CROWLAND.

Crowland, Dec. 23, 1817.

SIR,

MR. ROBERT GOURLAY.

PURSUANT to your inclination, and anxious to facilitate the good of our country, I offer the following reply to your address of the 30th of October last. Being unable to obtain a meeting for the purpose, I took the task on myself, which I could wish to have been performed by an abler hand. I have taken the subsequent signature of a few creditable inhabitants of this township, who casually fell in my way.

JOSEPH CURRANT,

Town Clerk.

9th. The soil is various, and much given to grass, consisting of white, blue, and red clay, black and grey sand, in spots, coming near to gravel itself, black mould, and yellow loam; all these are sometimes found in the compass of an acre, but clay is most prevalent. The surface remarkably level, except two spots near the southern limit, where it approaches to small eminences.

10th. The ground in its uncultivated state is timbered with white oak, swamp white oak, Spanish or red oak, sugar and red maple, bass or linden, beech, hickory, and iron wood, and in some places, heavy growths of white pine; in others, a species of sycamore, some butternut, black walnut, elm, and black and white ash.

11th. The only mineral found here is bog iron ore in small quantities, frequently in marshy places; springs of a saline tincture are frequent.

15th. Ox chains and irons, &c. are sold for 1s. 3d, per lb. Carpenters have 10s. per hundred for framing; bricklayers, 7s. 6d. per day, and 10s. per 1000 for laying.

16th. Women's wages, per week, for house work, 7s. 6d.; for spinning, 6s. 3d. The cradler's wages, per day, for cutting wheat, is one bushel of the same, or its price; the reapers three-fourths; the mowers of grass for hay the same.

18th. Wood lands are cleared and fenced for 31. 2s. 6d. per acre, board, lodging, and the use of team, given withal.

26th. Manure is best applied to land in winter, while in grass.

27th. A cropper on new lands, customarily takes three successive yearly crops for his labour, of clearing and fencing; when the cropper breaks the land from grass, the owner of the soil commonly claims one-third of the crop.

A farm let on shares brings to its owner onethird of all the grain, with half the hay it produces; this is little practised, as most people can have land of their own.

28th. A farm of 100 acres, nearly contiguous to mills, with about 40 cleared, and very mean buildings, was lately sold for 3121. 10s.

As a price would, purchase all the lands in the township, so the quantity for sale is limited. Most of the public roads are capable of beneficial improvement, at a tolerable expence.

30th. Lyons creek, a sluggish stream of blackish water, rises in the swamps and marshes of Humberston and Wainfleet, near lake Erie, and entering Crowland at its southern limit, passes through at a north-easterly direction, falls into Chippawa one mile above its mouth in the township of Willoughby, from whence it is navigable for boats and batteaux seven miles up, where it furnishes an excellent mill seat, occupied by Cook's mills. Here is a town in embryo; this spot claims notice as being the place of a brisk action between a detachment of the British army and that of the Americans, on the morning of the 19th Oct. 1814. Two miles above this, on the bank of the creek, near Humberston, is a spring whereof salts have been made, reputed to be equal in quality, as an aperient, to Glauber's salts. This spring is capable of producing large quantities.

Nature invites art, in strong terms, to open a canal between lake Erie and this creek, promising the expence to be inconsiderable, as well as reduce the carriage of commodities, from about 42 miles to 19, and render the navigation entirely safe, besides conveying pure water through this part of the country, which is a very desirable object.

31st. Lack of money, and something to expel a torpid spirit, most impedes the improvement of this township, and perhaps the province in general; plenty of cash in circulation, and a proper stimulation to enterprise, it is believed, would be the best applicable remedy.

-CALVIN COOK,

SAMUEL YOKом,

RICHARD YOKOM,
And eight others.

WAINFLEET.

20th Dec. 1817.

SIR,

WE the undersigned, according to the request of your circular letter of October, called a meeting of the inhabitants of the township of Wainfleet, and resolved on the following answers to your queries.

9th. Generally clay soil.

10th. Timber-beech and maple, interspersed with hickory, oak, walnut, pine, black and white ash.

11th. No minerals discovered; a great quantity of limestone of the very best quality.

12th. Abundance of building stone of the best kind, at 10s. per toise.

16th. Women servants per week for house work 5s.; spinning 3s. 9d.

17th. Price of mowing and reaping 3s. 9d.; cradling wheat 5s. per day.

25th. The quality of our pasture is principally white clover and timothy; this most generally rises spontaneously.

26th. When cleared, the land is sowed without ploughing, only harrowed in; after this first crop, it must remain three years in pasture, in order to rot out the roots; the land is sufficiently strong to bear 10 or 15 years without manure.

28th. There are 22 square miles of marsh land owned by government, which if drained, would be

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preferable to any other land in the province for growing hemp, &c.; its soil or surface is three feet deep; it lies almost as high as the highest land between it and the river Welland, which river is 15 feet lower than the said marsh, at the distance of two miles therefrom, and several creeks of considerable magnitude run out of said marsh into the river Welland, and also to lake Erie: if the heads of these creeks were opened a small distance into said marsh, it would sufficiently drain the land for a considerable distance around them; at each and every of those creeks so running from said marsh, would be excellent mill seats, that would be of the greatest consequence; the whole expence of draining this marsh would not exceed 60s. average the whole per acre.

29th. There is about four thousand acres of land owned by individuals for sale.

30th. Our roads are in a bad state, but capable of much improvement, at a moderate expence. On the north side of township is river Welland; the depths of the river 15 to 25 feet, and breadth on an average 300. It is a complete water conveyance; also there might be a canal cut from the said Welland across the marsh. To Morgan's bay, in lake Erie, the distance is 6 miles and 28 chains : said canal commencing 16 miles from mouth of said Welland, which would be 20 miles short of the present route: we are of opinion that said canal might be furnished with water out of said marsh, sufficient to carry craft fully 20 tons burden said canal would not require to be cut