The Conquest of Canada, Vol. 1. George Warburton
Upper Canada the climate does not present such extremes of heat and cold as in the Lower Province. In the Newcastle District, between latitude 44° and 45°, the winter is little more severe than in England, and the warmth of summer is tempered by a cool and refreshing southwest breeze, which blows throughout the day from over the waters of the great lakes. In spring and autumn the southwest wind brings with it frequent rains; the northwest wind prevails in winter, and is dry, cold, and elastic; the south-eastern breezes are generally accompanied by thaw and rain: from the west, south, or north, the wind rarely blows. The most sudden changes of weather consequent upon varying winds are observed from the northwest, when the air becomes pure and cool; thunder storms generally clear away with this wind: the heaviest falls of snow, and the most continued rains, come with the eastern breezes.
The great lakes are never frozen in their centers, but a strong border of thick ice extends for some distance from the shore: in severe weather, a beautiful evaporation in various fantastic shapes ascends from the vast surfaces of these inland seas, forming cloudy columns and pyramids to a great height in the air: this is caused by the water being of a higher temperature than the atmosphere above. The chain of shallow lakes from Lake Simco toward the midland district are rarely frozen over more than an inch in thickness till about Christmas, and are free from ice again by the end of March. The earth in Upper Canada is seldom froze more than twelve or eighteen inches deep, and the general covering of the snow is about a foot and a half in thickness.
In Canada the Indian summer is perhaps the most delightful period of the year. During most of November the weather is mild and serene; a soft, dry haze pervades the air, thickening toward the horizon; in the evenings the sun sets in a rich crimson flush, and the temperature is mild and genial: the birds avail themselves of the Indian summer for their migration. A phenomenon called the "tertian intervals" has excited much interest, and is still unexplained: at the end of the third day the greatest intensity of frost is always remittent, and succeeded by several days of mild weather. The climate is so dry that metals rarely are rusted by exposure to the air. This absence of humidity prevents the extremes of heat and cold from being so powerful here in their effect upon the sensations of the human frame as in other countries.
The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights,153 appear with great brilliancy in the clear Canadian sky, especially during the winter nights. Starting from behind the distant horizon, they race up through the vault of heaven, spreading over all space one moment, shrinking to a quivering streak the next, shooting out again where least expected, then vanishing into darkness deeper than before; now they seem like vast floating banners of variegated flame, then as crescents, again as majestic columns of light, ever changing in form and color. It is said that a rustling sound like that of silk accompanies this beautiful appearance.
The climate of Canada has undergone a slight change since the discovery of the country; especially from the year 1818, an amelioration has been perceptible, partly owing to the motion of the magnetic poles, and partly to the gradual cultivation and clearing of the country. The winters are somewhat shorter and milder, and less snow falls than of old; the summers are also hotter.154 The felling of the forests, the draining of the morasses, partial though it may still be, together with the increasing population, have naturally some effect. The thick foliage, which before interposed its shade between the sun and the earth, intercepting the genial warmth from the lower atmosphere, has now been removed in many extensive tracts of country: the cultivated soil imbibes the heat, and returns it to the surrounding air in warm and humid vapors. The exhalations arising from a much increased amount of animal life, together with the burning of so many combustibles, are not altogether without their influence in softening the severity of the climate.155
Canada abounds in an immense and beautiful variety of trees156 and shrubs. Among the timber trees, the oak, pine, fir, elm, ash, birch, walnut, beech, maple, chestnut, cedar, and aspen, are the principal. Of fruit-trees and shrubs there are walnut, chestnut, apple, pear, cherry, plum, elder, vines,157 hazel, hickory, sumach, juniper, hornbeam, thorn, laurel, whortleberry, cranberry, gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, sloe, and others; strawberries of an excellent flavor are luxuriantly scattered over every part of the country. Innumerable varieties of useful and beautiful herbs and grasses enrich the forests, whose virtues and peculiarities are as yet but little known to Europeans.158 In many places, pine-trees grow to the height of 120 feet and upward, and are from nine to ten feet in circumference.159 Of this and of the fir species there are many varieties, some of them valuable from their production of pitch, tar, and turpentine. The American oak160 is quicker in its growth and less durable than that of England; one species, however, called the live oak, grown in the warmer parts of the continent, is said to be equal, if not superior, to any in Europe for ship-building. The white oak is the best found in the Canadian settlements, and is in high repute. Another description is called the scrubby oak—it resembles the British gnarled oak, and is remarkably hard and durable. The birch161 tribe is very numerous: the bark is much used by the Indians in making canoes,162 baskets, and roofings; the wood is of a useful quality, and the sap, when extracted in the spring, produces by fermentation a pleasant but weak wine. The maple163 is one of the most variable and beautiful of all the forest trees, and is adopted as the emblem of Canadian nationality.
Two plants, formerly of great importance in these counties, are now almost extirpated, or little noticed as articles of commerce—ginseng164 and capillaire. The first was found in great abundance by the French in their earlier settlement of the colony, and large quantities were exported to Europe, from whence it was forwarded to China. The high value it then possessed in that distant market induced the Canadians to collect the roots prematurely; and the Indians also gathered them wherever they could be found; consequently, this useful production was soon exhausted, and is now rarely seen. The capillaire165 is now either become rare or neglected for other objects; a small quantity is, however, still exported. In the woods there is a vast variety of wild plants and flowers, many of them very beautiful. The sweet garlic especially deserves notice: two large pale-green leaves arise from the root; between them stands the delicate stem, about a foot in height, bearing a cluster of graceful flowers, resembling blue-bells in shape and color. The wild turnip is also very beautiful. There are, besides, many valuable herbs and roots, which the Indians use for various purposes. The reindeer moss166 often serves for support and refreshment to the exhausted hunter; when boiled down into a liquid, it is very nourishing; and an herb called Indian tea produces a pleasant and wholesome draught, with a rich aromatic flavor. Wild oats and rice167 are found in some of the marshy lands. The soil and climate are also favorable to the production of hops and a mild tobacco, much esteemed for the manufacture of snuff. Hemp168 and flax are both indigenous in America. Father Hennepin, in the seventeenth century, found the former growing wild in the country of the Illinois; and Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his travels to the western coast, met with flax in the interior, where no European was ever known to have been before. The Indian hemp169 is seen in abundance upon the Canadian soil, particularly in light and sandy places; the bark is so strong that the natives use it for bow-strings; the pod bears a substance that rivals down in softness and elasticity; the culture is easy; the root, penetrating deep into the earth, survives the frosts of winter, and shoots out fresh stalks every spring. When five or six years old it attains the greatest perfection. It may be added that in these favored provinces all European plants, fruits, vegetables, grain,170 legumes, and every other production of the earth required for the subsistence or luxury of man, yield their increase even more abundantly than in the old
See Appendix, No. XXIII. (vol. II.)
See Appendix, No. XXIV. (vol. II.)
See Appendix, No. XXV. (vol. II.)
"In Europe, in Asia, in Africa, and even in South America, the primeval trees, however much their magnitude may arrest admiration, do not grow in the promiscuous style that prevails in the general character of the North American woods. Many varieties of the pine, intermingled with birch, maple, beech, oak, and numerous other tribes, branch luxuriantly over the banks of lakes and rivers, extend in stately grandeur along the plains, and stretch proudly up to the very summits of the mountains. It is impossible to exaggerate the autumnal beauty of these forests; nothing under heaven can be compared to its effulgent grandeur. Two or three frosty nights in the decline of autumn transform the boundless verdure of a whole empire into every possible tint of brilliant scarlet, rich violet, every shade of blue and brown, vivid crimson, and glittering yellow. The stern, inexorable fir tribes alone maintain their eternal somber green. All others, in mountains or in villages, burst into the most glorious vegetable beauty, and exhibit the most splendid and most enchanting panorama on earth."—M'Gregor, p. 79, 80.
Mr. Weld says, "The varied hues of the trees at this season of the year (autumn) can hardly be imagined by those who never have had an opportunity of observing them; and, indeed, as others have often remarked before, were a painter to attempt to color a picture from them, it would be condemned in Europe as totally different from any thing that ever existed in nature."—Weld, p. 510.
"I can only compare the brightness of the faded leaves, scarlet, purple, and yellow, to that of tulips."—Lyell's
See Appendix, No. XXVI. (vol. II.)
"One of the most striking features in the vegetation of Canada is the number of species belonging to the
"We missed, also, the small 'crimson-tipped daisy' on the green lawns, and were told that they have been often cultivated with care, but are found to wither when exposed to the dry air and bright sun of this climate. When weeds so common with us can not be reared here, we cease to wonder at the dissimilarity of the native Flora of the New World. Yet, wherever the aboriginal forests are cleared, we see orchards, gardens, and arable lands filled with the same fruit-trees, the same grain and vegetables, as in Europe, so bountifully has Nature provided that the plants most useful to man should be capable, like himself, of becoming cosmopolites."—Lyell's
"Canada is not rich in roses; only three species occur throughout the two provinces. Among the Ribes and the Ericaceæ, however, are found many of the most beautiful ornaments of the English garden: Andromedas, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Kalmias belong to the latter order. The Azalea was thus described by one of the earlier European botanical travelers. Professor Kalm[The Kalmias were so named by Linnæus in honor of Professor Kalm, a favorite pupil of the great botanist] (in 1748): 'the Mayflowers, as the Swedes call them, were plentiful in the woods wherever I went to-day, especially on a dry soil, or one that is somewhat moist. The Swedes have given them this name because they are in full blossom in May. Some of the Swedes and the Dutch call them "Pinxter Bloem" (Whitsunday flowers), as they are in blossom about Whitsuntide. The English call them wild honeysuckles, and at a distance they really have a resemblance to the honeysuckle or lonicera. Dr. Linnæus and other botanists call it an Azalea (Azalea Nudiflora,
See Appendix, No. XXVII. (vol. II.)
The oak from the dense forests of Canada, into which the sun's rays never penetrate, is more porous, more abundant in sap, and more prone to the dry rot than the oak grown in any other country. Canadian timber has increased in value since the causes of its former rapid decay have been more fully understood. Mr. Nathaniel Gould asserts that the wane of the moon is now universally considered the best season for felling timber, both in the United States and in Canada. The Americans contract for their ship timber to be felled or girdled between the 20th of October and the 12th of February. Dry rot being probably caused by the natural moisture or sap being left in the wood, the less there is in the tree when cut, the longer it will keep sound. As regards the Canadian oak, it is stated by Mr. M'Taggart (the engineer, who so ably distinguished himself while in the colony), that it is not so durable as that of the British, the fiber not being so compact and strong; it grows in extensive groves near the banks of large lakes and rivers, sometimes found growing to 50 feet in length by 2 feet 6 inches; its specific gravity is greater than water, and therefore, when floated down in rafts, it is rendered buoyant with cross bars of pine. It is easily squared with the hatchet, and answers well for ship-building and heavy work; will endure the seasons for about fifteen years,[Kalm says, in 1748, "They were now building several ships below Quebec for the king's account. However, before my departure, an order arrived from France prohibiting the further building of ships of war, because they had found that the ships built of American oak do not last so long as those of European oak. Near Quebec is found very little oak, and what grows there is not fit for use, being very small; therefore they are obliged to fetch their oak timber from those parts of Canada which border upon New England. But all the North American oaks have the quality of lasting longer, and withstanding putrefaction better, the further north they grow."—Kalm, p. 663] and does not decay in England so soon as in Canada.—Montgomery Martin's
The most useful American plants in the small order Betulaceæ are the birches, of which Canada contains six species. The most celebrated is Betula Papyracea, the canoe birch, so called from the use made of the bark in the construction of the Indian boats. It extends from the shore of the Hudson in New York to a considerable range of country northward of Canada. The bark is obtained with facility in large pieces, and is sewed together with the tough and slender roots of the pine-tree. La Hontan relates a characteristic story respecting the birch bark: "I remember I have seen, in a certain library in France, a manuscript of the Gospel of St. Matthew, written in Greek upon this sort of bark; and which is yet more surprising, I was there told that it had been written above a thousand years; and, at the same time, I dare swear that it was the genuine birch bark of New France, which, in all appearance, was not then discovered."—La Hontan, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 361.
Mr. Weld says that "the bark resembles in some degree that of the cork-tree, but it is of a closer grain, and also much more pliable, for it admits of being rolled up the same as a piece of cloth. The Indians of this part of the country always carry large rolls of it in their canoes when they go on a hunting party, for the purpose of making temporary huts. The bark is spread on small poles over their heads, and fastened with strips of elm bark, which is remarkably tough, to stakes, so as to form walls on the sides."—Weld, p. 311.
See Appendix, No. XXVIII. (vol. II.)
See Appendix, No. XXIX. (vol. II.)
The ginseng belongs to the small order Araliaceæ. The botanical name is Panax quinquefolium: it was called Aureliana Canadensis by Lafitau, who was the first to bring it from Canada to France.—(Charlevoix, tom. iv., p. 309, fig. 13.) It was discovered in the forests of Canada in 1718. It is herbaceous, scarcely a foot and a half in height, and toward the upper part of the stem arise three quinate-digitate leaves, from the center of which springs the flower stalk. The root is fusiform and fleshy, and is the part most valued. We are informed that among the Chinese many volumes have been written upon its virtues; and that, besides the name already mentioned, it is known by several others, expressive of the high estimation in which it is universally held throughout the Celestial Empire: two of these appellations are, 'the pure spirit of the earth,' and 'the plant that gives immortality.' An ounce of ginseng bears the surprising price of seven or eight ounces of silver at Pekin. When the French botanists in Canada first saw a figure of it, they remembered to have seen a similar plant in this country. They were confirmed in their conjecture by considering that several settlements in Canada lie under the same latitude with those parts of Chinese Tartary and China where the true ginseng grows wild. They succeeded in their attempt, and found the same ginseng wild and abundant in several parts of North America, both in French and English plantations, in plain parts of the woods. It is fond of shade, and of a deep, rich mold, and of land which is neither wet nor high. It is not every where very common, for sometimes one may search the woods for the space of several miles without finding a single plant of it; but in those spots where it grows it is always found in great abundance. It flowers in May and June, and its berries are ripe at the end of August. The trade which is carried on with it here is very brisk, for they gather great quantities of it, and send them to France, from whence they are brought to China, and sold there to great advantage. The Indians in the neighborhood of Montreal were so taken up with the business of collecting ginseng, that the French farmers were not able during that time to hire a single Indian, as they commonly do, to help them in the harvest. The ginseng formerly grew in abundance round Montreal, but at present there is not a single plant of it to be found, so effectually have they been rooted out. This obliged the Indians this summer to go far within the English boundaries to collect these roots. After the Indians have sold the fresh roots to the merchants, the latter must take a great deal of pains with them. They are spread on the floor to dry, which commonly requires two months and upward, according as the season is wet or dry. During that time they must be turned once or twice every day, lest they should putrefy or molder. The roots prepared by the Chinese are almost transparent, and look like horn in the inside; and the roots which are fit for use are heavy and compact in the inside. No one has ever discovered the Chinese method of preparing it. It is thought, among other preparations, they dip the roots in a decoction of the leaves of ginseng. Kalm wrote thus of the ginseng in 1749 (Kalm, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 639). Mr. Heriot mentions that "one article of commerce the Canadians had, by their own imprudence, rendered altogether unprofitable. From the time that Canada ginseng had been imported to Canton, and its quality pronounced equal to that of Corea or Tartary, a pound of this plant, which before sold in Quebec for twenty pence, became, when its value was once ascertained, worth one pound and tenpence sterling. The export of this article amounted in 1752 to £20,000 sterling. But the Canadians, eager suddenly to enrich themselves, reaped this plant in May when it should not have been gathered until September, and dried it in ovens when its moisture should have been gradually evaporated in the shade. This fatal mistake, arising from cupidity, and in some measure from ignorance, ruined the sale of their ginseng among the only people on earth who are partial to its use, and at an early period cut off from the colony a new branch of trade, which, under proper regulations, might have been essentially productive."—Heriot's
"Mountainous woods in Tartary are mentioned as the place where the ginseng is produced in the greatest abundance. In 1709, the emperor ordered an army of ten thousand men to collect all the ginseng they could find, and each person was to give him two ounces of the best, while for the remainder payment was to be made in silver, weight for weight. It was in the same year that Father Jartoux, a Jesuit missionary in China, prepared a figure and accurate description of the plant, in which he bears testimony to the beneficial effects of the root. He tried it in many instances himself, and always with the same result, especially when exhausted with fatigue. His pulse was increased, his appetite improved, and his whole frame invigorated. Judging from the accounts before us, we should say that the Chinese were extravagant in their ideas of the virtues of this herb; but that it is undoubtedly a cordial stimulant, to be compared, perhaps, in some degree, with the aromatic root of Meum athamanticum, so much esteemed by the Scottish Highlanders. It has nevertheless disappeared from our Materia Medica."—Murray's
"Ginseng a véritablement la vertu de soutenir, de fortifier, et de rappeller les forces épuisées."—Lafitau, tom. ii., p. 142.
In La Hontan's time (1683), he speaks of "maiden-hair" being as common in the forests of Canada as fern in those of France, and is esteemed beyond that of other countries, insomuch that the inhabitants of Quebec prepare great quantities of its syrup, which they send to Paris, Nantes, Rouen, and several other cities of France. Charlevoix gives a figure of the maiden-hair (tom. iv., p. 301), under the name of Adiantum Americanum.—"Cette plante a la racine fort petite, et enveloppée de fibres noires, fort déliées; sa tige est d'un pourpre foncé, et s'élève en quelques endroits à trois ou quatre pieds de haut; il en sort des branches, qui se courbent en tous sens. Les feuilles sont plus larges que celles de notre Capillaire de France, d'un beau verd d'un côté, et de l'autre, semées de petits points obscurs; nulle part ailleurs cette plante n'est si haute ni si vive, qu'en Canada. Elle n'a aucune odeur tandis qu'elle est sur pied, mais quand elle a été renfermée, elle répand une odeur de violette, qui embaume. Sa qualité est aussi beaucoup au-dessus de tous les autres capillaires."
The Herba capillaris is the Adiantum pedatum of Linnæus (Sp. Pl., p. 1557). Cornutus, in his
"This moss is called by the Canadian voyageurs,
See Appendix, No. XXX. (vol. II.)
See Appendix, No. XXXI. (vol. II.)
"The Swedes gave the name of Indian hemp to Apocynum cannabinum, because the Indians apply it to the same purposes as the Europeans do hemp; for the stalk may be divided into filaments, and is easily prepared. This plant grows in abundance in old corn grounds, in woods, on hills, and on high glades. The Indians make ropes of this Apocynum, which the Swedes buy, and employ them as bridles, and for nets. These ropes are stronger, and kept longer in water than such as were made of common hemp. The Swedes commonly got fourteen yards of these ropes for one piece of bread. On my journey through the country of the Iroquois, I saw the women employed in manufacturing this hemp. The plant is perennial, which renders the annual planting of it altogether unnecessary. Out of the root and stalk of this plant, when it is fresh, comes a white, milky juice, which is somewhat poisonous. Sometimes the fishing tackle of the Indian consists entirely of this hemp."—Kalm, in Pinkerton, vol xiii., p. 544.
See Appendix, No. XXXII. (vol. II.)