I have said before that the whole country is simply an interminable forest; for there are no open places except upon the margins of the sea, lakes, and rivers, and where meadows have been made by the overflows of the sea and rivers; there are many such places which are very beautiful, immense fields of grass and pasture, like those near Chinictou Bay, and the river of Port Royal, and others. But here we must avoid an illusion by which many have been inadvertently imposed upon. For hearing those who come from foreign countries tell about their wealth and fertility, very often with exaggeration (for [28] thus they think they will get a better hearing), they suppose that the things boasted about in these countries are found everywhere in abundance. As, for example, if some one were speaking of France, he might say that he had seen groves and forests of nothing but chestnut, orange, olive, pear, and apple trees, so loaded that they were breaking down; indeed, he could say this truthfully, for it is so. But the stranger hearing this would be deceived by it; for he would suppose that in all parts of France, or in nearly all, he would find this condition of things; not taking into consideration the fact that the chestnuts are in Perigord, a hundred leagues away from the oranges, which are in Provence; and the apples are in the region of Caux in Normandy, a hundred leagues from the chestnuts and two hundred from the olives. Now when the country is well peopled and settled, as France is, this favorable representation [29] may show great good fortune, for, by means of transportation and trade, all these riches can be interchanged; but in an uncultivated and uncivilized country, like Canada, it makes no more difference than if they only had one thing in a place. I say this because prudence is of great importance to those who go to clear new lands, as we Frenchmen are so willing to go there with our eyes shut and our heads down; believing, for example, that in Canada, when we are hungry, all we will have to do is to go to an Island, and there by the skillful use of a club, right and left, we can bring down birds each as big as a duck, with every blow. This is well said, as our people have done this more than once and in more than one place. It is all very well, if you [30] are never hungry except when these birds are on the Islands, and if even then you happen to be near them. But if you are fifty or sixty leagues away, what are you going to do?