ith the best kind of hard
wood, no land in the Province is so well adapted for the manufacture of
potash, an object of considerable importance to the industrious
settler. It is bounded, for an extent of sixty miles, by Lake Huron; is
a separate district; and Goderich, its principal town, where the
district courts are held, is situated at the confluence of the river
Maitland with Lake Huron, where it forms an admirable harbour. The
population of the town is seven hundred, and there are several good
stores and shops in it; mechanics carrying on some useful trades. There
are also an episcopal church and other houses of religious worship, and
a good school, where the higher branches of the classics are taught, as
well as the more ordinary routine of education."--Statistics published
by the Canada Company.]

The land is well timbered with the best description of hard wood,
amongst which is to be found in considerable abundance, the black
cherry. This tree grows often to a large size, and is used extensively
for furniture, particularly for dining-tables: if well made and
polished, it is little inferior to mahogany, either in appearance or
durability.

I remember, on this very journey, that Mr. Prior and myself were much
struck by the size and magnificent appearance of one of these cherry-
trees, which grew close to the road side, not far from the Big Thames.
Two years afterwards, passing the same tree, I got out of my sleigh and
measured the circumference as high as I could reach, which I found to
be ten feet seven inches, and, I should think, it was not less than
fifty feet in height from the ground to the first branch: it is a great
pity to see such noble trees as these either burned or split up into
fencing rails.

I think the largest tree of the hard wood species I ever saw in this
country, was near Bliss's Tavern, in the township of Beverly, and it
was called the Beverly-oak.* I was induced to visit this giant of the
woods from the many accounts I had heard of its vast dimensions, and
was, certainly, astonished at its size and symmetry. I measured it as
accurately as I could about six feet from the ground, and found the
diameter to be as nearly eleven feet as possible, the trunk rising like
a majestic column towering upwards for sixty or seventy feet before
branching off its mighty head. Mr. Galt, who was induced to visit this
tree from my description has, in his "Autobiography," mentioned the
height of the trunk fro