Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-07-07
Letter from Montreal.
MONTREAL, Juns so, 1871.


Dear Free Press:
At last we have warm weather. Yesterday
and to-day it has been hot, the mercury rising
to between so and 900. One case Of sunstroke
was reported on Mondsy-the first case this
year. So far this season, with the exception Oh
o very few days the weather has been remsrKs-
bly, cool Within eight days overcoats ana
wooden gloves have been in constant demand
The cool weather hiss made corn very backward
in Csnada, and the dry weather In May and
the first Of June, put back the grass crop 50
that the supply of hay is likely to be below the
average do not think, however, that the
grass has been as much damaged by the drouth
in Canals as in Central and Southern Vermont
The strawberry crop is rather lighter than the
average this year, still the business Of raising
this delicious fruit is now carried on to so large
an extent that it is within the reach Of all who
can indulge in luxuries. The first garden ber-
ries are now retailing for y cents per quart.
Your correspondent mas now before him speci-
men (which he took from lot OF siT tons
which passed through the depot this morning,)
measuring five inches in circumference.
large proportion of these berries came from two
large growers, one at Oskvjlle and the other at
Georgetown, both in Upper Canada. The ex-
pres, agent here told me this morning that they
had brought into Montreal from these two plsn-
tations, during the last two weeks, over fifty
tons Of these berries. The common field straw
berry is not SIS good or plenty here as IN YER
mont
The Vt Central train yesterday morning
brought in the new Pullman palace and sleep
| ing car st. .4l5aHs, the first Of lot OF these
| splendid cars row being built at the railroad
| shops in St. Adams. 1t is a magnificent travel
| ing palace certainly, and bears comparison IN
point Of Workmanship with Pullman care built
| for the Grand Trunk rosd. several Of which are
now standing by the side Of it in the yard.
The latter have the advantage Of eight inches
more width aud height, but the upper berths in
the St Adams car are all supplied with excellent
steel fpring beds, the FIRST We remember having
| seen in a sleeping car. We were particularly
struck with the strength and completeness OF
/ the bel-frame and running gesr OF the St Al
bans. Il is the verdict of all railroad men here,
| that it has never been surpassed. 1t has the
patent cnr-coupling attachment, which the Yer
| mont Central Company are now putting upon
sill their csrs IS fast as possible. We under
stand the St .flbaus Is to be followed by others
of the same kind as rapidly as they csn be nm
/ ished
| While l am speaking Of cars and railroads,
I wish to say Just one word about the Grand
| Trunk Railway, which am Satisfied gets many
very unjust comments. aud perhaps also some
/ deserved criticism. While people make unkind
| comments relative to small dividends and rough
/ travelling, they sometimes forget that this COM
pany have over fifteen hundred miles Of rosd to
/ keep in orier,-nearly three times as much as
that now controlled by the Vermont Central
| Company,-much Of it through territory COM
| parativeiy unsettled. They also are saddei
/ with the misfortune Of g broad-gsuge road,
which costs st least one-fourth more to run than
/ the prevailing gauge IN the States. They are
/ also running during the months Of water navi-
CATION, along side Of the finest navigable river
| on the continent But the Grand Trunk Is
making great improvements in their accommo-
ia,ions for travel. They now have running
some twelve or fifteen Of the tplenid palace
cars above referred TO-, and are adding other
frst class carriages nearly every day. They
sre also now importing from Europe snd laying
As fast IS possible new steel rails, which, as far
as they have them down, make as fine running
roai as it is possible to have. The directors IN
tend We are told, to lcontinue the importation Of
these rails as fas, as the insnces Of the company
will permit, until the whole line is relaid with
them.
The American travel passing over this road
20 and from the West, We are told, is setting in
quite heavy thisseAsoD-