382 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF 



hand, it has also been unnecessarily cried down by some who 

 are anxious to conceal their want of industry, and endeavour 

 to shift from themselves to the country the cause of their re 

 turn to Britain. Many people emigrate to America who 

 ought to have remained at home, having been inflated by the 

 representations of others and their own imaginations. I have 

 often heard such characters rail against the province ; and, on 

 pressing one of them for the reason of his dislike, was answer 

 ed, &quot; It could not aiford a well-cooked beef-steak.&quot; They 

 often lounge about villages, and are a moral pest. Like the 

 fox who lost his tail, they are anxious to involve others in 

 disgrace with themselves ; and as most emigrants experience 

 a few weeks despondency on first arriving in the country, the 

 society of the idle and discontented ought to be avoided. 



A person will find considerable difficulty in choosing a lot 

 of land in Canada. Nine-tenths of the population are inte 

 rested, directly or indirectly, in the sale of land. The ac 

 counts he will receive are more likely to mislead than instruct 

 Mm; and, if possible, he ought to rely on his own judgment 

 in purchasing. When he has decided on the neighbourhood 

 in which he would like to reside, let him look at all the pro 

 perties for sale, and take the best bargain. Most of the small 

 landowners, being deeply indebted, are anxious to sell par 

 tially cleared estates for ready money ; and more favourable 

 terms will be obtained from them than the crown, Canada 

 Company, or extensive proprietors. 



The wheat of Upper Canada is sown in autumn, and 

 greatly superior in quality to the wheat of the lower province. 

 It embraces, however, a variety of climates, and the quality 

 of wheat improves as the southern boundary is ascended. In 

 Montreal market, the wheat of the upper province sells from 

 10 to 20 per cent higher than the wheat of the neighbour 

 hood, and what is grown in the extreme west is of most value. 



The expense of transport from the upper to the lower pro 

 vince is not yet reduced to proper terms, especially from 

 remote quarters. But, in a general view, the improved quality 

 of the wheat may be regarded as covering the expense of 

 sending it by water to Montreal, while the climate will pro 

 duce a greater quantity than the lower province. This may 



