o serve them till spring. These are kept in
garrets or cellars; and, so long as they continue frozen, their goodness
is preserved. Before they are prepared for the table, they are laid for
some hours in cold water, to be thawed. In wintertime, milk is brought
to market in large frozen cakes.

Great quantities of maple-sugar are sold, in Quebec, at about half the
price of West India sugar. The manufacturing of this article takes place
in the spring. The sap or juice, after it has been drawn from the trees,
is boiled, and then poured into shallow dishes, where it takes the form
of a thick and hard cake. Maple-sugar is very hard; and, when used, is
scraped with a knife, as, otherwise, it would be a long time in
dissolving.

The fruit of Canada is not remarkable either for excellence or
cheapness. Strawberries and raspberries are, however, brought to market
in great abundance: they are gathered on the plains, at the back of
Quebec, and in the neighbouring woods, where they grow wild, in the
utmost luxuriance. Apples and pears are chiefly procured from the
vicinity of Montreal. Walnuts and filberts are by no means common; but
hickory-nuts and hazel-nuts are to be obtained in all the woods.

The _climate_ of Lower Canada is subject to violent extremes of heat and
cold. At Quebec, the thermometer, in summer, is sometimes as high as 103
degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer; and, in winter, is at 36 degrees
below 0. The average of summer heat is, in general, from 75 to 80
degrees; and the mean of the cold, in winter, is about 0.

From Christmas to Lady-day the weather is remarkably clear and fine; the
sky is of an azure blue colour, and seldom obscured by fogs or clouds;
and the frost is not often interrupted by falls of snow or rain. These
advantages render a Canadian winter so agreeable, that the inhabitants,
from sudden alterations of the weather, are never under the necessity of
changing their style of dress, unless it be to discard their greatcoats
and fur-caps, which, in consequence of the powerful warmth of the sun,
is sometimes necessary. In the early part of the winter there is always
much snow.

The spring, summer, and autumn of Canada, are all comprised within the
five months of May, June, July, August, and September. The rest of the
year may be considered as winter. During the month of October, the
weather is sometimes pleasant, but nature has then put on her gloomy
mantle; and the chilling blasts, from the north