270 



NOURISHMENT- -NOVA SCOTIA. 



express the relations of conceptions to each other, 

 the English language employs prepositions, or juxta- 

 position ; but many languages make use of an inflec- 

 tion of the primitive form of the noun ; this inflection 

 is called case. The number of cases is different in 

 different languages, but is rarely more than six. 

 Many relations, even in the inflected languages, are 

 expressed by prepositions, and, in most instances, 

 a peculiar inflection and a preposition are both used. 

 See Language, and Philology. 



NOURISHMENT. See Aliment, Chyme, and 

 Dyspepsia. 



NOV'ACULITE. This stone is commonly known 

 under the names of hone, Turkey oil-stone, &c. It 

 is of a slaty structure, and owes its power of whet- 

 ting or sharpening steel instruments to the fine sili- 

 ceous particles which it contains. Various other 

 stones are used as whetstones, such as common 

 slate, mica slate, freestone, &c. 



NOVALIS. See Hardenberg, Frederic. 



NOVA SCOTIA ; a British province of North 

 America, situated between the forty-third and forty- 

 sixth parallels of north latitude, and between the 

 sixty-first and sixty-seventh degrees of west longi- 

 tude; and bounded on the north by the strait of 

 Northumberland, which separates it from Prince 

 Edward's island ; on the north-east by the gut of 

 Canseau, which divides it from cape Breton ; on 

 the south-east and south by the Atlantic ocean, and 

 on the west by the bay of Fundy and New Bruns- 

 wick. It is a peninsula, connected by a narrow 

 isthmus with the continent, and is about three hun- 

 dred miles long, of unequal breadth, containing 

 about 15,617 square miles. Cape Breton island 

 belongs to this province, and constitutes one of its 

 counties. The civil departments of the province 

 consist of divisions and counties. Of the divisions 

 there are five the Eastern, Middle, Western, Halifax, 

 and cape Breton. The cape Breton division com- 

 prehends the whole island of that name, which forms 

 but one county. Thus there are ten counties, and 

 these are subdivided into districts and townships. 

 The term division has reference only to the circuits 

 of the courts and their officers. A district is a 

 portion of a county entitled to a court of general 

 sessions of the peace. A township has no prescribed 

 size, nor is it endowed with any corporate powers, 

 except that most of them have the privilege of 

 choosing representatives, and of voting money for 

 the support of their poor. The popnlation in 1827, 

 according to the census of that year, was 153,848, of 

 which number 30,000 were in cape Breton. The 

 population has been rapidly increasing for several 

 years, and, at the present time, doubtless, greatly 

 exceeds the above enumeration. The means of sub- 

 sistence are easy ; the price of labour is high ; the 

 climate is healthy ; and there are supposed to be as 

 many as seven children to eacli marriage. A majority 

 of the present inhabitants are natives, who are de- 

 scendants of emigrants from Great Britain and the 

 United States of America. In the eastern parts, 

 there are many Scotchmen. There are no slaves. 

 The face of the country is agreeably diversified with 

 hills and dales ; much of it is undulating, but there 

 is no mountain more than 600 feet high. The ridges 

 of land generally run north and south, and sometimes 

 terminate in abrupt cliffs on the sea-shore. The 

 appearance of the sea-coast is generally inhospitable, 

 presenting a bold, rocky shore, and a poor and 

 sterile soil, clothed with a thin and stinted growth 

 of birch and spruce. The features of the northern 

 coast, however, are far more pleasant. The shores 

 are every where indented with harbours, rivers, 

 coves, and bays ; and these liave a ready communi- 

 cation with the waters of the interior of the country, 



scarcely any part of which is more than thirty miles 

 distant from navigation. 



There is a great inequality in the surface of Nova 

 Scotia ; much of the land lies in broken ridges ; and 

 the country abounds with small lakes and short rivers. 

 Lake Rossignol, a little to the westward of Liver- 

 pool, is said to be thirty miles in circumference. 

 There are many bogs, but they are small. The 

 arable lands of the country, as yet, bear but a small 

 proportion to the wilderness ; they are chiefly con- 

 fined to the borders of rivers and harbours ; but 

 there are extensive tracts of excellent land which 

 have not been cleared. About one-sixth of the land 

 is supposed to be incapable of cultivation. The 

 average crop of wheat on new land is said to be 

 from seventeen to twenty bushels to the acre, and 

 of rye from nineteen to twenty-two bushels. In 

 many parts, much larger crops of wheat are raised ; 

 but a good crop of rye, Indian corn, barley, buck- 

 wheat, or oats, is much more certain to be ob- 

 tained by proper culture. The soil of Nova Scotia 

 produces potatoes of better quality than are, as yet, 

 obtained in any other part of America. The average 

 crop is two hundred bushels to an acre. Extensive 

 strata of excellent bituminous coal are found in many 

 places. The best that have been discovered are those 

 of Pictou and Cumberland. Great quantities of coal 

 are also found in cape Breton, and it constituk s an 

 important article of export. For several years, the 

 annual export from this island has averaged 8500 

 chaldrons. Gypsum, also, is abundant, both in the 

 peninsula and in cape Breton. 



The largest towns of Nova Scotia are Halifax, 

 Liverpool, Lunenburg, Annapolis, Barrington, Pic- 

 tou, Argyle, and Windsor. Many others are rapidly 

 growing into importance. 



The principal articles of export from Nova Scotia 

 are dry fish, pickled fish, flour, potatoes, and gypsum. 

 The exports of pickled fish, for the year 1828, 

 amounted to 41,682 barrels, with a few tierces and 

 half-barrels. The amount of dry fish for the same 

 year was 174,017 quintals ; and the amount of flour 

 26,721 barrels. Nearly 100,000 tons of gypsum are 

 annually exported to the United States. The vessels 

 built during 1828 amounted to 6147 tons. The ex- 

 ports from cape Breton in 1828 were as follows : 

 dry fish, 41,000 quintals ; pickled fish, 18,000 bar- 

 rels ; coals, 10,000 chaldrons; potatoes, 12,000 

 bushels ; oats, 5,000 bushels ; live stock, 700 head ; 

 train-oil, 2209 barrels. The registered vessels be- 

 longing to the island were 340. Most of them were 

 small, and were employed in the coasting and carry- 

 ing trade. Small shallops, schooners, and boats, are 

 not registered. Of these about 700 or 800 were em- 

 ployed in the fishing business. 



The most numerous religions sect in Nova Scotia 

 is the Presbyterian. Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, 

 Baptists, and Methodists are also numerous. There 

 is a university at Windsor, a grammar-school at Hali- 

 fax, and academies are established at Pictou and 

 Annapolis. Provision is made by the legislature for 

 assisting the poor in supporting common schools ; 

 and the sum of 4000 is annually devoted to this 

 purpose. The number of the militia of Nova Scotia 

 in 1828 was 21,897. 



The province of Nova Scotia is immediately de- 

 pendent on the crown of Great Britain. The king 

 appoints its governor and officers of state, and the 

 colonists elect their representatives. The " captain- 

 general, governor and commander-in-chief " of the 

 British colonies resides in Canada. The governors 

 of the several provinces are styled lieutenant-gover- 

 nors. The legislature consists of a council, or upper 

 house, and a house of assembly. The council con- 

 sists of twelve members, who are named in the go- 



