UPPER CANADA. 63 



universal gloom, the consequence of recent in- 

 ternal commotion ; of the still existing conflict 

 and rancour of political feeling ; or of the 

 withered hopes of many who, having speculat- 

 ed largely in land, have received little or no 

 return for their money. This was my early 

 impression, and anything I have since observ- 

 ed, or by inquiry ascertained, has served to 

 confirm it, and to satisfy me that of the two 

 countries the States hold out for agricultural 

 pursuits, by far the greater advantages to per- 

 sons possessed of any capital. 



With the exception of portions of cleared 

 land varying from fifty acres in some situations, 

 to several hundreds in others, Upper Canada 

 is an immense and trackless forest, forlorn 

 and forbidding at best, and in many places ren- 

 dered more gloomy and repulsive, by the trees 

 having been burnt preparatory to being cut 

 down, and consequently now presenting to the 

 eye nothing but bare and blackened poles. 



And with regard to what is called cleared 

 land, it consists of no more than a patch here 

 and there, on which the huge pines that for 



