IV 
ACADIA' S CROPS 
THE people say, with as much mod- 
esty as the statement allows, that the 
land reclaimed from the sea is the 
most fertile in the world. One goes 
there, expecting he scarcely knows what in the 
way of luxuriant vegetation, and is astonished 
to find this remarkable fertility and endless 
boasting devoted to — hay ! 
Hay is no doubt a very good thing — in its 
way. Still, one does not expect to find it the 
main crop of" the richest soil on earth," when, 
too, that favoured soil is decidedly limited in 
quantity. We were heretofore accustomed to 
think of hay as an agricultural product ob- 
tained from the dooryards and fence corners 
and a few hay-fields here and there where 
the land was not needed for more important 
crops. 
There are no wheat-fields in the Cornwallis 
Valley ; the people say they can raise wheat, 
but are full of excuses for not doing it. The 
4 49 
