TO-DAY'S OPPORTUNITY IN NOVA SCOTIA 19 



the veins of her agricultural districts. Both of these reasons point 

 to the opening which undoubtedly exists here to-day for muscle 

 and industry reinforced by brains ; for putting into the business 

 of agriculture the qualities which command success in other industrial 

 pursuits : improved methods, and the power to direct labour. 



There are undoubtedly opportunities for those who will take up 

 dairying seriously, for Nova Scotia, with its well-watered pastures 

 and exceptional markets, is naturally a dairying province. There 

 are from 50 to 60 per cent, of the best farming lands vacant to-day 

 awaiting labour to make them productive. There are only about 

 $1,000,000 worth of apples grown annually in Nova Scotia, while 

 thirty times that amount might within two decades be readily 

 produced. Much the same possibilities exist for almost all the pro- 

 ducts of mixed farming. 



Nova Scotia has very large areas of valuable hardwood : beech, 

 yellow and white birch, oak and three varieties of maple. This 

 renders profitable the production of material for wooden ships, 

 flooring, cooperage and the manufacture of furniture, railway cars 

 and vehicles. The United States is within measurable distance 

 of the end of its hardwood supply, which is estimated at the present 

 rate of consumption to endure only fifteen years longer. During 

 the last seven or eight years the waning supply, with rather a tend- 

 ency of decrease than increase in demand, has forced up prices from 

 25 to 65 per cent. Obviously Nova Scotia's hardwood forest cannot 

 fail to prove an asset of great importance, and presents an attractive 

 opportunity for investment. 



' The tools,' said Carlyle, ' to the man who can handle them.' 

 The farm, the forest, the fisheries, the mining resources, the water 

 powers of Nova Scotia these are the five quarries in the rough 

 out of which those who can handle the tools can hew greatness and 

 prosperity. Providence has furnished Nova Scotia with natural 

 resources on a lavish scale : she is only waiting for the men who 

 can turn the opportunity to advantage to make her wealthy beyond 

 the dreams of avarice. Many such men have arrived, but there 

 is room for many more. The Steel Works of New Glasgow are the 

 direct result of the life-work of Mr. Graham Fraser, who started 

 in life as a blacksmith. The little town of Amherst has been made 

 a veritable hive of industry by the enterprise and initiative of a 

 small group of individuals. The building firm of Rhodes & Curry, 

 the Robb Engineering Company, sending their finished products to 

 Britain, Spain, India and Australia, prove what can be done. ' These 

 men/ to quote from a recent speech of the Premier of Nova Scotia, 

 ' took advantage of the natural resources and surroundings of their 

 particular towns master minds who grasped their opportunities 



