I Have Been In Several
Log-Houses Where The Bedsteads, Tables, And Chairs Were All The Work Of
The Settlers Themselves, At A Cost Probably Of A Few Shillings; And Though
The Workmanship Was Rough, Yet The Articles Answer Perfectly Well For All
Practical Purposes.
Persons of sober, industrious habits, going out as
workmen to Canada, speedily acquire comfort and independence.
I have seen
settlers who went out within the last eight years as day-labourers, now
the owners of substantial homesteads, with the requisite quantity of
farming-stock.
Canada West is also a most desirable locality for persons of intelligence
who are possessed of a small capital. Along the great lakes and in the
interior there are large tracts of land yet unoccupied. The price of wild
land varies from 10s. to 10l. per acre, according to the locality.
Cleared farms, with good buildings, in the best townships, are worth from
10l. to 15l. an acre: these prices refer to the lands belonging to the
Canada Land Company; the crown lands sell at prices varying from 4s. to
7s. 6d. per acre, but the localities of these lands are not so
desirable in most instances. The price of clearing wild lands is about
4l. 5s. per acre, but in many locations, particularly near the
railways, the sale of the timber covers the expenses of clearing. As has
been previously observed, the soil and climate of Upper Canada are
favourable to a great variety of crops. Wheat, however, is probably the
most certain and profitable, and, with respect to cereals and other crops,
the produce of the land per acre is not less than in England. In addition
to tobacco, flax and hemp are occupying the attention of the settlers; and
as an annually increasing amount of capital is employed in factories,
these last are likely to prove very profitable.
In addition to the capabilities of the soil, Lake Huron and the Georgian
Bay present extensive resources in the way of fish, and their borders are
peculiarly desirable locations for the emigrant population of the west of
Ireland and the west Highlands of Scotland.
With such very great advantages, it is not surprising that the tide of
emigration should set increasingly towards this part of the British
dominions. The following is a statement of the number of persons who
landed at Quebec during the last five years. The emigration returns for
1855 will probably show a very considerable increase: -
It may be believed that the greater number of these persons are now
enjoying a plenty, many an affluence, which their utmost exertions could
not have obtained for them at home. Wherever a farmstead, surrounded by
its well-cleared acres, is seen, it is more than probable that the
occupant is also the owner. The value of land increases so rapidly, that
persons who originally bought their land in its wild state for 4s. per
acre, have made handsome fortunes by disposing of it.
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