material alterations for the worse, as to their courses and depths. The River St. Lawrence, however, on the contrary, is no less than ninety miles wide at its mouth, and it is navigable for ships of the line as far as Quebec, a distance of four hundred miles from the sea. The channel also, instead of having been impaired by time, is found to be considerably better now than when the river was first discovered; and there is reason to imagine that it will improve still more in process of time, as the clear water that flows from Lake Ontario comes down with such impetuosity, during the floods in the spring of the year, as frequently to remove banks of gravel and loose stones in the river, and thus to deepen its bed. The channel on the north side of the island of Orleans, immediately below Quebec, which, according to the account of Le P. de Charlevoix, was not sufficiently deep in the year 1720 to admit a shallop of a small size, except at the time of high tides, is at present found to be deep enough for the largest vessels, and is the channel most generally used. [Sidenote: NAVIGATION.] The following table shews for what vessels the St. Lawrence is navigable in different places; and also points out the various breadths of the river from its mouth upwards: Distances Breadth in Names of Places. in miles miles. ascending. ─── ─── ─── At its mouth 90 At Cape Cat 140 30 At Saguenay River 120 18 At the lower extremity of the 110 15[5] Isle of Orleans At the bason between the Isle 30 5[6] of Orleans and Quebec From Quebec to Lake St. Pierre 90 Lake St. Pierre 30 14 To La Valterie 10 1 To Montreal 30 2 to 4[7] To Lake St. Louis 6 –¾ Lake St. Louis 12 4 To Lake St. Francis 25 ½ to 2 Lake St. Francis 20 5 To the Lake of a Thousand 90 ¼ to 1 Isles Lake of a Thousand Isles 25 6 To Kingston, on Lake Ontario 15 2½ to 6 ─── 743 ═══ Footnote 5: This island is 25 miles in length and 6 in breadth, the river on each side is about 2 miles wide. Footnote 6: Thus far, 400 miles from its mouth, it is navigable for ships of the line with safety Footnote 7: