CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



river, and deemed by authorities impregnable. 

 The city is divided into an upper and lower town. 

 The upper town is more open, regular, and better 

 built. It is situated within the gates and walls, 

 and is approached by a steep, serpentine street and 

 carriage-way. On the eastern end and point stand 

 the Grand Battery, and portions of the fort, bar- 

 racks, and town; towards the north, the Espla- 

 nade ; and on the west, the Citadel, which crowns 

 the heights. The institutions are, in many in- 

 stances, of French character, and the language of 

 the inhabitants is French and English. As a port, 

 Quebec is the first in Canada, and the third in the 

 Dominion, coming after Halifax in Nova Scotia, 

 and St John in New Brunswick. Its great 

 business is ship-building and the lumber-trade. 

 Millions of feet of timber are annually exported. 

 Quebec is the summer port of departure of the 

 Allan line of steamers for Liverpool and Glasgow ; 

 also of a weekly line of steamers for the gulf ports 

 and maritime provinces. By railway, it is now 

 connected with Western Canada and the United 

 States. Population (1871) 60,000. 



Montreal is the largest city and the commercial 

 emporium of the Dominion of Canada. It occupies 

 one of the most commanding positions in America, 

 and stands on a large fertile and beautiful island 

 of the same name, 30 miles long by 10 broad, 

 formed by the confluence of the Ottawa and the 

 St Lawrence. It may be said to be at the head 

 of the sea or outward navigation, and at the end 

 of the great chain of lake, river, and canal naviga- 

 tion which extends westward to Chicago and Fond 

 du Lac, a distance of about 1400 miles. As a 

 port, Montreal is accessible to ships over 3000 

 tons burden. It is also the chief seat of manu- 

 facturing operations in the Dominion. From 

 Point St Charles, at the head of Montreal Har- 

 bour, to St Lambert, on the southern shore, a 

 distance of about 2 miles, the St Lawrence is 

 spanned by the Victoria Bridge, the most costly 

 and magnificent tubular bridge ever constructed. 

 It gives the Grand Trunk Railway an unbroken 

 line of communication from Portland to Lake 

 Huron and Detroit, and Montreal unrivalled 

 facilities and advantages for commerce, whether 

 foreign or domestic. Population (1871) 107,000. 



A few words may suffice for the towns in the 

 province of Ontario, or Upper Canada. Ottawa 

 has been already described . Toronto, ' the Queen 

 City of the West,' and the capital of the province, 

 is situated on the north-west shore of Lake Ontario, 

 and faces a spacious bay. It has many indus- 

 trial establishments, including foundries, mills, tan- 

 neries, breweries, distilleries, and a great variety 

 of other factories, all in a thriving condition. 

 The population in 1871 amounted to 56,000. 

 Hamilton, called the ' Ambitious City,' is beauti- 

 fully situated on Burlington Bay, at the western 

 extremity of Lake Ontario, on a plateau of slightly 

 elevated ground. It is in the very centre of the 

 finest grain-producing region in the Dominion. 

 The population in 1871 was 26,700. London, the j 

 westernmost city in the Dominion, can boast a j 

 more rapid growth than any city in British North 

 America. It is surrounded by a rich agricultural 

 district, which furnishes it with a large trade in 

 wheat and other produce. The population in 1871 

 was 15,700. Kingston lies pleasantly at the head 

 of the Thousand Islands, on the north-east shore 

 of Lake Ontario, where the waters of the Canadian 



312 



lakes issue to form the St Lawrence. It is one 

 of the oldest settled localities in Upper Canada. 

 The population of these towns in 1881 was as 

 follows : Ottawa, 27,500 ; Quebec, 62,500 ; Mon- 

 treal, 140,750; Toronto, 86,500; Hamilton, 36,000; 

 London, 20,000; Kingston, 14,100. 



Nova Scotia. 



The province of Nova Scotia consists of the 

 peninsula of that name and the island of Cape 

 Breton. The peninsular part, which is connected 

 with the mainland of New Brunswick by a narrow 

 isthmus, is about 280 miles in length, and from 50 

 to loo in breadth, and faces the Atlantic with a 

 north-east and south-west incline. The coast-line 

 is looo miles long, and the shores, which are 

 much indented, abound in excellent bays and 

 harbours; among others, Chedabucto Bay, Halifax 

 Harbour, St Margaret's, Mahon, and St Mary's 

 Bays, Chignecto and Annapolis Basins, and Pictou 

 Harbour. Along the Atlantic sea-board, and ex- 

 tending inland from it for about 20 miles, is a 

 range of highlands, while the Cobequid Mountains 

 (iioo feet high) traverse the interior from the 

 Bay of Fundy to the Gut of Canso. There are 

 numerous lakes, the greater number occurring near 

 the southern and south-western coasts, and cover- 

 ing about one-tenth of the entire superficies. 

 There is no part of the land 30 miles distant from 

 navigable water, and in all parts there are numer- 

 ous small streams. The soil along the Atlantic 

 coast is naturally rather poor ; but in the valley 

 north and south of the Cobequid Mountains, it is 

 extremely fertile, and agriculture is carried on with 

 great success. 



The province abounds in mineral riches, includ- 

 ing gold, coal, and iron. Copper and lead are 

 also found. Gold was first discovered in the 

 colony in March 1861, on Tangier River, about 

 40 miles east of Halifax. Since then, it has 

 been found in more than 100 different localities. 

 The coal raised at the various Nova Scotian 

 collieries in 1872 amounted to 880,950 tons, being 

 more than 200,000 tons over the produce of 1871. 

 The cause of this great increase was the enor- 

 mous advance in the price of iron and coal 

 in Great Britain. The yield of coal in 1875 was 

 781,000 tons; of iron ore, 4500 tons; of gold, 

 11,000 oz. In the three years 1879 1881 the 

 total value of exports ranged from $7,365,000 to 

 $8,250,000 ; and the imports from $7,000,000 to 

 $8,000,000. 



The climate of Nova Scotia, like that of the 

 adjoining districts, is salubrious and pleasant, 

 though exposed to sudden changes of temperature 

 and frequent fogs. From its insular position, the 

 extremes of summer heat and winter cold are not 

 so great as farther inland on the North American 

 continent 



The fruits produced in the country are numer- 

 ous. Besides a great variety of wild fruits, goose- 

 berries, strawberries, cherries, and raspberries, 

 there are pears of various kinds, all the varieties 

 of English plums, apples of a very superior quality, 

 and some finer fruits. The other vegetable pro- 

 ducts are cucumbers, potatoes, artichokes, cauli- 

 flowers, cabbages, beans, and peas. The grains 

 cultivated are summer and winter wheat, rye, 

 Indian corn, buckwheat, barley, and oats. The 

 natural forests are elm, cherry, white, black, yellow, 



