parts of North America; but soils of the most opposite character are to be found in all situations, and America is as variable in texture and quality of surface as Britain.

The greater part of the cleared land is occupied by the descendants of the French in narrow stripes, seldom exceeding 100 acres, and often extending miles in length. The tenures are of French origin, and it is difficult to get a good title to land, without it has been disposed of at a sheriff’s sale. A considerable part of the land is held by English tenure, and to such there is no difficulty in obtaining good title-deeds.

A considerable extent of crown lands is still undisposed of, and they are sold by public sale on the first day of every month, in every township where an agent resides. The upset price of the lands varies from 2s. 6d. to 10s. Halifax currency, by which all land in the Canadas are sold. The following are the conditions of sale for 1834:—

“1st, The lands will be put up for sale in lots or parcels of from 100 (or a half surveyed lot) to 1200 acres (or six surveyed lots), as may suit the convenience of parties disposed to bid for the same.

“2d, The lots will be offered at the upset price, as quoted above.

“3d, The lots are to be taken at the contents marked in the public documents, without guarantee as to the actual quantity contained in them.

“4th, The biddings to be made in currency upon the upset price per acre.

“5th, The lots will be sold to the highest bidder.

“6th, The purchase-money to be paid by four annual instalments, without interest. The first instalment or deposit-money of twenty-five per cent at the time of sale, and the second, third, and fourth instalments at intervals of a year.

“7th, The instalments to be paid into the office of crown lands at Quebec, or the treasurer or receiver of rents on his half-yearly tour for the collection of rents.

“8th, If the instalments are not regularly paid, the deposit-money will be forfeited, and the land again referred to sale.”

The chief productions of Lower Canada are wheat, barley, and oats, of inferior quality, which may be partly owing to the climate and the management which the soil is under. For nearly half a century, manure has not been applied to the greater part of the cultivated land, which, after being what is considered exhausted, is allowed to produce a natural sward of grass, on which animals browse during one summer, and it is again ploughed in autumn. Notwithstanding the natural goodness of much of the soil, the crops are of the worst description; and when all things are taken into consideration, it is surprising to find them so good.

Much of the land in the neighbourhood of Montreal, unconnected with the island of that name, is of excellent quality, and, if properly drained and manured, might produce almost any description of crop.

The island of Montreal contains some good soil, of light texture, well adapted for market gardening, a department of husbandry at present highly remunerating. The French Canadians being unwilling to dispose of their lands in the neighbourhood of the town of Montreal, and not likely soon to change their present system of agriculture, the growing of vegetables will, in all probability, long continue profitable, even should high prices induce settlers up the St Lawrence to transmit produce when the communication with Montreal becomes improved, as it unquestionably will in progress of time.

Agriculture produce of all kinds fetches a high price in Lower Canada, which does not seem to afford sufficient food for the inhabitants, and more especially butcher meat. The following inland imports to Montreal are taken from the Commercial List.

These lists, containing only the imports to Montreal and the exports of the whole province, show a considerable balance against the country, which would be greatly increased if the imports of the whole province were included. It is probable other articles would also show an unfavourable balance.

The difficulty of raising produce is unquestionably the cause of its high price, which is not likely to be lowered by other means than importing supplies. The French Canadians, having few wants and strong local attachments, labour cheaply rather than remove to a distance, which, joined to the influx of destitute emigrants from Britain and Ireland, renders wages lower perhaps than in any other part of the American continent. High prices and cheap labour are favourable to investing capital in cultivation; and a skilful and prudent farmer cannot fail of being successful in the immediate neighbourhood of Montreal. Here he will feel the change from Britain less than in any other part of America, with exception of climate, and even the length and severity of winter are said to be agreeable. A considerable extent of capital is required to purchase land in a good situation, which costs from L.10 to L.20 per acre. Land is also occasionally to be had on lease; and when a sufficient number of years, and proper terms are obtained, an outlay of capital in improving the soil would be profitable.

If soil is the workshop of the farmer, and animals and plants his machinery, the climate of Lower Canada is an impediment, seriously affecting plants, animals, and man, which cannot be removed. With six months of winter, the machinery of the farm is suspended half the year. Few plants can be properly matured, and crops, in all seasons, are liable to be injured by frost. Animals require a large supply of dry fodder, as succulent food cannot be provided, and the intense cold reduces them in condition. Man is so long prevented by winter from labouring the soil, and so hurried by the shortness of spring and autumn, that he has not time to prepare it suitably for the reception of crops. To these causes may be ascribed the leanness of animals, the high price of produce, the poverty of the people, and the cheapness of labour.

The climate is too cold for the cultivation of Indian corn, which only occasionally comes to maturity in the most favoured spots. Autumnal sown wheat is similarly situated, and the wheat of the country sown in spring is of the most inferior quality. Fahrenheit’s thermometer having stood twelve degrees below the freezing point at Albany, in the state of New York, on the 29th October, 1833, the cold, in all probability, must have been greater in Lower Canada, which is several degrees of latitude farther north. Accordingly, a gentleman of my acquaintance, who settled in the township of Leeds, stated in a letter, “that misery and famine stared farmers in the face; frost having set in early, all their turnips and potatoes had been destroyed, and, in some cases, also their grain crops.” The condition of the animals is also evidence of the severity of the climate. Sheep and oxen, as seen by me in the months of summer, were mere skin and bone compared with those of Britain, which I attributed, in a great measure, to the cold of winter; and sheep of the Leicester breed, sent from East Lothian, sunk under its effects in the most southerly part of the province.

However much the man of pleasure may extol the winter of Lower Canada for the glorious sleighing it affords—and its boasted advantages seem to be confined to this mode of travelling—the industrious farmer must regard it as an evil, by suspending his operations, and injuring his live-stock. Nature here assists him more sparingly than in warmer latitudes, and he will not live comfortably on cleared land by his own labour, except in the most southerly parts of the province. To clear forest land in most parts by his own exertions, would not reward him for five or six years afterwards, if land was to be had for nothing, and its inferior produce cannot afford good wages to labourers. For the farmer of capital, the neighbourhood of Montreal holds out many advantages. The province is not, however, favourable to farmers who are in search of food and clothing for themselves and families, and still less so for labourers of any description. Both classes must, of necessity, be idle during a considerable portion of the year, and they are not likely to improve their condition by emigrating from Britain to Lower Canada.

Upper Canada—Inhabitants—Climate—Soil—Mode of Selling Land, and Prices—Bad Effects of Selling on Credit—Situation of Settlers without Capital—Price of Land in Upper Canada and the Western United States—Price of Land, and Mode of Settlement Injurious to the Province—Suggestions for Improving the State of the Country.

Upper Canada became a separate province in 1791. It is bounded on the east by Lower Canada, and on the south by the river St Lawrence, and the chain of rivers and lakes to the west, the waters of which form the St Lawrence. The boundaries in the north, and in the extreme west towards the Pacific Ocean, are perhaps not accurately defined, and the surface of the province cannot be estimated.

About the time of settling the mouth of the St Lawrence, the French penetrated into Upper Canada, and planted a colony on the river Detroit, where their descendants still reside. At the close of the war, in 1793, when the colonies of North America became independent of Britain, many inhabitants of the United States, who adhered to the government of the mother-country, moved into Upper Canada, where they obtained grants of land. At the same time many disbanded soldiers also received land. In this way parts of the shores of lake Ontario, and lake Erie, and the banks of the Niagara, Detroit, and Thames, were first settled. More recently, many people of Dutch and German extraction have settled in the provinces, as well as subjects of the United States; and there has been a constant stream of emigration from Britain. The population, chiefly found on the lakes and rivers, may amount to about 400,000, the greater part being of British descent.

Upper Canada differs from the lower province in climate, by having a longer summer and a shorter winter; while the extremes of heat and cold, as indicated by the thermometer, are nearly the same in both provinces. The waters of the St Lawrence and lakes, forming the southern boundary of the district, inclining north-east, the climate improves in ascending the waters, till reaching Amherstburgh, in about 42 degrees of latitude. The province, as far as it is accurately known, has not an eminence of sufficient height to affect temperature, and the climate of the different situations may be estimated according to their latitudes. In the most southerly parts, near the head of lake Erie, the length of winter varies from two to three months. Ploughing commences about the first of April; and cattle and horses are allowed to roam in the woods during winter,—a practice which marks the mildness of climate, and also, perhaps, the laziness of the inhabitants.

The climate of Upper Canada is as healthy as the lower province, although the inhabitants are more liable to sickness from the surface not being so well cleared of forest. On my first entry to the country, I thought to judge of the healthiness of situations by the countenances of the inhabitants, and if all of them had been born in the country, this might have been a just criterion. There is something in the climate of America which seems to impart a sallow and seared complexion to the people. It is, however, many years before some natives of Britain lose their florid colour; and I have seen several people retaining their complexion after having resided twenty years in the province, while their children had the general hue of the country. Being unable to judge whether the people had been born in the country, or were lately arrived from Britain, I abandoned the idea of taking the appearance of the inhabitants as an index to healthiness of situation. As I proceeded westward, towards Chatham and Amherstburgh, the complexion of the people became less florid, which I attributed to most of them being natives of the country. I found people afflicted with ague in many places, after having resided years in the district; and from information which I received, deserving of credit, I was led to believe almost every European has a seasoning, or an attack of the ague. The rapidity and severity of the attack, however, depends in a great measure on the situation of individuals being aggravated by fatigue, imperfect clothing, bad food, and a damp house.^[5]

The surface of Upper Canada is remarkable for want of hills, but much of it is considerably undulating; and where this formation prevailed, I generally found the soil of inferior quality. The soil is variable in all districts; much of it is very bad; and it may generally be termed of medium quality. I could only judge of the soil by its natural appearance, which would be improved by cultivation. In all parts of the country, I found sandy soils the least productive; those composed of clay and heavy loam bearing the best crops of every description.

Almost all the writers who have treated of the soil of Upper Canada have represented the kinds of trees which grow on it an index of its quality; but, after extensive observation, I was unable to trace the connexion generally. From the number of mouldering trees with which the forest is strewed, I was led to imagine, generation hath succeeded generation since the beginning of time; and it is an admitted fact, that one description of tree hath frequently been succeeded by a different species over a considerable extent of surface. Under these circumstances, the kinds of trees have often more connexion with preceding events and species than the soil; and I regretted time did not admit of my attempting to investigate the longevity of the trees, and the kinds which succeed each other, or continue without change of species. It is, however, quite certain, that the oak is found occupying exclusively the best and the worst soils of the province, being that of sand, clay, and loam. Were it necessary, I could point out tracts of country in support of what I have advanced, and districts where a change of species of tree takes place without any apparent difference of soil. If the kind of tree is not a criterion of soil, neither is the size of the trees, which often depends on the number of them on a given space.

The quality of soil can only be ascertained by examination with a spade or some such instrument, and which ought also to embrace the subsoil. By such a mode of proceeding a judge of land cannot be deceived. It is as easy to learn to discriminate soils as trees, and both may be examined with the same facility.

The whole surveyed land of Upper Canada is held by English tenure, with exception, perhaps, of some patches on the banks of the Detroit, occupied by people of French descent. There is a register in every township, in which money mortgaged on land must be entered before it is recoverable, and by consulting which every purchaser may ascertain if good titles to an estate can be obtained.

The lands are in possession of the crown, the Canada Company, and private individuals, and may be had at all times to a reasonable extent. The crown lands are disposed of according to the following document:—

“GOVERNMENT LANDS.

“In conformity to instructions recently received from his Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies, the following arrangements for disposing of the waste lands of the crown in Upper Canada, are made known for the information of emigrants and others.

“Except in the case of U. E. Loyalists, and other persons entitled by the existing regulations of the government to free grants, no person can obtain any of the waste lands of the crown otherwise than by purchasing at the public sales, made from time to time under the direction of the commissioner of crown lands.

“These sales will be made on the first and third Tuesday of each month, and will either be continued through the following day or not, as circumstances may appear to the agent to require.

“They will be held at the following places:—

“At Bytown, for the district of Bathurst.

“At Belleville, for the midland district.

“At Peterborough, for the district of Newcastle.

“At York, for the home district.

“At Hamilton, for the district of Gore.

“At London, for the district of London.

“At Chatham, for the western district.

“Besides these general periodical sales, there may be occasional sales by auction in other districts, of such town lots, or other lots of land as may remain to be disposed of; and of these sales ample notice will be given.

“The conditions of every sale by public auction will be as follows:—One fourth of the purchase money to be paid down, and the remainder in three equal annual instalments, with interest at six per cent on each instalment, payable with the instalment.

“The lands will be put up at an upset price, of which notice will be given at the time of sale, and in the previous advertisements which will be published of the lands intended to be put up at each sale; and in case no offer shall be made at the upset price, the land will be reserved for future sale in a similar manner by auction.

“A patent for the lands will be issued free of charge upon the payment in full of the purchase money and interest.

“The regular periodical sales will be held for the first time as follows:—In Peterborough, York, and Hamilton, on the third Tuesday in June next; and in Bytown, Belleville, London, and Chatham, on the first Tuesday in July next; and they will continue to be held at all those places on the first and third Tuesdays in each month, until after the first Tuesday in November next; when such other arrangements as may be made by the government will be announced.

“Information can be obtained respecting the lands to be disposed of in the several districts, by applying to the following gentlemen, agents for the commissioners of crown lands, viz.:

“In the Bathurst district, Mr John M‘Naughton, D.S. Bytown.

“In the eastern district, James Pringle, Esquire, Cornwall.

“In the Newcastle district, Alexander M^cDonell, Esquire, Peterborough.

“In the London district, Roswell Mount, Esquire, Delaware.

“In the western district, Henry John Jones, Esquire, Chatham.

“The commissioner for crown lands, acting also as agent for the sale of clergy reserves, requests it to be noticed, that such clergy reserves as have not been hitherto occupied by authority, or leased by the government, will be disposed of, by public auction only, either at the periodical sales of crown lands or at occasional sales, to be duly advertised; and that the terms of payment for clergy reserves will continue to be as follows:—Ten per cent to be paid at the time of sale, and the remainder in nine annual instalments of ten per cent each, with interest on each instalment, to be paid with the instalment

“Such clergy reserves as have been leased, or occupied by the authority of the government, must be applied for by letter to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and when disposed of, will be sold by private sale on the same terms of payment as those disposed of by public auction.

“All applications from emigrants, or respecting emigration, not immediately connected with the sale of public lands, are to be addressed to Anthony B. Hawke, Esquire, at York, he being specially appointed by the government to act in that department.

By an advertisement dated Taronto, (late York,) 10th April, 1834, the upset price of lands in the Newcastle district is fixed at 10s., and the land surrendered by the Six Nations at 15s. per acre. The same advertisement announces clergy reserves, on condition of actual settlement, ten per cent of the price paid at the time of sale, and the remainder at nine annual instalments, with interest of six per cent on each instalment.

East of Bear Creek—17s. 6d. and the remainder 10s. The township of Chatham, 15s.; Madoc, 7s. 6d.; London, 15s. per acre, Halifax currency.

The mode of disposing of crown lands has been subject of frequent complaint by newly arrived emigrants, and the whole system merits censure. I met individuals who had travelled more than one hundred miles from York to examine lands in the west, and returned again to York to petition and make interest with the authorities to get certain lots put up for sale. When they succeeded, they had to live in idleness for a month until the day of sale arrived, and again travel to the place of sale. Sometimes applications to have lands put up for sale are frustrated, and rather than suffer delay and dance attendance on men of influence, many people have passed into the United States, where a person can go to the land-office of the district and fix on any lot which pleases him. There cash is the only interest that can be employed, and its non-payment the only delay to settlement.

Paying the purchase-money by instalments induces people without capital to become purchasers, who, for the interest of themselves and the community, ought to have assisted others in clearing and cultivating land, until they had accumulated sufficient capital, by saving, to purchase without credit. To the system of disposing of land by credit, much of the wretchedness and poverty of the present Canadian landholders may be justly attributed. The experience of the United States government demonstrated this, and a law was passed to abolish credit on the price of land. How difficult it seems to be for Britain to adopt legislation to the existing age of the world!

The Canada Company possess immense tracts of country, and sell land on terms similar to government, giving credit and drawbacks to induce people to purchase. The price of the company’s land at Goderich is 7s. 6d. per acre, and equal to the price of crown lands in other parts.

Much land is held by absentee proprietors, or the members of the party who sway the councils of the province. It is commonly in the hands of agents empowered to sell. The prices are generally higher than crown lands, and credit unlimited.

The greater portion of British emigrants, arriving in Canada without funds and the most exalted ideas of the value and productiveness of land, purchase extensively on credit, and take up their abode in the midst of the forest, with the proudest feelings of independence, and in the confident hope of meeting their engagements, and becoming fine gentlemen at the end of a few years. Every thing goes on well for a short time. A log-house is erected with the assistance of old settlers, and the clearing of forest is commenced. Credit is obtained at a neighbouring store, and at length it is found necessary to work a day or two in the week for hire to obtain food for the family. The few garden stuffs and field crops, grown the first year, produce little for want of a free circulation of air, and the imperfect manner in which they had been sown. Should fever and ague now visit the emigrant, which is frequently the case, the situation of himself and family, enfeebled by disease, is truly wretched. Hope is, however, still bright, and he struggles through the second year, with better crops and prospects than the preceding one. The third year brings him good crops, which furnish a supply of food for his establishment. During this period he has led a life of toil and privation, being poorly fed and most uncomfortably lodged. But the thoughts of owning so many fair acres has been a never-failing source of joy and sweetener of life. On arrival of the fourth harvest, he is reminded by the storekeeper to pay his account with cash, or discharge part of it with his disposable produce, for which he gets a very small price. He is also informed that the purchase-money of the land has been accumulating with interest. The phantom of prosperity, conjured up by his imagination, is now dispelled, and, on calmly looking into his affairs, he finds himself poorer than when he commenced operations. Disappointment preys on his spirits, and the aid of whisky is perhaps sought to raise them. The hopelessness of his situation renders him indolent and immoral. The land ultimately reverts to the former proprietor, or a new purchaser is found.

To render the situation of an emigrant purchasing without capital more evident, his case shall be illustrated by figures. Suppose 200 acres, which is the common size of lots purchased, at 15s., and that the emigrant has the means of maintaining himself without working for hire, and continues in good health. The three first crops being required to feed the family and obtain necessaries, he may be supposed to have nearly thirty acres in crop the fourth year, if he has been very industrious, but making allowance for stumps, fences, and roads, the actual surface in crop will not exceed twenty acres. At this time, near the end of the fifth year, when the fourth crop is reaped, the purchase-money, and interest on it, will amount to about L.200. The interest of this sum at the rate of the country is L.12, and a burden on the land in crop of more than 10s. an acre, which it cannot meet. In this estimate there is no return made for forest land, which is generally as unproductive of grass as the surface of the sea. It is the quantity of land purchased which operates so unfavourably on the settler. If, in the case chosen for illustration, 50 had been purchased instead of 200 acres, the result would have been very different. It is seldom a person depending on his labour clears and cultivates more than 40 acres in course of his life. Therefore 50 acres is a sufficient extent for such a character to buy, and under no circumstances ought he to exceed 100 acres.

In the case where the purchase-money has been paid, the settler finds himself but indifferently off, and generally indebted to storekeepers. It must, however, be kept in view, that the land which has been cleared is of considerable value, and at the end of the fifth or sixth year, an industrious man may have his property worth much more money than he paid for it.

There is never any hesitation in selling land to a man without capital, as the rights of it are withheld. Every tree which is cut down enhances the value of the property, which is unproductive while they are standing. When a settler absconds after some years’ residence, a case by no means rare, the proprietor derives great advantage from his operations. An agent to a very extensive and wild property, informed me he had sold twenty-five lots of land, consisting of about 6000 acres, and received in all of purchase-money L.300.

If the sketch which I have given of settlers without capital is thought to be overdrawn, from the fact of so many individuals having become prosperous, let it be remembered that land was formerly granted on paying fees of office, and without purchase. The system of selling land on credit, and contracting debt at stores, hath proved ruinous of late years to settlers without capital, who have no other means of extricating themselves than selling their properties.

In almost every district people are found anxious to sell land, and small farms may be bought on cheaper terms than lands belonging to the crown, Canada Company, or large proprietors, more especially if cash is paid. Indeed the necessities of many people are so urgent, and credit so general, that an individual with cash in his pocket may drive a good bargain at all times.

In a country of such diversity of soil, climate, and situation as Upper Canada, the price of land in its territory must be extremely variable, and will be found to run from 2s. 6d. to L.6 per acre. On a general view, it is cheapest in the southern part of the western district, when climate and soil are taken into consideration. Few settlers have located themselves of late years in this part of the country, and trade can scarcely be said to have travelled so far west in Canada. Steam-navigation will, however, soon alter the present state of things in this quarter.

When the extent of unoccupied surface, the extent of soil which is occupied and remaining uncleared, and the tens of millions of acres which have never been surveyed, are considered, the price of Canadian land is extravagantly high, and far above its intrinsic value to actual settlers. Land, like other things, is cheap or dear by comparison, government land in the United States being sold at 6s. 3d. Halifax currency, ready-money, ought to make the British government blush for its policy in Canada. The price of land surrendered by the Six Nations, and covered with forest, is fixed at 15s. per acre, which is more than double the price of government land in the western United States, superior in quality, situated in a finer climate, clothed with luxuriant grass, and without an obstacle to immediate cultivation. The credit, with accumulating interest on the price of land in Canada, is practically an evil to the purchaser and the country. It is population alone which imparts value to land, and a more effectual method could not be devised for preventing a farther influx of inhabitants to Upper Canada, and draining away many of those already settled, than government adhering to the present upset prices of land.

The want of information which could be relied on regarding the United States, and the praises lavished on Upper Canada by interested parties, has drawn a number of emigrants to this district of late years. The stream of emigration has, however, begun to take a different course, and the price of land in Canada will tend to steady its direction. It is a knowledge of the Western States, joined to their pecuniary difficulties, which makes so many farmers anxious to sell their properties. The late rise in the price of land operates as an inducement for enterprising individuals to leave the province, and already some of them yearly take their departure.

But the whole system of settling land in Canada has been bad for many years. The retention of two-sevenths of the land for crown and clergy reserves, retarded improvement of every description, and granting immense tracts to favourites of government increased the evil. Bestowing grants of 200 acres by favour of government, or private individuals, prevented settlers choosing situations for themselves, and they were often directed to unfavourable parts of the country, with a view perhaps of enhancing the value of properties in the neighbourhood. A lot of 200 acres of forest land was too great an extent to grant unconditionally to settlers, without capital, as experience proves they seldom clear 50 acres with aid of a family. From these causes the province may be said to be overrun instead of having been settled,—the evils of a forest-covered surface perpetuated, and the good effects which result from concentration and unity of population effectually retarded.

It might now perhaps be difficult to remedy the state of things. A tax ought to be levied on forest-land above a specified extent, to check speculation in land, and induce large landholders to sell or improve their possessions. Land ought to be sold cheap, in small lots, for ready money, on condition of actual settlement and annually clearing a certain extent. The Canada Company ought to be got rid of, or forced to dispose of its land at fixed prices, and on stipulated conditions. Britain, in legislating for Upper Canada, should do justice to the colonists and the home subjects who may wish to emigrate. But in all likelihood she does not now possess the power of carrying proper views into effect. The land of the province being held at a monopoly price, operates as a barrier to British emigration, and is a tax on the industrious who reach the province, principally for the benefit of absentees.

Much as Upper Canada appears to me to have been misgoverned, her evils are not likely soon to end. The properties of a great portion of the industrious farmers are either mortgaged to storekeepers or capitalists, and almost the whole of the influential inhabitants are interested in land. The men filling official situations generally having large estates, the managers of the Canada Company, and of other extensive tracts of land, will oppose, from selfishness, the introduction of a better system, and endeavour to perpetuate the present state of things. I had little opportunity of judging if the inhabitants are fit to govern themselves. They will, however, find it a most arduous task to get rid of the present party in power, and a separation from the mother country would, in all probability lessen their chance. Upper Canada is likely to separate from Britain in seeking to retain monopolies.

Productions—Agricultural Societies—Want of Pasturage—Progress of Forest Settlement—First Crops on Forest Land—Worn-out Soil—Mildewed Wheat—Misrepresentations of Canada—Mr Ferguson’s Statement—Township of Nichol—Praises and Detractions—Choosing a situation—Advantages and disadvantages of Upper Canada for different Emigrants—State of the Inhabitants—Constitution—Game.

The productions of the country are various, and embrace almost every thing that is desirable in life. Wheat is the staple commodity. Indian corn ripens well in the most southerly parts, but is not extensively cultivated any where, and, in the present state of the country, is an uncertain crop beyond 41½ degrees of latitude. Oats, rye, barley, peas, and millet, number amongst the grains. Tobacco, turnips, potatoes, melons, apples, pears, and peaches, amongst the vegetables and fruits. The climate of the southern parts is genial, the industry of man applied to the cultivation of the soil renders it fruitful.

The agriculture of Upper Canada has not been reduced to a system in the oldest cultivated parts, and is carried on in the rudest manner in recently settled districts. The legislature having lately appropriated L.100 to each district for the encouragement of agriculture, societies have been formed for this purpose in Niagara and other districts. I am possessed of a copy of the Niagara District Agricultural Society’s rules, and its exertions will, in all likelihood, be directed to the improvement of stock.

In all countries perhaps, and more especially in one covered with dense forests like Upper Canada, the first efforts of the inhabitants are directed to the growing of grain for their own subsistence, and pastural agriculture is introduced at a later period. This course of farming must, of necessity, have been followed in Canada, as the forest does not yield a single blade of grass, which is owing, perhaps, to the rays of the sun being excluded from the surface of the earth throughout the whole season, by winter’s snow, the foliage of summer, and the fallen leaves of autumn. The severity of winter would also retard the keeping of animals, as an artificial supply of food and shelter is necessary to their existence. So defective is the pastoral farming of Upper Canada, that almost every town or village of magnitude in the district is dependent on the United States for the sheep and cattle which are slaughtered for the use of the inhabitants. Mr Somerville of Whitby accounted for this, on the ground, that all oxen reared in the country were required by new settlers to plough the soil. It is, however, quite evident, that there is not a sufficient extent of cleared surface on almost any farm to graze breeding stock, and provide them with proper food for winter. The rearing and fatting of animals in Canada must require such a division of labour as did not come under my notice while in the country, and the time has scarcely arrived when it can be successfully adopted. The animals of every kind are of an inferior description, and no great improvement can be effected with them until proper winter food and shelter are supplied. The working oxen are chiefly obtained from the States.

Most new settlers find difficulty in providing pasturage for their milch cows; and butter made from the cream of animals roaming in the forest is often of the worst quality. I have been at the residence of settlers who could not produce butter of their own manufacturing at table in the fourth year of their farming. The want of grass is one of the greatest privations of first settlement.

In the old cultivated districts manure is sometimes applied to land. Gypsum is frequently used successfully to clover and Indian corn, and Providence seems to have provided most of the districts composed of sand with an inexhaustible store of gypsum, to which soils it is chiefly applicable. I could not learn that lime had been tried. The robbing system hath long been followed, and its effects are every where apparent.

The progress of bush or forest settlement admits of little choice. After a log-house hath been erected, the trees are cut down with an axe, about three feet from the ground, the branches are lopped off and the trunks chopped into lengths of about fifteen feet, piled together, and burnt. The piling, or logging, as it is called, is by far the most arduous part of the process, requiring the aid of several men and oxen. The burning cannot be effected but in dry weather, and I learned considerable importance was attached to a clean or effectual burning. The ground is then fenced by means of rails, split from logs by an axe, and piled above each other—the whole country being considered common when not properly fenced. The ground is then sown with wheat, or planted with Indian corn, or some other crop, and the harrow passed over the ground, it being impracticable to use the plough for the stumps and roots of trees. At the expiry of seven years, the stumps are found to be decayed, and the plough may then be employed. From the time of clearing, the land may have been cropped by means of the harrow, or employed in producing grass. There is little room for the display of genius or management, the process being nearly the same in all cases.

From the ashes of the timber a great deal of potash was at one time made, and sent to Britain; but a substitute having been found for this commodity, the ashes are generally spread on the ground, and sometimes, when the land is too rich, they are removed for manure to another part of the farm. When soil is viewed as a workshop, laying prostrate the members of the forest must be a cheering employment to the contemplative landowner. Being of no value in its original state, every sunbeam which darts on the surface, by removal of the trees, is assurance of imparted fertility, and never-ending productiveness; and as the light streams in from heaven, his heart will be filled with gratitude to God, and his arm nerved for new exertion. But the chopping of timber is a most laborious task to one unaccustomed to handle the axe, and the person possessed of a little capital had better pay others for clearing land, than attempt it himself on a large scale. To clear a farm out of the midst of the forest, by personal exertion, requires such an iron constitution and strength of arm as few British agriculturists of middle age possess. Many individuals who make the attempt excavate a small space, that may be termed an hospital, which ultimately becomes their graveyard.

I experienced disappointment at crops on newly cleared land being so indifferent, having been led to suppose they were generally too luxuriant. Believing every vegetable substance to be composed of the same elements, and reduceable by decay, so as to enter into new combinations, I fancied the soil the very essence of fertility, from having been enriched with the decaying leaves of many centuries. If all the woody fibre of the forest and vegetable mould which covers the surface could be at once decomposed, my anticipated fertility would be realized. But in burning the trees, fire passes over the entire surface, and consumes almost every particle of vegetable matter. The agency of fire, joined to the imperfect tilling of the soil, will sufficiently account for the want of luxuriance in first crops, which may generally be considered a fortunate circumstance, when a free circulation of air is prevented.

Settlers have often been cautioned against purchasing what is termed worn-out soil, timbered land being preferable. This appears to me to be one of the many deceptions used to entrap the unwary emigrant into the wilderness. I have already observed the first crops are not luxuriant after clearing the forest. The first wheat crop is, however, the best one until the stumps decay, when the soil will afterwards improve with good management. The most productive wheat crops, combining quantity and quality, are found on the oldest cultivated soils. Much soil hath been abandoned to nature after being cleared, not owing, however, to its having become exhausted, but to its natural inferiority. It is better to restore the most exhausted soil than clear forest land of the same quality. Nature never becomes exhausted, and the farmer has only to do his part in order to obtain her bounty.

In course of my tour in North America, I was particular in my enquiries regarding mildewed wheat, knowing how destructive the disease is to that grain, as well as to others visited by it. Many growing crops and bundles of straw of the previous year’s growth were examined, and the result of my observations tended to strengthen the opinions I had formed of the origin and localities of its effects.

Mildew appears to me to result from frost, produced by the radiation of heat, rupturing the sap-vessels, and the moisture which exudes being favourable to the germination of the seeds of the fungus which grows on the straw of the plant, and checks the filling of the grain. It has been established by repeated experiment, that in certain states of the atmosphere, cold, within the limits of freezing, takes place on the surface of the earth when the temperature, at an elevation of a few feet, is ten or twelve degrees warmer. This is beautifully explained in “Wells’ Essay on Dew,” which I recommend to farmers wishing to become acquainted with atmospheric effects on vegetation. The natural agency favourable to the radiation of heat, or production of cold, is a clear sky and still atmosphere. The luxuriance of crops is a predisposing cause to a visitation of mildew, from the breadth, colour, and succulency of the foliage.

In the year 1830, I made an attempt to prove the correctness of my opinions regarding mildew by experiment. My apparatus, which was of the simplest kind, was often exposed; but the difficulty of catching a favourable atmosphere rendered all my attempts unsatisfactory; but some of my observations with the thermometer were remarkable. On the 19th August, at eight o’clock in the evening, a delicate thermometer, on Fahrenheit’s scale, at four feet from the ground, indicated 45°; and a similar one, immediately below the other, exposed on the surface of the grass, 38°; and at half-past eight, respectively, 47° and 43°, the wind having risen in the interval. Next morning, at four o’clock, the thermometers stood at 38° and 35°; and another, enclosed in a glass-case, and exposed on the outside of a window, at 45°. At five o’clock, the thermometer, four feet from the ground, indicated 34°, and the one on the grass, 30½°. The thermometer at the window remained unaltered, and, being removed from the case, was placed with the other two on a piece of lodged spring-sown wheat. At a quarter past five, all the three indicated 29¾°. The sun was then a little above the horizon, and obscured by a small cloud; the sky was clear, the air still, and mild to human feeling. In the same situation, the thermometers, at eight o’clock, indicated 55°, and at two P. M. 75°. At ten in the evening, the thermometer, four feet from the ground, stood at 44°, and the one on the grass, at 42°. At half-past four on the morning of the 21st, the thermometer, four feet from the ground, stood at 34°, one on the grass, at 28¾°, and one on the wheat, at 29°. The thermometers on the grass and wheat were thinly coated with ice, and the morning was clear and agreeable. The formation of dew was not very copious on either of the mornings, and my reapers made no remark about cold or frost when handling the grain. The field of spring-sown wheat, already mentioned, and one of barley, were at this time in a green state, and very promising; but the grain made no farther improvement, and mildew appeared on both crops in a day or two afterwards.

Although I have not been able to produce mildew by artificial means, the observations made with the thermometers in 1830 almost amount to a demonstration of its origin. Every case of mildew, whether general or partial, in a district, may be accounted for by cold produced by the radiation of heat, coupled with the state of the crops; and the hypothesis has been strongly supported by Scottish writers on practical husbandry, Brown and Aiton, while recording, as the cause of mildew, natural phenomena which result from or generally accompany the radiation of heat.

But from whatever cause mildew may proceed, there is no question of the wheat crop, throughout a considerable extent of North America, being liable to its effects. Many instances of mildew are recorded in my tour; and I scarcely passed through a district, the surface of which consisted of sudden undulations, or small forest clearances, where the wheat was not seriously injured by it. Some accounts which I have received from parts of Upper Canada for 1834, allude to the destruction of wheat by frost. In all partially cleared parts of Upper Canada, with exception perhaps of situations on the margins of lakes, wheat will suffer from mildew. The want of success which so often attends first crops on small clearances in the midst of the forest, is in all probability owing to the frosts of spring, summer, and autumn, caused by the radiation of heat, and which a free circulation of air will alone prevent. This casualty is a serious evil to first settlers, and ought to form part of their calculations in choosing a situation.

Upper Canada has been much overrated by some people who have visited the country. Many of the written accounts may be regarded as advertisements; and the statements have been the means of deceiving the unwary. During my sojourn in the province, I frequently heard Mr Adam Fergusson of Woodhill become the subject of reproach; and this season, the clamour is loud against him. A correspondent states in one of his letters,—“Many extravagant notions of America are entertained at home. Some people will form such notions in spite of any writing; but certainly many absurd things have been published about America by individuals who have travelled through the country without mixing with the people, or who seem to have written from interested motives. I know not how the Highland Society of Scotland will like to hear of Mr Fergusson’s errors. Its patronage certainly tended to mislead many. I have met with people in this part of the world who told me so, and who rail against him at a great rate.”

I agree with my correspondent in thinking the patronage which the Highland Society bestowed on Mr Fergusson added weight to his statements, and some of its members will feel disappointed at hearing them called in question. Societies, however, like individuals, often misplace confidence, and spurn the advances of real merit. But his most objectionable matter is contained in “Practical Notes made during a Second Visit to Canada in 1833,” with which the Highland Society is not connected.

Mr Adam Fergusson of Woodhill occupied a respectable, and perhaps an elevated, place in Scotland. He was understood to be a leading director in one of the first agricultural societies in the world, and acted conspicuously in the public matters of Perthshire, one of the most important counties of his native country. He was considered to have a competent knowledge of agriculture, and to be a person deserving of credit. But his character renders the statements he has put forth more mischievous, and their exposure more necessary. To have censured Mr Fergusson’s statements would have been painful to my feelings under any circumstances, and is especially so at present, when he is so far removed. It is, however, a duty I owe my countrymen to be candid, and they shall be allowed an opportunity of judging of our sentiments on Canadian farming.

After stating he has purchased a block of 7000 acres in the township of Nichol, he adds, “In reference to the capabilities of Nichol, I offer with some confidence the following calculations. With a capital of L.500 sterling, which is equal to L.600 currency, a man may purchase and improve 200 acres of wild land in Nichol.

The result of a statement depends entirely on the data which have been assumed, and there is no doubt of Mr Fergusson’s, in the quoted account, being very erroneous. The chief error consists in clearing land, sowing it with wheat, and reaping the crop in the first year, which is an impossibility. The same error is repeated in the fourth year. Thus four instead of three crops are reaped in the time specified. I am aware that land has been let to be cleared, on condition of not being paid for until after a crop has been reaped. Mr Fergusson cannot, however, escape from his error on this account, because he does not mention the circumstance, and the cost of clearing being very low, is entered along with the purchase-money of the land, the building of the house, and household expenses of the first year. Three successive crops of wheat are taken from the first cleared portion of the ground, without a falling off in the crop, which is an absurdity, and such a mode of cropping is almost never had recourse to. He has omitted the expense of thrashing and marketing his crops, and also, sometimes, seed for sowing, all of which may appear trifles to the writer of “Practical Notes,” although of consequence to a farmer. He stocks with animals and servants in the “third year.” The former must be valuable creatures, for they live without food, at least the whole produce is charged as sold. But the servants are superior to the animals, as they seem to live on air, and refuse wages—the household, harvest, and other expenses in the fourth year, when the crop consists of 100 acres of wheat, do not greatly exceed the same charges in the second year, when there is 87½ acres in wheat, and no servants engaged. The farm is not stocked until the third year, but a team of oxen is charged in the second, which, perhaps, ought to have been written cows, as these necessary animals are not mentioned elsewhere.