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the little lake St. Pierre so marshy, as to induce 

 a conjecture that it was once covered by water. 

 Over this place it is intended to cut a cana], by 

 which a direct communication between the city 

 and La Chine will be formed, and the difficult 

 passage of the rapid of St. Louis avoided ; for 

 the commencement of this work the sum of 

 c£25,000 has been recently voted by the pro- 

 vincial parliament. The soil of the whole island, 

 if a few insignificant tracks be overlooked, can 

 scarcely be excelled in any country, and is 

 highly productive in grain of every species, 

 vegetables, and fruits of various kinds; conse- 

 quently there is hardly any part of it but what 

 is in the most flourishing state of cultivation, 

 and may justly claim the pre-eminence over 

 any of Lower Canada. Several roads running 

 from north-east to south-west, nearly parallel to 

 each other, are crossed by others at convenient 

 distances, so as to form a complete and easy 

 communication in every direction. Within a 

 few years a good turnpike-road has been made 

 from Montreal, almost in a straight line, to the 

 village of La Chine, a distance of seven miles, 

 by which the constant intercourse between these 

 places is much easier than it was heretofore: 

 by this route all the commodities intended for 

 Upper Canada are conveyed to the place of 

 embarkation. Within this space there is a great 



