of the Lachine Canal, and those proposed first for the Rideau Canal, will cost, excavation of lock included) something near the sum of 60001. Now, as the rise from the Ottawa River to the grand summit-level of the Rideau Lake is 283 feet, and the descent from thence into Lake Ontario 154 fee' making a total lift, as it were, for lockage of 437 feet, and consequently requiring about 47 locks of 9-feet lift each, requiring the above sum of 6,000l. each, the chief part of the true estimate is shown at once; and if the price of the dams, excavation, land required, mill damages, &c., be added, the full estimate will be readily obtained, and will appear to be nearly the sum already represented. And is this sum too much? Was there ever an inland navigation about 160 miles long, having 47 locks, constructed for the sum? Never.'-vol. i. pp. 162-166.

Mr. Mactaggart's descriptions of natural objects are not imitations, and they give us a much better notion of the scenes he visited, than most others which we have read. In the account of his excursion to the Falls of Niagara, this is particularly felt, and he has made some curious observations, well worth noticing. He estimates the fall at 149 feet, and walked, he says, full fifty yards beneath it between the waters and the rocks over which they are precipitated. The noise which they make, is, according to his account, neither stunning nor disagreeable, having neither the effect of a stormy sea nor of thunder, but of the rolling of a large quantity of immense stones from a lofty precipice, into waters of profound depth. The noise which they make is, however, very considerably modified by the state of the weather. After a long frost, and at the first commencement of a thaw, it is heard the farthest, and is said to have reached to a distance of fifty miles. Another remarkable circumstance mentioned, is, that when the noise is loudest, it is best heard at the distance of twelve or fifteen miles, and that in soft showery weather it is scarcely heard, even on the adjoining bank. Mr. Mactaggart rejects the notion of the immense power of suction, which the torrent is said to possess, and which has been supposed so great, that birds in flying over would be dragged into the waters. Our author, on the contrary heard of an old Indian who passed over the falls alive, and he attributes more danger to the chance which there is of being smothered in the froth and foam than to the mere strength and precipitousness of the Fall.

There are few objects more curious, or worthier of observation, than the singular appearances which occur in the forests of America. Hundreds of acres of woods are sometimes seen, says our author, withering away, but growing at the same time three or four feet in water. The neighbouring woods will be unaffected by the cause of the destruction, and appear in full vigour, while the others gradually wither away, and at last fall, as if cut or eaten through. This effect is generally produced, it seems, by millers and others flooding the swamps, the consequence of which is said to be so great, that the making of a dam of only a hundred feet long and

twenty feet high, will destroy, in eight years, the whole timber of fifty thousand acres of land. It is observed by our author, what important uses may be made of the knowledge of this fact, in clearing the country. By the ordinary methods, each acre costs four pounds, whereas by the one now mentioned a large extent of land may be prepared for almost nothing.

I would earnestly recommend to the Canada Company the use of dams. Let a great part of the Huron wild tract be flooded, which may easily be accomplished; or, as an experiment, try it on the swamp of twelve miles square, which is in the middle of the property: let the outlets of all the streams from this swamp be choked up, so that the swamp may be covered with three feet of water. There is no doubt of its answering an excellent purpose, for it will then be converted into a great beavermeadow. And what are such meadows? Have they not been made by dams? Most certainly. And are they not clear of trees? may they not also be turned into deep arable land, fit for growing the best and heaviest kinds of wheat? and do these not furnish large quantities of hay! From what I have seen with the drowned woods and beaver-meadows, there can be no doubt of the dams being able to extirpate the forest; and as they cannot be used with such effect in townships partly settled and cleared, as they can in those where settlements have not taken place, of course, in such places as the great swamp in the Huron tract, they would be found most beneficial. But I would also earnestly recommend their application to the swamps and low marshes of the settled districts of Canada: they may be flooded by low dams, without injuring the clearances already made with the hatchet; and when they have shaven down the forest, which they do effectually, it will be found on their removal, that they have reclaimed many excellent farms. Then, as the whole vegetable matter of the woods is thus decomposed by irrigation on the soil, the same must be left in a richer state by the water, than if the trees had been cut down in the usual way, and consumed with fire. For fences, fire-wood, &c., enough may be left growing on the hills and elevated places.

It may be argued, that dams would be but tedious engines with which to clear low lands and swamps; but when we consider that such lands are always the last of any that the Settlers attempt to clear, as they betake themselves generally to lands higher situated, the dams might be working away the woods quietly, while they with their hatchets were clearing and fencing the more elevated portions of their farms; and having thus expended ten or twelve years at this work, (and commonly they expend a much longer time,) the dams would be found, during that period, to have cleared a much more extensive and valuable surface. In the warm regions, rice may be grown in the greatest abundance, and it is even found wild in enormous quantities. The swamps, then, may well engage the attention of the Canadian agriculturist.'-vol. ii. pp. 14, 15.

We could select a great variety of pleasant passages from these very amusing volumes, and many of them which would prove interesting to the naturalist. But we turn to the more practical part of the work, which contains some important advice for emigrants to Upper Canada. The best season is said to be the

spring, when a passage to the St. Lawrence may be taken at the lowest price. A steerage passage to Quebec is estimated at from three to four pounds; from Quebec, to Montreal, the charge on board a steam-boat is from about four and sixpence to seven shillings; and from the latter place to York, in Upper Canada, emigrants are conveyed for little more than a pound sterling. The whole expense, therefore, from England to the seat of government in Upper Canada is reckoned, with provisions, at about ten pounds for grown persons, and six for children. It is strongly recommended that no heavy baggage be taken, the freight of which costs more than the purchase of things in Canada. The baggage of the emigrant should consist of nothing more than clothing and the few necessaries wanted on shipboard. The voyage from New York to Lake Ontario, is mentioned as less fatiguing, and shorter, than that from Montreal; but the passage from England to the former place is more expensive than to Quebec, and an obstacle is put to the landing of emigrants at New York, which some might not be able to overcome. Security is demanded for a certain time against their becoming chargeable to public charity. The route, therefore, to the St. Lawrence, is recommended as the more eligible on the score of economy and facility.

An excellent account is given by Mr. Mactaggart, of the Canada Company. This association, it appears, is likely to be of great benefit to the country, and offers to persons about to settle in it many useful aids, which they could not otherwise obtain. It was commenced in the year 1825, when the love of speculation was at the height, and obtained the sanction of Parliament in 1826, at which time the Company contracted for the purchase of lands in Upper Canada, and began its operations. Mr. Galt, the novelist, has taken a very active part in all the concerns of the association, and there is an extract in the work, from a letter of his to our author, which very amusingly describes the founding of the town of Guelph, the capital of the Company's territory.

The founding of Guelph, with Dr. Dunlop, was one of the richest scenes imaginable. In the first place, we went by our ourselves on foot, leaving the surveyor, &c. to take their own course; and the Doctor lost his way, having forgotten to take his compass. After wandering about, like two pretty babes, without even the compliment of a blackberry, we came to the house of a Dutch squatter, who could speak no English. At last he broached a certain French, and we took him with us for a guide. All this time it rained as if the powers of the air had lost the spigots of their bladders; so that, by the time we had reached a shanty, which had been prepared for us by the axe-men, we were both drenched to the skin. The Doctor unclothed, and making to himself a kilt of one blanket, and a toga of another, we proceeded to fell a central tree: at the prostration of which, the Doctor, acting the Red Genius of the place, pulled a bottle of .whisky from his bosom, and sans glasses, christened the town with a benediction in presence of the assembled multitude, consisting of four other

persons. I wished him to give some becoming account of the spectacle, but he has permitted others to do it for him, as we see by the newspapers; so a good joke, when properly told, has been metamorphosed by Yankey exaggeration.'-vol. ii. pp. 272, 273.

Guelph is situated on the principal river of Lake Erie. Building materials of the best quality are found in the neighbourhood, and the Company has begun to erect edifices for a school and the reception of settlers. Sites for places of religious worship are given, gratis, to the several denominations of Christians who may emigrate thither, and the price for town land was fixed as low as twenty dollars the lot, that is, a quarter of an acre, with an additional privilege of taking farms in the neighbourhood, at one and a half dollar per acre. The prices, however, have since been somewhat raised, but are still kept at a rate which may encourage settlers to make Guelph their residence. The town has proceeded in a very flourishing manner; seventy-six houses were built; a saw-mill and brick-kiln were in active operation; a grist-mill was in progress; a market house, two taverns, and a great many stores were also opened previous to October, by which time 16,000 acres of land in the vicinity, and 200 town lots had been engaged. We may add to this, that the tradesmen established there met with considerable encouragement, and that a printing-office was in preparation. This certainly looks well, and if the prosperity of the Company's settlements continues to proceed with equal steadiness, it must be looked upon as having a right to all praise and gratitude.

Mr. Galt, says Mr. Mactaggart, deserves great credit for the invention and management of the Company. In this he has shewn a genius that is rarely excelled. He organized the whole management of business, and displayed all that tact and diplomacy which his superior talents qualify him for in such an eminent degree. He appointed surveyors and other people to look after the Crown Reserves in the various Townships, that they might be disposed of to the Company's advantage. But these Reserves were not found to be of great utility, as nothing like a system of settlement could be employed in relation to them, lying, as they do, scattered up and down the Township. However, their sale will be much in favour of Canada, and tend much toward its improvement; for as they lay like uncleared specks amid a clearer country, they injured the progress of the settlements. On many of these Reserves squatters had taken up their abode, a class of poor people who, having wandered from home without the means of becoming regular landholders, are glad to find patches any where in the woods whereon they may subsist. To these unfortunate human beings, and in truth to all, he showed much tenderness, which has assisted to raise that just popularity he at present enjoys. He did not drive the squatters off the Company's lands, as many would instantly have done; but sold them to the advantage both of the Company and the squatters, considering the little clearings they had made, as uncleared forest. By doing this he has established a class of people in the Townships devoted to the interest of the Company, who will neither despoil, nor

allow to be despoiled, those valuable woods which may yet come to good account on the Reserves. Nevertheless, there were some in Upper Canada who continued to view the exertions of the Company with very jealous eyes. These were they who found themselves unable to pluck the poor settlers before they got upon their lands, in the shape of fees, or what not. They found the Company established the settler in a twinkling, without putting him to the galling trouble and expense of hanging about office doors, receiving rebuffs from conceited clerks, and getting their purses lightened into the bargain. Were it for nothing else but this circumstance alone, the Canada Company will be respected: when we find the distress of mankind alleviated in any degree, petty tyranny and pride laid prostrate before justice and humanity, it is enough for our affections to become attached; we want no more. Think of a distressed family leaving the Old Country, as home is called, and after much travel and trouble by water and land, at last reaching Canada; think of a mother, perhaps, having to consign to the growling waves of the Atlantic a lovely child, that had perished aboard a crowded and uncomfortable ship: think of a husband who has lost his wife in a similar manner: only think of such things as these, and then see them in Canada, toiling day after day to obtain a piece of wilderness that they may cultivate and live upon! Have they not undergone vexations enough without adding more to the catalogue? The Canada Company, much to their credit be it ever spoken, has smoothed the way of the weary pilgrims.'-vol. ii. pp. 92-95.

The Company, however, it is to be understood, does not contribute to the expenses which the emigrant may have to incur, in proceeding to the settlement, but only offers its aid in giving such information as may assist him in making the most of his little wealth. For this purpose agents are settled at several sea ports, who are directed to answer whatever inquiries may be made respecting either the voyage or the settlement in Canada. Means have also been taken, which enables the Company to lessen the expenses of the passage and the journey up the country, of which emigrants are allowed to avail themselves, and are furnished with tickets for the purpose. But to turn from this grave part of the work to one of a lighter kind, we find the following information respecting the state of language in America:

The fancy, pick pocket, and vulgar slang of Great Britain continues to increase in America and New Holland, and it may ultimately sap the foundations of cur noble classical language. Prize- fighters, sharpers, and other vagabonds, transported to the former, as they are now to the latter country, for various violations of the law, generally arrive, if they live long enough, at stations of considerable eminence in the colonies. They no longer retain (as it would not be for their interest) the manners and propensities which caused them, whether they would or no, to quit their native shores; but one thing they retain, and extend, namely, their vile language. This, forsooth, is a legacy given to their families; it becomes the popular language, because it emanates from the most numerous and respectable class.

At home, this abomination has no effect on the genuine language of the realm; books, literature, &c., and a learned community, far outnum