FEMALE PEASANTS. 
7 
try, busied as we passed along in getting in 
tlie harvest, which was not quite over, dif¬ 
fused an air of cheerfulness and gaiety over the 
scene, and heightened all its charms. 
The female French peasants are in general, 
whilst young, very pretty, and the neat simpli¬ 
city of their dress in summer, which consists 
mostly of a blue or scarlet bodice without 
sleeves, a petticoat of a different colour, and 
a straw hat, makes them appear extremely in¬ 
teresting : like the Indians however, they close 
their beauty very prematurely, and it is to be 
attributed much to the same cause, namely, 
their laborious life, and being so much ex¬ 
posed to the air, the indolent men suffering 
them to take a very active part in the ma¬ 
nagement of the farms. 
The style of farming amongst the generality 
of the French Canadians has hitherto been 
very slovenly; manure has been but rarely 
used; the earth just lightly turned up with a 
plough, and without any other preparation the 
grain sown ; more than one half of the fields 
also have been left without any fences what¬ 
soever, exposed to the ravages of cattle. The 
people are beginning now, however, to be 
more industrious and better farmers, owing * 
to the increased demand for grain for expor¬ 
tation, and to the advice and encouragement 
given to them by the English merchants 
