CANADA. 



CANADA. 



inconsiderable. The peninsula of Gaspe", extending between the 

 mouth of the St. Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleurs, contains an ele- 

 vated valley, skirted by two ranges of high hills, which extend at a 

 short distance from the St. Lawrence and the Ristigouche rivers and 

 the Bay of Chaleurs. In the valley is a series of lakes, which send 

 out rivers that cut the ranges and fall into the St. Lawrence or the 

 Bay of Chaleurs. The settlements are few, and situated along the 

 Bay of Chaleurs, the banks of the St. Lawrence being nearly unin- 

 habited. 



That portion of Lower Canada which is drained by the St. John 

 and its tributaries, is in its lowest parts probably several hundred 

 feet above the level of the sea. The St. John River has three upper 

 branches, which lie between 46" and 47 N. lat., and west of 70 W. 

 long., and all unite near that meridian. The St. John, or, as it is 

 here called, the Walloostoocl; runs for a great distance north-east 

 through the state of Maine, parallel to the St. Lawrence, and between 

 30 and 40 miles from it. By degrees it declines to the east, and is 

 here joined by three large rivers, the Allagash running from the 

 south, and the St. Francis and the Madawaska both descending from 

 the north. After its confluence with the Madawaska it turns to the 

 south east, and forms part of the boundary of the province until it 

 enters the British colony of New Brunswick, through which it runs 

 in a southern direction for more than 80 miles. Having passed to 

 the south of 46, it again turns to the east, and flows 80 miles in 

 that direction, when it again turns south, and after a course of about 

 60 miles falls into Fundy Bay with a wide sestuary. Its course within 

 New Brunswick is above 230 miles; from the frontier of that province 

 to its junction with the St. Francis is about 70 miles, and thence to 

 its source about 100 miles. Though descending from an elevated 

 country, this river is more navigable than the others which drain 

 Canada, the lo^wer course of the St. Lawrence excepted. The upper 

 part of its course, though not very deep, and in many parts rapid, is 

 not broken by falls or rapids. Near the mouth of the Madawaska are 

 the Little Falls, and at its entrance into New Brunswick the Great 

 Falls, which are 75 feet in perpendicular height Between these the 

 navigation is practicable for steam-boats. Below the Great Falls some 

 rapids occur, but they do not appear to be so strong as to interrupt 

 navigation. Vessels of from 50 to 100 tons ascend to Fredericton, 

 about 100 miles from the mouth. 



Geology. The geological character of Canada, so far as it has been 

 ascertained, is in general granitic, with sandstone and calcareous rocks, 

 the latter of a soft texture, disposed in horizontal strata. The banks 

 of the St. Lawrence are in many places formed of a schistous sub- 

 stance in a decaying state ; but still granite is everywhere found and 

 always in strata more or less inclined. Cape Torment, 30 miles below 

 Quebec, is a round, massive, granite mountain, about 1000 feet high, 

 and the north shore of the river eastward of that point is generally of 

 the primitive formations. Except in the marshes and swamps, rocks 

 obtrude over all parts of the surface. In many places there occur 

 deep fissures from six inches to two feet wide ; the Indians describe 

 some of these rents as several miles long, and 40 or 50 feet deep ; 

 when covered with the thick underwood they are at times very 

 dangerous to the traveller. Intense frost may have occasioned these 

 chasms ; but the more received opinion attributes them to some great 

 subterranean action, such as the tremendous earthquake recorded in 

 a manuscript in the Jesuits' College at Quebec. The first shock 

 occurred on the 5th of February 1663, and raged with great violence 

 for fifteen minutes, extending simultaneously over 180,000 square 

 miles of country. It continued afterwards to be felt for nearly six 

 months almost without intermission. In the neighbourhood of Quebec 

 a reddiah or dark gray slate generally appears, and it forms the bed 

 of the St. Lawrence and of Lake Ontario as far as Niagara. Boulders 

 of granite, limestone, sandstone, syenite trap, and marble occur 

 throughout the same extensive region. The strata laid bare in the 

 chasm at the falls of Niagara are limestone, next slate, and lowest 

 sandstone. The upper and lowermost of these strata compose the 

 secondary formations of a large portion of Canada, and of nearly all 

 the vast territory in the United States which is drained by the Mis- 

 sissippi. Slate is often interposed between them as at Niagara. It is 

 there nearly 40 feet thick, fragile like shale, and crumbling away from 

 beneath the limestone, so as to afford strong ground for the opinion 

 that there has been for many ages a continual retrocession of the 

 Great Falls. The islands and the level shores of Lake Huron are a 

 calcareous region abounding in organic remains. Part of the northern 

 and eastern shores of Lake Superior present old formations syenite, 

 stratified greenstone, alternating five times with vast beds of granite. 

 Great quantities of the older shell-limestone are strewn in rolled 

 masse* on the beach. Amygdaloid occupies also a very large tract to 

 the north, mingled with porphyries, conglomerates, and other sub- 

 stances. From Thunder Mountain westward trappose-greenstone is 

 the prevailing rock ; it forms some strange pilastered precipices near 

 Fort William. 



Mineral*. The mineral resources of Canada are immense, but till 

 very recently they have been almost wholly neglected. Marbles and 

 serpentine are quite common. Plumbago, ores of antimony, lead, 

 iron, and copper are frequently met with. The mountains north of 

 the Saguenay abound in iron to uoh an extent as to influence the 

 mariner 1 ! compass. The iron mines of St. Maurice have long been 



celebrated for the excellence of their yield, and metal not at all infe- 

 rior is cheaply produced at Charlotteville near Lake Erie, and at the 

 Marmora works about 32 miles north of the Bay of Quinte". The 

 dreary wastes northward of Lake Superior contain, stores of copper, 

 perhaps unsurpassed anywhere in the world. At the Coppermine 

 River 300 miles from the Sault de St. Marie the metal occurs iu great 

 masses in a pure state. Gold, silver, and tin have also been discovered 

 in the same region. The northern and western shores of Ontario 

 abound in salt springs, some of which (Stony Creek and St. Cathe- 

 rine's) are very productive. The north shore of Lake Erie exhibits 

 immense beds of gyp 3um which are quarried for agricultural purposes. 



Soil, Agriculture, <tc. The soil of Canada is generally good, as that 

 made by the decay of forests for thousands of years upon substrata 

 chiefly formed of the deposit from waters, must necessarily be. It is 

 extremely fertile ; in some districts wheat has been raised for 20 years 

 successively on the same ground without manure. The grains culti- 

 vated in Canada are wheat, barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, and maize. 

 Wheat is the staple of western Canada, and it bears a higher price 

 than any other in the markets of Montreal and Quebec. The potato 

 crops are superior, and all the vegetables of the temperate regions of 

 the Old World grow with great luxuriance. All the European fruits, 

 and some even of the tropical, are produced abundantly in this pro- 

 vince, owing to the richness of its soil and the great heat of the 

 summer. Tobacco grows well in the western regions. Hemp and 

 flax are both indigenous. The variety of trees found in the vast 

 Canadian forests is astonishing, and it is supposed that many kinds 

 still remain unknown. Of all these none is more beautiful and useful 

 than the maple, the adopted emblem of Canadian nationality. Its 

 timber is valuable for many purposes, and large quantities of excellent 

 sugar are made from its sap. The other forest trees most prevalent 

 are beech, birch, elm, bass, ash, oak, pine, hickory, butternut, balsam, 

 hazel, hemlock, cherry, cedar, cypress, fir, poplar, sycamore, white- 

 wood, willow, and spruce. Timber and ashes, the raw produce of the 

 forests, constitute the chief exports of the province. An immense 

 quantity of oak and pine is annually sent down to Montreal and 

 Quebec. The American ashes contain a larger proportion of pure 

 potash than those of Dantzic or Russia. 



Zooloffy.The wild animals of Canada are deer, moose-deer, bears, 

 wolves, wolverines, four species of the cat kind namely, the cougar, 

 the loupcervier, the catamount, and the manguay or lynx foxes, hares, 

 squirrels, &c. The larger beasts of the forest are fast disappearing 

 before the progress of civilisation ; of the smaller ones many kinds 

 still remain iu diminished numbers. The beaver is now seldom found 

 within reach of the white settlements. 



The birds of Canada differ little from those of the same name in 

 Europe. The only noxious reptiles are the puffadder, and two 

 species of rattlesnakes ; and these are rarely seen in the older settle- 

 ments. The Canadian waters abound in fish of almost every variety 

 known in England, and others peculiar to the country. Sturgeon 

 of 100 Ibs. weight are frequently taken, and a giant species of pike, 

 called the maskenongi, of more than 60 Ibs. The trout of the upper 

 lakes attain the weight of 80 Ibs. or 90 Ibs. A fresh-water herring is 

 found in great shoals in the lower lakes, but is inferior in delicacy to 

 the corresponding species of the salt seas. Salmon are numerous in 

 Ontario, but are never seen above the Falls of Niagara. 



Climate. The extreme range of temperature throughout all Canada 

 is from 36" below to 120 above zero of Fahrenheit's scale; that is to 

 say, from a point two degrees above that at which mercury freezes to 

 a tropical summer heat. The more inhabited parts of the province 

 lie between 42 and 48 N. lat., and their lowest temperature is 

 scarcely under 25. But healthful and even agreeable as it is on the 

 whole, the Canadian climate everywhere exhibits extremes of heat 

 and cold far exceeding those incident to European countries under 

 the same parallels. Its hygrometric condition is much more constant. 

 Fogs are almost unknown except in the peninsula of Gaspd, and such 

 is the dryness of the air that metals exposed to it are seldom rusted. 

 This remarkable peculiarity of a region so abounding iu water, greatly 

 mitigates the effects of both extremes of temperature on the human 

 frame; and the cold of winter is moreover tempered in its action 

 thereon by the usual absence of wind during the greatest intensity of 

 the frost. The prevailing winds are from south-west, north-east, and 

 north-west. The south-west is the most frequent ; it is generally 

 moderate and accompanied by clear skies. Thunder storms are 

 frequent, and often cause great damage. The aurora borealis is often 

 seen and has a much greater brilliancy than in Europe. Water- 

 spouts are sometimes formed on the great lakes. 



Circumstances of position and local configuration occasion corre- 

 sponding varieties of climate in Canada. In the eastern division of 

 the province the fall of snow begins in November and is completed by 

 the end of December, when there ensues perfectly calm frosty wea- 

 ther, with a beautiful clear blue sky. By the first or second week of 

 May the snow has all disappeared, summer is fully established, and 

 the vegetation which had been in active progress for a month or 

 more under the snow breaks forth in profuse luxuriance. The cli- 

 mate of Canada West is milder and more equable than that of the 

 eastern division, which along with the humidity of the atmosphere 

 arising from the extensive surface of water presented by the great 

 lakes, makes the climate particularly favourable for the cultivation of 



