378 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



ward of thirty miles long and four or five miles across. The number of those 

 which exceed a couple of miles in extent must on the whole amount to several 

 hundreds, while those of a smaller size are absolutely countless. It is supposed 

 that a full third of the surface of the island is covered by fresh water, and this 

 reckoning is rather below than above the mark. In a country so abundantly 

 provided with lakes or ponds, it seems strange to find no navigable rivers. 

 The undulating surface of the land, with its abrupt hills and deep gullies, is, 

 without all doubt, one cause of this absence of larger streams. 



Each pond or small set of ponds communicates with a valley of its own, 

 down which it sends an insignificant brook, which takes the nearest course to 

 the sea. The chief cause, however, both of the vast abundance of ponds and 

 the comparative scantiness of the brooks, is to be found in the great coating of 

 moss which spreads over the country, and retains the water like a sponge, al- 

 lowing it to drain off but slowly and gradually. 



The wilds of Newfoundland are tenanted by numerous fur-bearing animals, 

 affording a great source of gain to some of the fishermen, who in winter turn 

 furriers. Arctic foxes are here in all their variety. Beavers, once nearly ex- 

 tirpated, but now unmolested owing to the low value of their fur, are increasing 

 in numbers. Brown bears are pretty numerous, and Polar bears sometimes find 

 their way to the northern promontory of the island upon the ice which comes 

 drifting down in spring from Davis's Straits. By way of contrast, in hot sum- 

 mers the tropical humming-bird has been known to visit the southern shores 

 of Newfoundland. Reindeer are abundant, but unfortunately their enemies 

 the wolves have likewise increased in number, since the reward given by the 

 Colonial Government for their destruction has ceased to be paid. 



Although in the same latitude as Central France and the south of Germany, 

 Newfoundland has a long and severe winter, owing to the two vast streams of 

 Arctic water, the Davis's Straits and East Greenland currents, which combine 

 and run by its shores ; and the summer, though sometimes intensely hot, is so 

 short and so frequently obscured by fogs that, even were the soil less sterile, ag- 

 riculture must necessarily be confined to narrow limits. The little wheat and 

 barley, cultivated on the inside lands far above the sea-shore, is often cut green, 

 and carrots, turnips, potatoes, and cabbages are nearly all the esculent vegeta- 

 bles which the land has been proved capable of producing. 



Hence we can not wonder that the whole island, which is considerably larger 

 than Scotland, has only about 90,000 inhabitants, and even these would have 

 had no inducement to settle on so unpromising a soil if the riches of the sea 

 did not amply compensate for the deficiencies of the land. Fish is the staple 

 produce of Newfoundland, and the bulk of its population consists of poor fish- 

 ermen, who have established themselves along the deep bays by which the coast 

 is indented, and catch near the coast vast quantities of cod, which they bring 

 in and cure at their leisure, in order to have it ready for the ships when they 

 arrive. With the outer world they have little communication, and a visit to 

 St. John's, the capital of the island, forms an epoch in their solitary lives. 



This town lies at the head of a wide and secure bay, and consists of a main 

 street fronting the water, from which narrow, dirty lanes and alleys branch out 



