WHEAT. 267 



the Peruvian plateau, at the height of 12,000 feet, above 

 which it requires artificial shelter and warmth. A profit- 

 able return can be obtained from it in Rupert's Land 

 between the 49th and 51st parallels, where, however, the 

 vine does not accompany it as on the banks of the Rhine. 

 Garden cultivation and shelter from spring frosts would 

 extend its cultivation in Rupert's Land even higher than in 

 England. On the fertile acclivity of Young Street which 

 leads from Toronto to Lake Simcoe, and crosses the 44th 

 parallel of latitude, we may behold heavy crops of maize, 

 and cucumbers and gourds, ripening, in the same field, with 

 but little expenditure of care or labour, though the mean 

 annual heat, being 41° Fah., is inferior to that of the Ork- 

 ney and Shetland Islands, where barley, one of the most 

 northern of the cereals, grows imperfectly. The summer 

 heat of Young Street, however, exceeds that of any part of 

 the British Isles. 



Wheat is the cereal which requires most heat of those 

 usually cultivated in England. Its culture is said to as- 

 cend to 62° or 64° north lat. on the west side of the Scan- 

 dinavian peninsula, but not to be of importance beyond the 

 60th. On the route of the Expedition it is raised with 

 profit at Fort Liard in lat. 60° 5' north, long. 122° 31' 

 west, and having an altitude of between 400 and 500 feet 

 above the sea. This locality, however, being in the vicinity 

 of the Rocky Mountains, is subject to summer frosts ; and 

 the grain does not ripen perfectly every year, though in 

 favourable seasons it gives a good return. At Dunvegan, 

 on Peace River, lying in lat. 56° 6' north, long. 117° 45' 

 west, and at an altitude of 778 feet, the culture of this 

 grain is said to be equally precarious. It grows, however, 

 freely on the banks of the Saskatchewan, except near 

 Hudson's Bay, where the summer temperature is too low. 

 From Mr. M' Pherson I learnt, that on the west side of 



