CLIMATE SOIL. 357 



by having a longer summer and a shorter winter ; while the 

 extremes of heat and cold, as indicated by the thermometer, 

 are nearly the same in both provinces. The waters of the St 

 Lawrence and lakes, forming the southern boundary of the 

 district, inclining north-east, the climate improves in ascend 

 ing the waters, till reaching Amherstburgh, in about 42 de 

 grees of latitude. The province, as far as it is accurately 

 known, has not an eminence of sufficient height to affect tem 

 perature, and the climate of the different situations may be 

 estimated according to their latitudes. In the most south 

 erly parts, near the head of lake Erie, the length of winter 

 varies from two to three months. Ploughing commences about 

 the first of April ; and cattle and horses are allowed to roam 

 in the woods during winter, a practice which marks the mild 

 ness of climate, and also,, perhaps, the laziness of the inhabi 

 tants. 



The climate of Upper Canada is as healthy as the lower 

 province, although the inhabitants are more liable to sickness 

 from the surface not being so well cleared of forest. On my 

 first entry to the country, I thought to judge of the healthi 

 ness of situations by the countenances of the inhabitants, and 

 if all of them had been born in the country, this might have 

 been a just criterion. There is something in the climate of 

 America which seems to impart a sallow and seared complexion 

 to the people. It is, however, many years before some na 

 tives of Britain lose their florid colour ; and I have seen se 

 veral people retaining their complexion after having resided 

 twenty years in the province, while their children had the ge 

 neral hue of the country. Being unable to judge whether the 

 people had been born in the country, or \vere lately arrived 

 from Britain, I abandoned the idea of taking the appearance 

 of the inhabitants as an index to healthiness of situation. As 

 I proceeded westward, towards Chatham and Amherstburgh, 

 the complexion of the people became less florid, which I attri 

 buted to most of them being natives of the country. I found 

 people afflicted with ague in many places, after having resided 

 years in the district ; and from information which I received, 

 deserving of credit, I was led to believe almost every Euro 

 pean has a seasoning, or an attack of the ague. The rapidity 



