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NOUVlON-EN-THlfeUACHE. 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



loos 



■obolan w«n osder the niperintandonce of the Eeteblinhed Church. 

 Of d«y (ohooU there were 739, of which 231 were public echooU with 

 18,386 eeholim, uid SOS were private Khools with 12,992 ichoUre. 

 Of eTening edioola for adulte there were 82, with 983 aohoUn. The 

 oontbar of literary and sdentilio iiutitutioaa wa« 10, with 1955 mem- 

 ban, and 29,785 rolumta in the libnu-iea belonging to them. 



Sawingi Bmmk*.—la 185S the county poeseaeed 6 nvinga banks, at 

 Eaet Retford, Manafiwld, Newark-apon-Trent, Nottingham, Southwell, 

 ■ad Wockaop. The total amount owing to depoaiton on November 

 20th 1853 waa 517,624/. 12<. l<f. 



NOUVIOX-EN-THlfiRACHE. [Awsx.] 



NOVA SCOTIA, a British colony in North America, ntuated between 

 W 20' and 46' N. Ut., 61° and 66' -20' W. long., u bounded N. by 

 Northumberland Skrait, wbioh dirides it from IVince Edward Island ; 

 E. by Cape Breton and the Atlantio ; S. by the Atlantic ; W. by the 

 Bay of Fundy and New Brunswick. It forms a peninsula connected 

 with the oontinent by Cbigneoto Isthmus, a neck of land about 10 

 milea broad at the south-east point of New Brunswick. Its greatest 

 leogth from Gape Canso on the east to Cape St Mary on the west is 

 280 milas ; its breadth Tsrtes from 40 to 100 miles. The area is 

 Ifiv607 square miles. The popuUtion in 1817 was 84,913; in 1827 

 it was 123,848; in 1851, excluding that of Cape Breton, it was 

 348,587. 



Coatt^ine and Surface. — The Atlantic coast is rocky and rather 

 elarated. It contains numerous creeks and inlets from 3 to 15 miles 

 long, many of whidi form safe and convenient harbours. The shore 

 is lined with numberiess idets, within which small craft sail in smooth 

 water while there is the hearieat sea outside. The chief inlets are — 

 Sheet Harbour, eastward &am Hnlifax ; nod, westward from it, 

 Margaret's Bay, Hahone Bay, and Sbelbume Harbour, all of them 

 deep and spacious basins. Halifox Hikrbour is one of the finest road- 

 steads in the world. Hahone Bay contains above 200 islands. A 

 similar coast extends along the south-western extremity of the pro- 

 Ttnoe from Cape Sable to Cape St Mary's. St Mary's Bay, from 4 to 

 10 miles broad, stretches S'> miles parallel to the Bay of Fundy, from 

 which it b aepamted by Briar Island, Long Island, and the peninsula 

 of Oigby Neck. Annapolis Basin, separated by a narrow isthmus from 

 Sfc. Mary's Bay, extends 1 miles in the same direction, with a breadth of 

 from 1 to 4 miles. It forms an excellent harbour. Its entrance, the Out 

 of Digfoy, is the only inlet on the coast of the Bay of Fundy between 

 8k Mary's Bay and the Bay of Mines. The shore is generally high and 

 boltL bat not so much broken as the Atlantio coast The only refuge 

 bMidaa the Ont of I>igby is at Black Point, where a pier has been 

 •reeted for the accommodation of coasting vessels. The Bay of Mines 

 is entered by a strait 3 miles wide between Cape Blowmedon on the 

 sooth and Cipe Parsboro- on the north. It forms an extensive basin, 

 strrtching 50 miles inland to the head of Cobequid Bay, with an 

 extreme breadth of 16 milea. Its shores ore low and m.inthy. From 

 the entrance of the bay to Caps Chignecto, and along the south shore 

 of Chignecto Inlet, the coast is high and rocky. It changes into low 

 and manby lands along the banks of Cumberland Basin, which forms 

 the upper extremity of the Bay of Fundy, and a narrow division 

 betwean Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The waters of Fundy Bay 

 msh into ita head branches with great impetuosity, rising in Mines 

 Bay and Cumberland- Basin from 60 to 60 feet, and advancing with a 

 tide wave of 5 or 6 feet high. The shore of Northumberhmd Strait 

 eaatward to Pictou Harbour is low and either sandy or marshy, except 

 in the vicinity of Pugwash Bay, where it is elevated. Beyond Pictou 

 it rises to a oonsidarable haigbt, and at Cape St Qeorge becomes rocky 

 and bold. The Bay of St George, wfaioh looks to the Oulf of St 

 Lawmioa, is connected with Cbedabucto Bay, which opens to the 

 Athutio, by the Gut of Canso, a strait running 21 miles between Cape 

 Bniou and Nova Scotia, with a breadth varying from a mile to a mile 

 aad a half, Chedabncto Bay, bonaded on the south by Cape Canso 

 aad on the north by Cape Hogan on Madame Island, which belongs to 

 Cape Breton, is free from oliA sad islands, and runs 25 miles inland, 

 with a breadth of from 6 to 12 miles. 



The country risea gradually from the Atlantic coast into an extended 

 ridy seldom exoeed&g 800 feet in height Other ridges traverse the 

 IMBfawnla in the same direction, sepaiated in many pboea by deep 

 TtU^ aad at times interseoted by rivers and lakes, bnt forming 

 towBds the oantre of the eaatem and weatern divisions of the province 

 aa devatod tabU-laad of a broken aad irreguUr snrfkoe. Near the 

 niddla of the provinee a low tract of land, not rising more than 100 

 feet above the sea, atretchas across the country from Halifax Harbour 

 *« Cobaqnid Bay. Along the northern shore of that bay, and the Bay 

 o( Miaaa, tha Cobeqnid HiUs rise to a hai^t of from 800 to 1000 feet, 

 aad «ztaad towards tha shore of Northnmbarland Strait, with a 

 OMTly natfBrm breadth of 10 miles. Within 10 milea of the south 

 ■bora of tha Bay of Mines the central table-land is bounded by a group 

 ^J^,^' '^'^ *^ principal haigfata are Horton Mountain and 

 AnMsa Mountain, tha latter rising 810 feet, and forming the watei^ 

 shad tt the rivers flowing to the Bay of Mines and to the Atlantia 

 Two extended ridgaa, aallad the North and tha South Mountains, 

 tanninate tha tobMaad weetward, rising on opposite sides of the 

 vaUgrof the Anoapoli>. Along the shore of St Mary's Bay the 

 oomitiT ri*" into long ridgea and detached hills, rsaohing ita greatest 

 wnttoD in tho Blna Mountains, a Uttla beyond the centre of this 



part of the peninsnlii. The whole province is agreeably diversified by 

 the succession of lofCy ridges and less prominent undulations. 



Jlydroffraphy and Commmiicationt. — About 3000 cquaro miles of the 

 surface are under water. In every part of the province tlu- lakes and 

 rivers are numerous, leaving few places far from convenient water- 

 carriage, or witiiont eligible sites for flour- and saw-mills. Between 

 Halifax and St Margaret's Bay, an extent of 20 miles, there are as 

 many as 200 lakesi A series of lakes form a continued commmuni- 

 cation across the country from Liverpool Harbour on the Atlantic 

 coast to Annapolis Bssin. The most important rivem are the Anna- 

 polis and the Shubenacadie. A canal, supplied by the Shubenaeadie 

 River and the lakes from which it issues, forms a communication, for 

 vessels drawing not more than 8 feet of water, between Halifax Har- 

 bour and Cobequid Bay. Good roads extend between Halifax and the 

 towns of Windsor, Annapolis, and Pictou. Roads are carried round 

 the peninsula, and one passing into New Brunswick is continued in the 

 great road to Quebea The forests are penetrated by roads wherever 

 settlements have been formed. A railway has been formed for the 

 conveyance of coal from the Pictou mines to the place of shipment. 

 Steamers sail from Halifax, Annapolis, and Windsor to St. John's in 

 New Brunswick, and in summer there is steam communication between 

 Pictou and Prince Edward Island, Mail steamers leave Halifax 

 weekly for England, tho United States, Bermuda, Cape Breton, and 

 Newfoundland. Halifax is connected by electric telegraph with the 

 princip.ll cities of Cana<la and the United States. 



Oeoloffj/.—Tbe province comprises four geological divisions. Granite 

 of several varieties, gueisH, and mica-slate form a narrow belt along the 

 coast between Cape Canso and Cape Sable, Granite boulders are very 

 numerous in many parts of this tract, especially in the vicinity of 

 Halifax. A parallel section, reaching across the country to the Anna- 

 polis Valley, consists of metamorphic rocks. Grauwacke, grauwacke 

 slate, and quartz rock prevail, with occasional masses of transition 

 limestone. The coast of the Bay of Fundy, from Briar Island to the 

 Basin of Mines, including the North Mountain and the islands along 

 the shore, form a trap region, occupied by greenstone, amygdaloid, and 

 toadstone, oontnining gems and neolitea. The now red-sandstone and 

 carboniferous systems Bpre.id over the northern shore between the 

 borders of New Brunswick and the Gut of Canso. The sandstone 

 contains beds of gypsum and rock salt 'The coal-measures include 

 several valuable fields of coal, of which tho most important are the 

 Cumberland and Pictou fieldis. The Pictou field occupies an area of 

 more than 100 square mileii, and consists of seams from one foot to 50 

 feet thick. Iron-ore occurs in huge quantities in combination with 

 the coal. It is also fotmd in other districts, and was worked for some 

 time on the banks of the Mooso River near Annapolis Basin. A large 

 deposit of specular iron-ore of a very rich quality has been found on 

 the south side of the Cobequid Hills. Copper-ore exists in several 

 ])laces, particularly at Cape d'Or, opposite the entrance to Mines Bay, 

 Load-ore in small quantities occurs among the limestone at Guy's 

 River. Good mill-stones are obtained from the light gray granite near 

 Cape Canso, and grindstones of the finest quality from the hard gray 

 or bluish sandstone which occurs in various districts. On the south 

 side of Mines Bay, at St Geoige's Bay, and tho Out of Canso, are 

 extensive deposits of gypsum. Along the uortbcm shore there is the 

 finest freestone for buUding, and in the centre of the province abund- 

 ance of excellent slato. Salt-springs of great strength are numerous 

 between the Basin of Mines and Northumberland Sdait 



Climate, Soil, and Prtdnctiotu. — The climate of Nova Scotia is very 

 much modified by ita nearly insular position. The winters vary con.^i- 

 derably in length and seventy. Sometimes there is a hard frost 

 several weeks before Christmas ; in other seasons the ground remains 

 open till near the middle of January. On the Atlantic coast the 

 influence of the Oulf Stream renders the harbours accessible all the 

 year round, while the ports on the northern coast are frozen up for 

 nearly four months. At no time is the cold oppressive, nor is the heat 

 of summer, except occasionally and for brief periods, in excess. 



The Atlantio shore is everywhere stony, and many of the headlands 

 are bore of aoil, but generally a stiff clay prevails, which, when the 

 stones are removed, yields excellent crops. Improved tracts of this 

 description appear all around Halifax. The heads of bays and banks 

 of rivers along the coast present numeroui patches of good alluvial 

 land. The uplands, or hill-lands, as they are called in the province, 

 are generally tne from atones, and consist of a stiff clay, varied by a 

 friable loam. They are oommonly ve^ productive, and the highest 

 are the most fertile. The intervalea, or tracts of alluvial land formed 

 by the deposit of the rivers, above the head of tide-water, are more in 

 repute and produce excellent crops. The province however is still far 

 from raiting its own supplies, and laige quantities of flour are yearly 

 imported <Vom the United States and uumda. 



The most important crops are wheat, oats, and potatoes. VLje, 

 barley, buckwheat, and maize are raised in large quantities, maixe 

 chiefly on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. Beans, peas, and turnips 

 are extensively cultivated, and grasses obtain much attention. In 

 1861 Nova Scotia produced 297,167 bushels wheat, 67,438 bushels 

 rye, 1,384,487 bushels oats, 170,801 bushels buckwheat, 196,097 

 bushels barley, and 1,986,789 bushels potatoes : of hny, 287,887 tons 

 were raised. Of butter 8,618,890 lbs, were made, and of cheese 

 652,069 lbs. Large stocks of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry are kept, 



