99 



present proprietor is the HonourableM. G. A. 

 Chartier de Lotbiniere. A very fertile soil runs 

 through the whole of this grant, and where 

 cultivated, is found well adapted to grain and 

 pulse of all sorts. The Rivers a la Graisse and 

 Raquette run through it ; the first, passing about 

 the middle of the seignior}^ is at all times na- 

 vigable from the Ottawa up to the fall, and 

 greatly contributes to the advantage of the set- 

 tlers on each side of it ; the other, in the eastern 

 part, is not navigable. Very good elm, ash, 

 and some oak, are found among the timber trees, 

 and some pines of a fine growth are interspersed 

 through the woods. From the south-east bank 

 of River a la Graisse, two mountains of great 

 height penetrate some miles into the interior, 

 and greatly encroach upon the quantity of cul- 

 tivable land ; however, about one half of this 

 tract is conceded in 280 lots of three acres 

 by 20 or 25, and tolerably well improved; 

 these concessions are situated on each side of 

 River a la Graisse, where they are the most 

 numerous, in Nouvelle Lotbiniere, and in the 

 Cote Ste. Madelaine; near the fall are a grist mill 

 and a saw mill, and a little below, at the end of 

 the road leading to Nouvelle Lotbiniere, is a 

 spacious parsonage-house built of stone, where 

 on the second floor divine service is perform- 

 ed until a church can be erected, which is al- 

 ii 2 



