His object was to explain the physical and natural history of the country to encourage colonization. He expresses surprise that the country still remained inadequately populated, but he warns Colbert against any policy of sending criminals to this country. Tramps were not wanted in Canada. If any insinuated themselves they knew, how to hang them, as elsewhere. Doubtful women were not tolerated either. Those women that came were vouched for by responsible persons or relatives. Speaking of the climate he says: "From the beginning of May, the heat is extremely great, though we are only coming out of the depth of winter. This is the reason why everything goes ahead and in less than no time the earth is covered with verdure. It is remarkable that the wheat sown at the end of April or as late as May 21st is harvested in September. The winter is very cold, but it is a bright frost, and for the most part the days are beautiful and serene. "Mont Royal, the last of our settlements, is situated on a beautiful and great island. The lands are very good and produce grain in abundance; everything is going on well there; fishing and hunting are also very good." Montreal is described as having a rich soil, but requiring horses[92] to till it. As these are expensive he hopes the "bon roi" would assist, especially by exterminating the Iroquois, who killed the cattle. Most of its trees were oak. There was no hemp, but the soil was suitable for its cultivation. Speaking of the caribous he says that the males have forked feet, which in running, open so widely that they never sink in the winter snows no matter how deep these may be. He speaks of the skill of the beavers in constructing their dams, which the waters cannot break through, saying that they thus arrest the courses of little streams, inundating a great part of the country and forming pools for them in which to play and to have their dwellings. The savages had the greatest difficulty on their hunting expeditions in destroying these dams.