Wood traces the various threads that went into creating a successful
farming colony while documenting the sacrifice of the forest ecosystem
to the demands of progress, progress that prepared the ground for the
railway. Ontario was a going concern before the railway came - the
railway simply streamlined the increasing trade with an international
market that drew on Ontario for a multitude of farm products and a
continuing output from the woods. Making Ontario provides a detailed
focus on the theme of environmental modification at a time of great
changes, liberally illustrated with analytical maps based on archival
research.