The Acadians and 
     
     forest clearance. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Soil quality varies 
     
     with elevation. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Black/sh soils 
     
     are better. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The woods are a 
     
     valuable resource. 
     
    
   
   
    
     A scattering of 
     
     trees around 
     
     grass/ands. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Forest birds 
     
     and mammals. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The tree species 
     
     of the island 
     
     and their uses. 
     
    
   
   
    
     1750: 11 March to 14 May 
     
    

    
     lle Saint—Jean poorly settled, occupied by a few miserable creatures, offers only a land 
     
     in standing timber of which the beggars, the idlers, or the families that have already 
     
     crossed over from Acadia will not cut down one tree. [fo|. 370] 
     
     A Table of the Avantages of lle Saint-Jean 
     
    

    
     14. The greater or less the elevation of the good lands, the more or less it yields. 
     
    
   
   
    
     15. The soils that are a little black yield more than the others. 
     
    
   
   
    
     16. Those that have a base of clay beneath the good land, which is rather common, 
     
     are of an exceptional yield and duration. 
     
    
   
   
    
     17. The most unrewarding places can be covered in good pastures and the low spots 
     
     in good meadows. 
     
    
   
   
    
     18. In this way the whole island can be cultivated to the last inch. But since wood 
     
     is a necessity one can choose to make use of all of the island without resorting to the 
     
     efforts of human activity. 
     
    
   
   
    
     24. The island has a lot of natural grasslands, the surroundings of which often have 
     
     a thin scattering of trees — so that with little work one can double their extent. 
     
    
   
   
    
     [fo|. 375v] 
     
     29. Here follows what the island produces in the different seasons: In spring: 
     
     the ortolan that passes through . In summer: the woodcock, the snipe, the 
     
    
   
   
    
     white ortolan, partridges, some corbujeaux [.7curlews] and turtle-doves very 
     
     abundantly. In autumn: bear. In winter: a great amount of hares, lots of partridge, 
     
     some chathuants [a kind of owl], some lynx, some otters, a few kinds of deer called 
     
     ....... [sic] which I believe are the reindeer of the Laps. And for the fur-trade, martens 
     
     and foxes besides the lynx and the otters mentioned. [foL 376] 
     
    
   
   
    
     30. The land is covered with wood suitable for all sorts of uses, for building and 
     
     construction, namely: oak little bit common, suitable for small sea vessels, spruce 
     
     which yields an excellent beer, the common drink of the 2 islands, hemlock which 
     
     preserves well in the ground, suitable for works of importance [or: suitable for works 
     
     that require that], elm rare, cedar for the canoes of the Indians, and several trees that 
     
     I do not know at all, in certain districts, hazel which bears nuts. & very common are 
     
     pine, fir, maple which yields sugar, red maple, its female, beech, birch, yellow birch, 
     
     ash and poplar. [fols. 376-376v] 
     
    
   
   
    
     36. In general the island is ably defended by its woods and by the length of the winter 
     
     and its snow. [fol. 376v I 
     
    
   
   
    
     [PAC, AC, CHB, Vol. 29, fols. 370-376v] 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     * See also the Addendum in Appendix 2 (pp. 757-159) for Roma’s treatise on the vole. 
     
    
   
   
    
     92