FOOTNOTES:
[223] On the theory of the isothermal lines, see the papers of Kupfer in Poggend., Ann., bd. xv., s., 184, and bd. xxxli., s. 270, in the Voyage dans l'Oural, p. 382-398, and in the Edinb. Journal of Science, new series, vol. iv., p. 355. See, also, Kamtz, Lehrbuch der Meteor, bd. ii., s. 217, and on the ascent of chthon-isothermal lines in mountainous countries, Bischoff, s. 174-197; Humboldt's Cosmos, vol. i., p. 347.
[224] Quebec lies nearly in the same latitude as Paris, and from the description which the Emperor Julian has given of the winters he quartered there during his command in Gaul, there seems to be little difference between the winters of France in this respect and the present winters of Canada.—Juliani Imper., Opera.
The author of Récherches Philosophiques sur les Américains supposes the difference in heat between the two continents to be equal to 12 degrees; that a place 30 degrees from the equator in the Old Continent is as warm as one situated 18 degrees from it in America, tom. i., p. 11. Dr. Mitchell, after observations carried on during thirty years, contends that the difference is equal to 14 or 15 degrees of latitude, p. 257.—Heriot's Travels through the Canadas, p. 117.
No. XXVI.
The Vitis vinifera is found in America in its wild state; in James's "Expedition to the Rocky Mountains" it is thus described: "The small elms along this valley were bending under the weight of innumerable grape vines, now loaded with ripe fruit, the purple clusters crowded in such profusion as almost to give a coloring to the landscape. On the opposite side of the river was a range of low sand-hills, fringed with vines, rising not more than a foot or eighteen inches from the surface. On examination, we found these hillocks had been produced exclusively by the agency of the grape vines, arresting the sand as it was borne along by the wind until such quantities had been accumulated as to bury every part of the plant except the end of the branches. Many of these were so loaded with fruit as to present nothing to the eye but a series of clusters, so closely arranged as to conceal every part of the stem. The fruit of these vines is incomparably finer than that of any other native or exotic which we have met with in the United States. The burying of the greater part of the trunk with its larger branches produces the effect of pruning, inasmuch as it prevents the unfolding of leaves and flowers on the parts below the surface, while the protruded ends of the branches enjoy an increased degree of light and heat from the reflection of the sand. It is owing, undoubtedly, to these causes that the grapes in question are far superior to the fruit of the same vine under ordinary circumstances. The treatment here employed by nature to bring to perfection the fruit of the vine may be imitated, but, without the peculiarities of soil and exposure, can with difficulty be carried to the same magnificent extent. Here are hundreds of acres, covered with a movable surface of sand, and abounding in vines, which, left to the agency of the sun and of the winds, are, by their operation, placed in more favorable circumstances than it is in the power of man to so great an extent to afford."—Vol. ii., p. 315, 316.
No. XXVII.
"Fir-trees, Thuja, and Cypress-trees are a northern type, which is very rare in the tropical regions. The freshness of their evergreen leaves cheers the desert winter landscape; it proclaims to the inhabitants of these regions that although snow and ice cover the earth, the internal life of the plants, like the fire of Prometheus, is never extinguished."—Cosmos, vol. ii., p. 90.
"There are upward of twenty species of Pinus, of which one half are natives of Canada, Nova Scotia, or Newfoundland.
"Pinus Balsamea (Balm of Gilead Fir, or American Silver Fir) grows to the height of fifty feet, and is an elegant tree, resembling the silver fir of Europe. The resin of this species is the common Canada Balsam, which is often substituted for the Balm of Gilead. It is found in small blisters on the bark, extracted by incision, and received in a limpid state into a shell or cup. This tree has long been cultivated for curiosity in England, but in general, though it grows to a considerable size and height, scarcely survives above twenty years, which seems to be the natural period of its existence. Mr. Lambert mentions some older trees of this species at Woburn and Warwick Castle.
"Pinus Canadensis (Hemlock Spruce) is a beautiful and very large tree, bearing some resemblance in its foliage to the common yew. Peter Collinson records his having introduced this tree to the English collections in 1736, and a fine specimen of it is, or was, in his garden at Mill Hill.
"Pinus Nigra (Black or Double Spruce) is found from Canada to Nova Scotia, and terminates in latitude 65°. It was introduced into England about the year 1700, but not much cultivated there.
"Pinus Alba (White Spruce) flourishes from latitude 43° northward. Its growth is nearly equal to that of the European silver fir, 140 feet in height. It is one of the most ornamental of the Abies tribe (those having single, not fasciculated leaves); the branches feather down to the ground, and the leaves have a beautiful and peculiar glaucous hue. From the young shoots of this tree (also from Pinus Nigra) is obtained the resinous extract from which spruce beer is made: good turpentine is obtained from the bark. This tree was cultivated in England by Bishop Compton before 1700.
"Pinus Resinosa (Pitch Pine) grows in Canada in close forests, and is distinguished for its great height and smooth red bark, whence it is often called Red Pine by the French population. This tree is the glory of Canada. Its timber, in color, quality, and durability, appears to be in every respect equal to the best Riga, and in one particular superior, that of being quite free from knots. It was first raised in England by the Duke of Northumberland at Zion House, where many of this species are still to be seen flowering in May.
"Pinus Banksiana (Labrador Scrub, or Gray Pine) inhabits cold, barren, and rocky situations. The finest trees of this species in England are at Pain's Hill and Kew.
"Pinus Strobus (White, or Weymouth Pine) is the largest species on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, being sometimes 200 feet high, and the trunk five feet in diameter. The attention which Lord Weymouth, afterward Marquis of Bath, gave to the cultivation of this valuable tree has justly stamped it with his name. It is now generally diffused through every considerable plantation in England. When growing in open situations, it is feathered to the ground; but, as generally found in the Canadian forests, it is little more than an immense stick with a quantity of brush at its head, in about the same proportion as the hair on the tail of an elephant. It is of this tree that in general the forests of all British America are composed, and it is, in fact, peculiar to America. It is called in commerce White Pine, Yellow Pine, or American Pine. The timber is very valuable for masts. The age to which this tree arrives is not known: 1500 annular divisions have been counted.
"Pinus Pendula (Black Larch, or Hackmatack) is a beautiful and large tree, generally resembling the larch of Europe. The buds are black, and yield a fine turpentine. This tree was first raised in England by the celebrated Peter Collinson, whose original tree, one of the treasures of the Mill Hill garden, was cut down about the year 1800 to make a rail! Few exotics are more worthy of general cultivation. The wood is at least equal to the European larch.
"Pinus Microcarpa (Red Larch) resembles the preceding so much, that Michaux and Wildman confounded the two species together. The red larch, however, is now clearly distinguished as a distinct kind. It is named by the voyageurs L'Epinette Rouge, and by the Hudson's Bay men Juniper."—H. Murray's British America, vol. iii., p. 328; R. M. Martin, p. 254; Rees's Cyclopædia, art. Pinus.
No. XXVIII.
"The canoes that navigate the Canadian lakes are among the most ingenious and useful of the Indian manufactures, and nothing that European ingenuity has devised is so well adapted to the habits and necessities of their mode of life. They are made of the bark of the birch-tree; and of all the various contrivances for transporting burdens by water, these vessels are the most extraordinary. From the slightness of their construction, they would appear to be totally inadequate to contend against the rapids they are continually exposed to. They are of various lengths, from twelve to thirty feet (the latter used only by the Hudson's Bay Company); their breadth from four to six feet, diminishing to a point at each end without distinction. The exterior is the bark of the birch-tree, scarcely the eighth part of an inch in thickness: it is kept distended by thin hoops and the bark; the gunwale is a narrow lath, to which the hoop and the bark are sewed with narrow strips of the roots of the white cedar-tree; and the joinings in the bark are rendered water-proof by a species of gum, said to be collected from the wild cherry-tree, which soon becomes perfectly hard. No iron work or nails are employed in their construction; and they are so light, that the common-sized ones are easily carried for several miles by a man of moderate strength. They are worked by paddles over the sides, and the dexterity of the Indians in working them is surprising. They, of course, push them forward, and not backward, as in the operation of rowing. The largest description will carry about five tons of merchandise, besides eight or ten men. The great objection that attends the use of bark canoes is the difficulty of keeping them water-tight. It requires the greatest attention to prevent them from touching a rock, or even the shore, as they would otherwise break; hence they are never brought near to the bank. Two men keep the canoe afloat at a distance, while the rest of the crew load or unload her. The canoe is unloaded every night, raised out of the water, and left on the beach bottom upward. This is also occasionally done when they stop during the day: it affords an opportunity of allowing the canoe to dry, otherwise the bark absorbs much water, and becomes very heavy. All motion on the part of those on board is to be avoided, as it causes the pitch to crack, and renders the canoe leaky."—Keating's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, vol. ii., p. 72, quoted in Sir George Simpson's Overland Journey Round the World, vol. i., p. 14.
La Hontan, in 1684, gives the same description of the bark canoes, and complains of "the inconvenience of their brittle and tender fabric. If they do but touch or grate upon stone or sand, the cracks of the bark fly open, upon which the water gets in, and spoils the provisions and merchandise. Every day there is some new chink or seam to be gummed over. At night they are always unloaded and carried on shore, where they are made fast with pegs, lest the wind should blow them away."
Charlevoix gives a nearly similar account in 1720, vol. v., p. 285. He adds: "Tous ces canots, jusqu'au plus petits, portent la voile et avec un bon vent peuvent faire vingt lieues par jour. Sans voiles il faut avoir de bons canoteurs pour en faire douze dans une eau morte."
No. XXIX.
"Many of the species of Acer form large, ornamental, and valuable trees. The kinds in most esteem for making sugar are Acer dasycarpum (white, or soft maple), Acer nigrum (black sugar maple), and Acer saccharinum (the sugar maple), the last two yielding the greatest quantity of sugar. The process by which the sap is obtained is extremely simple, nothing more being necessary than to bore a hole in the tree, and conduct the flowing liquid, by means of a hollowed piece of wood, into a vessel beneath. Whatever quantity of sap is collected, it must be boiled down the same evening, as it is liable to be spoiled by fermentation in the course of a few hours. The operation of boiling is generally performed in a very primitive way: it is thus described by the intelligent authoress of Backwoods of Canada: 'A pole was fixed across two forked stakes strong enough to bear the weight of the big kettle. The employment during the day was emptying the troughs and chopping wood to supply the fires. In the evening they lit the fires and began boiling down the sap. It was a pretty and picturesque sight to see the sugar boilers, with their bright log-fire among the trees, now stirring up the blazing pile, now throwing in the liquid, and stirring it down with a big ladle. When the fire grew fierce it boiled and foamed up in the kettle, and they had to throw in fresh sap to keep it from running over. When the sap begins to thicken into molasses, it is then brought to the sugar boiler to be finished. The process is simple: it only requires attention in skimming, and keeping the mass from boiling over, till it has arrived at the sugaring point, which is ascertained by dropping a little into cold water. When it is near the proper consistency, the kettle or pot becomes full of yellow froth, that dimples and rises in large bubbles from beneath. These throw out puffs of steam, and when the molasses is in this stage it is nearly converted into sugar. Those who pay great attention to keeping the liquid free from scum, and understand the precise sugaring point, will produce an article little, if at all, inferior to Muscovado.' It is, however, often adulterated with flour, which thickens and renders it heavy. It is very hard, and requires to be scraped with a knife when used for tea, otherwise the lumps would be a considerable time in dissolving. The Canadians say that it possesses medicinal qualities, for which they eat it in large lumps. It very possibly acts as a corrective to the vast quantity of fat pork which they consume, as it possesses a greater degree of acidity than the West India sugar. Before salt was in use, sugar was eaten with meat, as a corrective; hence, probably, the custom of eating sweet apple-sauce with pork and goose, and currant-jelly with hare and venison."—Lambert, vol. i., p. 84.
"The production of maple sugar amounted (in 1836) to about 25,000 cwt. annually. A plantation of maple is termed 'suegari,' and is considered very valuable: the sugar sells from 3d. to 6d. per pound. A moderate tree is said to yield from twenty to thirty gallons of the sap, from which may be extracted five or six pounds of sugar. Nor is sugar the only product to be obtained from this valuable tree: strong and excellent vinegar is made from it, as well as good wine; and, with the addition of hops, sound and pleasant beer may be had at a very trifling expense."—H. Murray's Canada, vol. iii., p. 315; Gray's Canada, p. 224.
"It is a very remarkable fact that these trees, after having been tapped for six or seven successive years, always yield more sap than they do on being first wounded. This sap, however, is not so rich as that which the trees distill for the first time; but, from its coming in an increased portion, as much sugar is generally produced from a single tree on the fifth or sixth year of its being tapped as on the first.
"The ingenious Mr. Nooth, of Quebec, who is at the head of the general hospital in Canada, has made a variety of experiments upon the manufacture of maple sugar. He has granulated, and also refined it, so as to render it equal to the best lump sugar that is made in England. To convince the Canadians also, who are as incredulous on some points as they are credulous on others, that it was really maple sugar that they saw thus refined, he has contrived to have large lumps, exhibiting the sugar in its different stages toward refinement, the lower part of the lumps being left hard, similar to the common cakes, the middle part granulated, and the upper part refined. Dr. Nooth has calculated that the sale of the molasses alone would be fully adequate to the expense of refining the maple sugar, if a manufactory for that purpose were established. Some attempts have been made to establish one of the kind at Quebec, but they have never succeeded, as the persons by whom they were made were adventurers that had not sufficient capital for such an undertaking."—Weld, 1800, p. 271.
Charlevoix says in his Journal, "On me régale ici d'eau d'erable—elle est délicieuse, d'un fraícheur admirable et fort saine. Pour qu'elle coule avec abondance, il faut qu'il y ait beaucoup de neiges sur la terre, qu'il ait gelé pendant la nuit, que le ciel soit serein, et que le vent ne soit pas trop froid. Nos érables auroient peut-être la même vertu, si nous avions en France autant de neiges qu'en Canada, et si elles y duroient aussi lontems. J'en ai donné à foudre à un refineur d'Orleans qui n'y a trouvé d'autre défaut que ce qu'il n'avoit pas été suffisamment égouté. Il le croyoit même de meilleure qualité de l'autre."—Vol. v., p. 181.
No. XXX.
"Quelques nations tirent leur subsistance, d'une sorte de grain que la Nature produit d'elle-même; on le nomme le folle-avoine, dont les Français ont transporté le nom à quelques-unes de ces nations. C'est une plante marécageuse qui approche assez de l'avoine, mais qui est mieux nourrie. Les sauvages vont la chercher dans leurs canots, au tems de sa maturité. Ils ne font que sécouer les épis, les quels s'égraissent facilement, de sorte que leurs canots sont bientôt remplis, et leurs provisions bientôt faìtes, sans qu'ils soient obligés de labourer ni de semer."—Lafitau, tom. ii., 96.
This grain is the Zizania aquatica of Linnæus. Kalm calls it the water tare-grass, and says that "the Indians reckon it among their dainty dishes. It grows in plenty in their lakes, in stagnant waters, and sometimes in rivers which flow slowly. They gather its seeds in October, and prepare them in different ways, and chiefly as groats, which take almost as well as rice."—Kalm, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 696.
"Common in all the waters from Canada to Florida, and known by the name of Tuscarora,[225] or wild rice."—Pursh. Sir Joseph Banks introduced it into this country in 1790, and cultivated it abundantly in the ponds of his villa of Spring Grove. The seeds were obtained from Canada in jars of water. Mr. Lambert is of opinion that this grain might be cultivated in many shallow lakes of Ireland, and turned to considerable advantage.