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CANADIAN GUIDE BOOK. 9 change in this respect among the American, native Canadian, and also not a few Pennsylvanian Dutch farmers, by whom the District was settled after the American War of Independence. Extensive orchards are abundant, and large quantities of apples, peaches, and cider are annually shipped at Niagara. LAKE ONTARIO, along the British or American side of which the tourist will now proceed according to his selection of a steamboat at Queenston or Lewiston, is about one hundred and eighty miles long by about sixty in its greatest breadth. It is two hundred and thirty-four feet above the Atlantic, is so deep that in many places it exceeds one hun dred fathoms, and is never frozen over. It is the safest of the three Lakes for navigation, as it has several excellent harbours, and numerous bays. On the British side the usual route is straight across from the mouth of the Niagara to Toronto, a distance of thirty-six miles; although there is an opportunity of visiting the west ern extremity of the Lake, called Burlington Bay, afforded by a daily steamboat. This is distant about forty-five miles. About midway is the opening of the Welland Canal at Port Dalhousie.—On the south side of the Bay at the western extremity lies the rapidly im proving town of Hamilton, which was laid out in 1813 by a person of that name, and now contains a population upwards of ten thou sand. From being the principal market for the Western merchants it seems destined to become second to no city in Upper Canada. An ample supply of excellent freestone and limestone behind the city affords the means of erecting handsome buildings, of which the mer chants now generally avail themselves ; and considerable quantities are exported to Toronto and other places on the Lake. It is expected that it will soon be furnished with gas and water-works. From tlie Bay is seen Dundurn, the handsome mansion of Sir Allan M‘Nab, lately Speaker of the House of Assembly. It returns one M.P.P. Three newspapers are published. It is worthy of notice that behind the city rise the Burlington Heights, a continuation of the ridge from Queenston Heights, and that the same ridge stretches along gradually inwards till it recedes about twenty miles between Toronto and Hoi-