198 Shirreff's Tour through North America. 



farmers to examine the Canadas and the United States, &c., 

 with a view to their emigration ; but Mr. ShirrefF informs us 

 that he had no other object than that of examining the country 

 with a view to the emigration of a younger brother. " My ac- 

 quaintance with agriculture," he says, " enabled me to judge of 

 American farming without relying upon the opinion of others ; 

 and, while listening patiently to much that was told me, I drew 

 conclusions only from what I saw. In measuring the advantages 

 of different parts of the country by the standards of nature, and 

 the reward of agricultural industry by produce, I hope to have 

 departed from custom without having been led into error. 

 Nature is the most general and invariable of agricultural tests.'* 

 (Preface, p. ii.) 



It would occupy more space than we can spare, to give an 

 outline of our author's tour ; though, to every countryman, and 

 especially to every Scotsman, it cannot fail to be of extra- 

 ordinary interest. We shall therefore give only a few extracts 

 from it, first briefly noticing the general result of the whole: 

 this is, that the author prefers the United States to the Canadas; 

 the neighbourhood of the large towns for those who carry with 

 them no capital ; and the state of Illinois for those who have 

 capital, and who intend to settle in America as farmers. Mr. 

 Shirreff has given convincing reasons for his preference of the 

 United States, The Canada Company appears to be a vile 

 monopoly, and that country to be under a wretched system of 

 government. 



There is very little inducement held out to gardeners to emi- 

 grate either to the Canadas or to the United States with a view 

 to being employed as such ; though the culture of vegetables in 

 the neighbourhood of large towns is stated to be the most profit- 

 able kind of agriculture. 



" An emigrant will not always find agricultural employment to the west of 

 the AUeghanies, from the low price of farm produce ; but there is always a 

 demand for labour in towns and villages, at high wages, and he need not 

 remain idle if he is disposed to work. An industrious and sober man must 

 rapidly accumulate wealth by working for hire ; and inany, perhaps, err by 

 purchasing land instead of continuing to work under the direction of others. 

 On leaving New York, a gardener, who was working at Haddington when I 

 left Scotland, gave me 10/. sterling, which he had saved since his arrival in 

 America, to enable his wife and family to reach him. A young man, whom I 

 had often employed at spade-work on Mungoswells farm at \s. 6d. a day, 

 without board, was earning, by sawing stones at Cincinnati, 4^. 3d. a day 

 with board." 



Our readers who have read Mr. Gordon's description of 

 Hyde Park (VIII. 282.), will be surprised at the following: — 



" Hyde Park, the seat of Dr. Hosack, is the most celebrated in America, 

 and which Mr. Stuart describes as being " embellished as a fine residence and 

 fine grounds in England." The house is situated some hundreds of feet above 

 the level of, and at a considerable distance from, the Hudson, the intervening 



