114 EMIGRATION, OR 



churches, and a number of good stone-built houses. Stone 

 wall fence is a new feature, and well cleared fields appear 

 more like England, than this new country. The land is 

 kindly and good, with a fine slope from half a mile back to 

 the river s edge, which is more than a mile across, and nearly 

 uniform banks. The Canada side appears the best cleared 

 and settled, with large fields of twenty acres each, free from 

 stumps, but not from stones ; and the grass, although the 

 weather is dry and hot, has a freshness not common at 

 this time of year. Very fine situations as far as Prescott, 

 with good substantial farm houses. 



August 24. Arrived at Ogdansburgh, nearly opposite 

 Prescott, on the States side the river, a town much larger 

 than Prescott, but not so thriving, from the latter place 

 being the lowest part of the river that lake-vessels and 

 steam boats can run to ; of course, the produce is landed to 

 be put in Durham boats and batteaux for Montreal, and the 

 passengers go by the same or the stages. The latter run 

 every day in the week, except Sunday, during summer; 

 steam boats also arrive every day from different parts of the 

 lake and bay of Quintre. The charge 31s. 6d. to Montreal, 

 140 miles, by stage and steam boats, in one day. Almost 

 all the villages are commercial ones, and thrive or decay 

 according as traffic and trade increase, or are directed into 

 other channels. When the Rideau Canal is finished, this 

 place will cease to thrive. Houses are built of stone chiefly, 

 and some pretty large. Excellent wharfs and warehouses 

 both here and at Brockville, also three churches, and a 

 Methodist meeting house, very near each other. The 

 English and Scotch churches are built exactly of the same 

 pattern, one on each side ; the other is Roman Catholic. 



Some of the land about Prescott is very good red loam 

 on a lime stone rock, some indifferent, and others bad ; 

 sandy banks or swampy hollows, and in places covered with 

 fragments of rock ; the wheat crops are all just in, but corn 

 not near ripe, a fortnight later than in the south-western 

 part of the province. Clover and grass grow on this loamy 

 soil very luxuriantly, but the farms are not well managed, 

 as there is not much of either skill or capital employed in 

 agriculture, most other trades and branches of industry, 

 being conducted with more advantage. Snow here last 

 winter was four feet ; two and a half at York, and ten or 

 twelve in the west. 



