It is no ordinary undertaking for one to enter the primeval forest, to cut down the tough grained trees, whose boughs have long met the first beams of the rising sun, and swayed in the tempest wind; to clear away the thick underbrush, which impedes the step at every turn; to clear out a tangled cedar swamp, no matter how hardy may be the axeman—how well accustomed to the use of the implement. With the best mode of proceeding, with an axe of excellent make, and keen edge; and, combined with which, let every other circumstance be favorable; yet, it requires a determined will, an iron frame and supple muscle, to undertake and carry out the successful clearing of a farm. But, the refugees and disbanded soldiers, who formed the pioneers of Upper Canada, enjoyed not even ordinary advantages. Many of the old soldiers had not the slightest knowledge of the duties of pioneer life, while others had but an imperfect idea. Some scarcely knew how to fell a tree. Hardy and determined they were; but they possessed not the implements requisite to clear off the solid trees. We have seen that the axe furnished by government was large and clumsy, and could be swung only with difficulty and great labor, being nothing more than the ship axe then in use. Slow and wearisome indeed, must have been the progress made by the unaccustomed woodsman in the work of clearing, and of preparing the logs for his hut, while he had, as on-lookers, too often a feeble wife and hungry children. The ordinary course of clearing land is pretty well known. At the present day the autumn and winter is the usual time, when the wood is cut in sleigh lengths for home use, or made into cord wood for the market. The brush is piled up into huge heaps, and in the following season, when sufficiently dry, is burned up. Now, wood, except in the remote parts, is very valuable, and for those who can part with it, it brings a good income. But then, when the land was everywhere covered with wood, the only thought was how to get rid of it. The great green trees, after being cut down, had to lie until they had dried, or be cut into pieces and removed. Time was necessary for the first. To accomplish the second, involved labor with the unwieldy axe; and there were at first, no beast of burden to haul the heavy logs. The arm of the pioneer was the only motor power, and the trees had to be cut in short lengths, that they might be carried. To overcome the more heavy work connected with this, the settlers would have logging bees from place to place, and by united strength subdue the otherwise obstinate forces. Mainly, the trees were burned; the limbs and smaller portion first, and subsequently the large trunk. The fire would consume all that was flammable, leaving great black logs all over the ground. Then came “logging,” that is, piling these black and half burned pieces into heaps, where, after a longer time of drying, they might be consumed. A second, perhaps a third