158 CAPE BRETON. 



at Sydney, extends to within a mile of the other extremity 

 of the island, so that Cape Breton is in fact a horseshoe of 

 land in the Atlantic with an exterior and interior coast- 

 line. Notwithstanding the severity of the weather in 

 winter, it is not shut off from the rest of the world. Owing 

 to the strong tides, the gut of Canso, which separates the 

 island from the mainland, is always free from ice. 



The Acadian-French part of the population are fisher- 

 men and live on the sea-coast. The Scotch depend upon 

 their cattle, for which the island is -well adapted. As a 

 provision against the long hard winter, nature has provided 

 an ample supply of grass which grows on the intervales. 

 The hills make good pastures in the summer. Grass 

 springs up on them as soon as light is admitted by the 

 clearing of the forest. As for the intervales, they are 

 flooded and top-dressed every spring by the overflow of 

 the rivers swollen by the melting snow. The intervale of 

 Margaree, which extends for some miles along both sides 

 of the river of the same name, cuts 2 tons of hay to the 

 acre. This intervale hay, though inferior to upland hay, 

 is well suited to horned cattle and sheep. Large quantities 

 of beef and butter are exported to Newfoundland and 

 other places. The farmers get about $10 a cwt. for th<; 

 former and 18 or 20 cents a Ib. for the latter, and these 

 prices pay them very well. On Mr. Campbell's farm at. 

 Margaree I saw thirty young calves in a paddock. I mention 

 this to give some idea of the stock that can be kept even 

 in this cold country by farmers who are fortunate enough 

 to own some intervale. The cattle are good milkers but 

 small, with a good deal of the Ayrshire blood. -For six 

 months of the year they get nothing but hay. \Vhen 



