64 THE FRENCH LOVE LIGHT LAND. 



of those who had of late years emigrated from the 

 province, reminded me of what used to be said in 

 Scotland of North America, that &quot; it was a refuge for 

 dyvors and broken men.&quot; Those who leave the pro 

 vince were, for the most part, he thought, icorse than 

 the country they left; and in this he was, I have no 

 doubt, correct. 



This south-eastern reminded me much of the north 

 eastern promontory of New Brunswick. Over the 

 surface of both, the soils were red often light and dry, 

 though not unfrequently heavy and wet. This region 

 also was level and almost flat, so that the water had little 

 means of flowing off, and stagnated so as to form wet 

 and swampy tracts. Woods of stunted pines and cedar 

 swamps at times occurred, and more frequently large 

 breadths of flat land, which, though they were capable of 

 bearing good forest trees, were yet too wet when cleared 

 to be submitted to profitable tillage. Arterial drainage 

 on the large will hereafter render available here, in 

 Botsford parish, (as in that of New Bandon, along the 

 Bay de Chaleur,) much naturally capable land, which is 

 at present unfit for culture ; while thorough-drainage 

 will do for many smaller tracts the same good it is every 

 day doing at home. Open ditches arid deep furrows 

 are the only attempts, as yet, to carry off the water; and 

 these are far from being general. 



The French particularly afreet light and dry soils. 

 They succeed badly upon such as are heavy or w r et. On 

 such light lands they are settled almost everywhere in 

 New Brunswick in Madawaska, New Bandon, Cara- 

 quet, Shediac, and Botsford. A future generation of 

 these people, with more industry and better instruction, 

 must do for the heavy lands around them what it has 

 taken so long to do for the heavy lands of England. 

 Yet, from what I have gathered in my conversations 

 with the habitants, they appear indifferent about eclu- 



