abundance, but not so good in proportion as the musk. Not a peach, nor
any thing of the kind; this I am however convinced is less the fault
of the climate than of the people, who are too indolent to take pains
for any thing more than is absolutely necessary to their existence.
They might have any fruit here but gooseberries, for which the summer
is too hot; there are bushes in the woods, and some have been brought
from England, but the fruit falls off before it is ripe. The wild
fruits here, especially those of the bramble kind, are in much greater
variety and perfection than in England.

When I speak of the natural productions of the country, I should not
forget that hemp and hops grow every where in the woods; I should
imagine the former might be cultivated here with great success, if the
people could be persuaded to cultivate any thing.

A little corn of every kind, a little hay, a little tobacco, half a
dozen apple trees, a few onions and cabbages, make the whole of a
Canadian plantation. There is scarce a flower, except those in the
woods, where there is a variety of the most beautiful shrubs I ever
saw; the wild cherry, of which the woods are full, is equally charming
in flower and in fruit; and, in my opinion, at least equals the
arbutus.

They sow their wheat in spring, never manure the ground, and plough
it in the slightest manner; can it then be wondered at that it is
inferior to ours? They fancy the frost would destroy it if sown in
autumn; but this is all prejudice, as experience has shewn. I myself
saw a field of wheat this year at the governor's farm, which was
manured and sown in autumn, as fine as I ever saw in England.