The Catholic World, Vol. 13, April to September, 1871Various
Religion
The Catholic World, Vol. 13, April to September, 1871
Various
Catholic Church -- Periodicals
Going westward through what was once called Canada West, now the
Province of Ontario, we find a peninsula bounded by the St. Lawrence
River, Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie, on the south and east; and by
Lakes St. Clair and Huron, with their connecting straits, on the
west. This peninsula, south of 45° N., comprises the wheat-growing
lands of Canada east of Lake Winnipeg. Its area is something less
than that of the State of New York. It produces good crops of wheat
and other cereals, and nearly all vegetables and fruits grown
in our northern and northwestern states. Farther west, we have
the valleys of the Saskatchewan and its tributaries, capable of
producing cereals, grasses, potatoes, and other vegetables. But our
information, derived from missionaries and others long resident in
that region, induces the belief that it is mere folly to regard a
country in whose streams the fish lie torpid, and where the snow-fall
is not enough to protect the land from killing frosts, in winter, as
suited to the growth of cereals for export, or as capable of giving
bread to any considerable population.
Much has been said and written concerning the territory lying on the
Pacific coast. We believe it is well ascertained that the climate
of British Columbia west of the mountains--we might well add the
southeast coast of Alaska--is as mild as that of the state of New
York. Unfortunately, it is very much more moist; so much more that
it never can become a good agricultural country. The reason is so
obvious that one is hardly disposed to question the assertion. The
vast accumulations of ice and snow in and immediately north of
Behring Strait, and on the high mountain range lying on the east side
of this territory, must produce intense cold when the wind blows from
the north and east. When the warm air comes from the southwest,
the whole atmosphere must resemble a vapor-bath. Seeds may readily
germinate, but can they produce ripe crops?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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