STOCK FARMING. 159 



summer comes each farmer brands his cattle and turns 

 them out. They wander about in herds over the hills 

 and through the forest, and are not perhaps seen by their 

 owners from the day that they are turned out till the snow 

 falls. A stranger on seeing the rough and rugged nature 

 of the pastures is astonished at the condition of the cattle, 

 but the practical farmer knows the value of a large scope 

 for his cattle, and the advantages of a variety of feed in 

 keeping his stock in health, and he will readily under- 

 stand that these animals thrive on apparently scant 

 pastures because they have miles upon miles of rough 

 country to feed over, with plenty of water and shelter. 

 I have had the opportunity more than once of comparing 

 the condition of cattle enclosed in fat though contracted 

 pastures with that of others who roved through the wilder- 

 ness in the manner I have described above, and the 

 comparison has invariably been in favour of the latter. 

 The diversity of feed caused by the many varieties of 

 grasses and herbs cropped as they ramble at will 

 through the wilderness, more than compensates for the 

 abundance of one sort of feed which the civilized ox sur- 

 feits himself upon in his rich though narrow pasture. 

 Upland farms with buildings cost from 200Z. to 500Z. in 

 Cape Breton. Intervale land about 11. or 8L an acre. 

 Crown land can be bought for 10Z. the 100 acres, but this 

 land is not even worth this small price, the best of it 

 having all been picked out. There is little or no emi- 

 gration to Cape Breton. Farm labourers can earn about 

 $12 per month, but there is no great demand for labour. 



The chief wealth of Cape Breton consists in her coal 

 fields, which contain coal of excellent quality, and are 



