6i Present Appearance and Prospects 



with which nature has gifted this rich gem of the British crown, then'we may here 

 expect to see the choicest fruits and vegetables growing in full perfection under 

 the influence of a Canadian sun. This district, from its southerly position, 

 enjoys the mildest and most genial climate in the British American provinces ; 

 while its soil, in respect to fertility, is equal to any which has come under my 

 observation on any part of the American continent. To the agriculturist, the 

 western district offers very powerful inducements. Independently of its pos- 

 sessing the great advantages of a rich and highly productive soil, and genial cli- 

 mate, it has also the finest natural situation in all the Canadas^ for harbours and 

 water privileges of the most excellent description ; thus rendering it a grand 

 emporium for the interests of agriculture, manufacture, and commerce. On 

 the north, it is washed by the waters of Lake Huron ; on the west, it is only 

 separated from an extensive and wealthy tract of the American frontier by the 

 river St. Clair, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit j on the south, by Lake 

 Erie, and on the east by the flourishing district of London ; while its interior 

 is traversed by two of the finest streams in the province. 



Goderich. — Ten or twelve years ago, and this tract of land, termed the 

 Huron tract, was literally untrodden by the feet of Europeans, yet such is the 

 rapid march of British industry and perseverance, under the guidance of the 

 Canada Company, that several flourishing towns now exist on it ; among which 

 Goderich stands proudly preeminent, indicating a rapid march to wealth and 

 refinement. The town is situated on the shores of Lake Huron, and I was 

 agreeably surprised to find a few spots ornamented with some of Flora's beau- 

 ties ; and, what was well worthy of imitation, several indigenous species were 

 flourishing most vigorously in one or more gardens. I spent some days in this 



part of the country with Mr. M' , a Scotchman, enthusiastically fond of 



gardening, and from whose precepts and example I anticipate a good result. 

 It was truly gratifying to witness the kindness and unanimity existing among 

 the inhabitants of this place ; which prompt them to display the most friendly 

 attention to strangers, thus at once attesting their own respectability, and that 

 genuine British hospitality extends itself even to the forests of Canada. 



Sandwich is a town of considerable size, but, to a gardener, it has not one 

 interesting quality. Chatham, in like manner, is also quite barren as regards 

 gardening productions. From this place, along the margin of the Thames, to 

 London, the singularly favourable nature of the country induced settlers, at an 

 early period in the history of the province, to locate in it ; yet such has been 

 the lethargy of the settlers, that even now it cannot boast of any one produc- 

 tion peculiar to itself, except tobacco and a few fruits. I am happy, how- 

 ever, to say that, in the early part of 1837, an Agricultural and Horticultural 

 Society was organised in the western district, from which much good was 

 justly anticipated ; but, like every public improvement in Upper Canada, it has 

 been completely paralysed by the recent disturbances in the colonies. About 

 twenty miles above Chatham, on the river Thames, I found a very flourishing 

 Indian village, which displayed a degree of neatness and comfort rather un- 

 common among the aborigines. This was, 1 understood, attributable to the 

 exertions of a clergyman established in the village, and who was indefatigable in 

 promoting the temporal, as well as the spiritual, interests of this Indian com- 

 munity. Nearly opposite to this village, I came to a small natural opening, 

 I had experienced high gratification, during the previous part of my tour, from 

 the botanical treasures which had come under my observation ; but in this 

 sweet spot I found the beauties of a vast extent of country concentrated, as 

 it were, into a focus, even some species I never before had found north of 

 Virginia were flourishing here in great perfection. To expatiate on the rich- 

 ness of this spot, according to its merits, would occupy too much space, and, 

 in fact, my descriptive powers are incompetent to the task ; it would require 

 the pen of poetic inspiration, properly to describe its unrivalled charms. I 

 rambled admiring, until darkness obscured the diversified hues of the various 

 species, and even then I could not leave the spot. To me it possessed an 

 indescribable fascination; so, in order to renew my researches with Aurora's 



