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NOVA SCOTIA

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 832 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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NOVA See also:

SCOTIA , a See also:province of the Dominion of See also:Canada, lying between 430 25' and 470 N. and 59 40' and 66° 25' W., and composed of the See also:peninsula proper and the adjoining See also:island of Cape See also:Breton (q.v.), which is separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso. The extreme length from S.W. to N.E. is 374 M. (N.S. 268, C.B. ro8); breadth 6o to too m.; See also:area 21,428 sq. m. The See also:isthmus of Chignecto, 112 m. wide, connects it with the province of New See also:Brunswick. See also:Physical Features.—Nova Scotia is intersected by chains of hills. The Cobequid Mountains, stretching from E. to W. and terminating in Cape Chignecto, See also:form the See also:chief See also:ridge. Several of the elevations are as high as 11oo ft., and are cultivable almost to their summits. Lying on each See also:side of this range are two extensive tracts of arable See also:land. A ridge of precipices runs for 130 in. along the See also:Bay of See also:Fundy from Brier Island at the farthest extremity of See also:Digby See also:Neck and culminates in Capes Split and Blomidon. Here and there rocks, from 200 to 60o ft. in height and covered with stunted firs, overhang the coasts. Beyond them lies the See also:garden of Nova Scotia, the valley of the See also:Annapolis.

The See also:

Atlantic See also:coast from Cape Canso to Cape See also:Sable is high and bold, containing many excellent harbours, of which See also:Halifax (Chebucto Bay) is the chief. The N. See also:shore is, as a See also:rule, See also:low, with hills some distance from the coast. Of its harbours the most important is See also:Pictou. Of the inlets the most remarkable is See also:Minas See also:Basin, the eastern See also:arm of the Bay of Fundy; it penetrates some 6o m. inland, and terminates in Cobequid Bay, where the tides rise sometimes as high as 53 ft., while on the opposite coast, in Halifax See also:Harbour, the See also:spring tides scarcely exceed 7 or 8 ft. The height of the Fundy tides has, however, been often exaggerated, the See also:average being 42'3 ft. Many islands occur along the coast, particularly on the S.E.; of these the most celebrated is Sable Island (q.v.). The See also:rivers are, with few exceptions, navigable for See also:coasting vessels for from 2 to 20 in. The See also:principal are the Annapolis, See also:Avon, Shubenacadie, the See also:East, See also:Middle and See also:West rivers of Pictou, the Musquodoboit and the Lahave. The largest of the fresh-See also:water lakes is See also:Lake Rossignol, situated in See also:Queen's See also:county, and more than 20 M. See also:long. See also:Ship Harbour Lake, 15 in. in length, and See also:Grand Lake are in Halifax county. See also:Geology.—The See also:Lower See also:Cambrian formation forms an almost continuous See also:belt along the Atlantic coast, varying in width from ro to 75 m. and covering an area estimated at 8500 sq. m. It is interrupted by large masses of intrusive See also:granite, extending from the extreme S.W. of the province as far as Halifax, and cropping out in detached areas as far as Cape Canso.

This See also:

part of the province is rugged and sterile, and abounds in small lakes and See also:peat bogs. Along the N.E. coast extends a Carboniferous area, including two large and productive See also:coal-See also:fields in See also:Cumberland and Pictou counties, and continued in the coal-fields of Cape Breton. On the S. coast of the Bay of Fundy, and at See also:Mina Basin and Channel, the Triassic Red See also:Sandstone formation predominates, more or less protected by a narrow rim of See also:trap See also:rock, culminating at its E. end in the basaltic promontory of Blomidon (See also:Blow-me-down). The Cobequid Mountains are a See also:mass of slates, quartzites and intrusive rocks (apparently Siluro-Cambrian). At the Joggins, near Cape Chignecto, occurs a splendid exposure, See also:rich in curious minerals and fossils, and very celebrated among geologists. See also:Climate; See also:Flora and See also:Fauna.—The climate of Nova Scotia is more temperate than that of New Brunswick, and more equable than that of the inland provinces, though not so dry. Spring and See also:winter begin about a fortnight later than in See also:Ontario. Dense fogs often See also:drift in from the Atlantic, but are not considered unhealthy. Most of the principal birds of See also:North See also:America are to be found, and the See also:game of the See also:country includes See also:moose, caribou, See also:duck, See also:teal, geese, See also:woodcock, See also:partridge, See also:snipe, See also:plover, &c. The game See also:laws are strict and well enforced. The chief See also:wild animals are bears, foxes and wild-See also:cats. Wolves, once numerous, are now. See also:extinct.

The natural flora does not differ greatly from that of the New See also:

England states. The sweet-smelling may-See also:flower, or trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), grows extensively, and has long been the provincial See also:emblem. See also:Population.—The population increases slowly, having risen only from 440,572 in 1881 to 459,574 in tgo1, an average of 21.8 to the square mile (See also:total area, 21.428 sq. in.). The rural population is grouped along the See also:river valleys, and the natural increase is normal, but there is a large See also:emigration to the manufacturingcities of the E. states and to the See also:Canadian N.W. The See also:great mass of the See also:people are of See also:British descent, but in parts of Cape Breton are found descendants of the See also:early See also:French settlers; in Lunenburg and the S.E. is a large See also:German See also:colony; near Halifax are a number of negroes from the West Indies, and scattered through the province are about 2000 See also:Micmac See also:Indians, who now confine themselves chiefly to the making of bows and arrows, baskets and trinkets; though they carry on a certain amount of mixed farming. Few are of absolutely pure See also:Indian See also:blood. The settlers of See also:English and Scotch descent are about equal in See also:numbers, but the latter have been more prominent in the development of the province. The Irish are found chiefly in Halifax and in the See also:mining towns of Cape Breton. See also:Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and See also:Baptists predominate, though the See also:Church of England is strong in Halifax, and still retains a certain social See also:prestige. See also:Administration.—The executive authority is in the hands of a See also:lieutenant-See also:governor appointed for five years by the federal See also:government, and of a See also:council appointed from and responsible to the See also:local legislature. This consists of a lower See also:house of See also:assembly, and of a legislative council of twenty See also:life members, which the assembly has frequently, but in vain, endeavoured to abolish. The municipal See also:system was introduced subsequent to federation, and is modelled on that of Ontario.

The See also:

revenue is chiefly made up of the Dominion See also:subsidy (see ONTARIO), and of royalties on mining concessions, chiefly those on coal. Owing to the great increase of mining in Cape Breton, its payments towards the revenue are larger in See also:pro-portion than those of the mainland. See also:Education.—See also:Primary education is See also:free and compulsory; secondary education is also free but optional. In each county one high school is raised to the See also:rank of an See also:academy, free to all qualified students in the county, and receives an additional See also:grant. Roman Catholics have not won the right of See also:separate See also:schools, as in Ontario, but in Halifax and other districts where that church is strong, a See also:compromise has been arranged. Thus the two Roman See also:Catholic colleges, St See also:Francis See also:Xavier (English) at Antigonish, and St See also:Anne (French) at Church Point (Digby county), and most of the convents are in See also:affiliation with the public school system. There are also many private schools, chiefly for girls, and under denominational See also:control. But while primary and secondary education is widespread and of See also:good quality, higher education has suffered from denominational bickerings, and the See also:universities are still too many and too small. They are: See also:King's See also:College, See also:Windsor (See also:Anglican), founded in 1790; Acadia University, See also:Wolf ville (Baptist, 1839); St Francis Xavier, Antigonish (Roman Catholic, 1866) ; and See also:Dalhousie University, Halifax (Undenominational), established by See also:charter in 1818, reorganized in 1863, the largest and the most efficient, possessing faculties of arts, See also:science, See also:medicine and See also:law. The province supports a normal school and schools of See also:agriculture and of See also:horticulture at See also:Truro, and has voted $1oo,000 for a College of Technology at Halifax. See also:Commerce and Manufactures.—Nova Scotia is naturally a See also:sea-going province, and till about 1881 had the largest See also:tonnage, in proportion to population, in the See also:world. Since then, her See also:shipping has greatly diminished, though Halifax is still one of the chief winter ports of the Dominion, and See also:Sydney is also a favourite See also:port of See also:call for steamers in need of " bunker " coal.

The water-See also:

power provided by the rivers supports many manufactures. Several See also:sugar-refineries exist, and a large See also:trade is carried on with Bermuda and the West See also:India islands. See also:Fisheries.—The fisheries of Nova Scotia are the most important in Canada, and the value of their products ($7,841,602 in 1904) is about one-third that of the whole Dominion. Lobsters, See also:cod and See also:mackerel constitute the bulk of the catch. Many boats are also fitted out in Lunenburg, Digby, See also:Yarmouth and other ports for the Grand See also:Banks of See also:Newfoundland. A See also:bounty is paid by the Dominion government, and attempts are being made to introduce more scientific methods among the fishermen. The vessels are manned by over 25,000 men, and many more are employed in the See also:lobster canneries and kindred See also:industries. See also:Trout and See also:salmon abound in the inland lakes and streams. See also:Lumber.—Lumbering was long the chief See also:industry of the province, and is still very important, though the percentage of See also:forest See also:left uncut is only about 30 %. The network of small lakes and rivers enables the logs to be brought to the See also:mills with great ease, and little rough See also:timber is now exported. The chief export is that of spruce deals, almost entirely from Halifax. The manufacture of See also:wood-pulp for See also:paper is also carried on.

Minerals.—Bituminous coal is See also:

mined in various parts of Cape Breton (q.v.) and in the counties of Cumberland and Pictou. The seams See also:dip at a low See also:angle, and are of great thickness, especially in Pictou county. The total product exceeds 5,000,000 tons, annually, more than two-thirds that of the whole Dominion. Of this over See also:half is mined in the neighbourhood of Sydney, Cape Breton. Other English See also:Miles o ,o , ao Provincial Capitals _ o See also:Railways w... important centres are Springhill, Acadia Mines, Stellarton and Glace Bay (C.B.). It is shipped as far west as See also:Montreal, and to the New England states. See also:Iron is largely produced, chiefly in the vicinity of the Cumberland and Pictou coal-fields. The deposits include See also:magnetite, red See also:haematite, specular, See also:limonite and carbonate ores. Blast furnaces are in operation, especially at New See also:Glasgow, Sydney and North Sydney, though most of the ore used at Sydney is imported from Newfoundland. The quarries of easily worked See also:limestone, the product of which is used as a " See also:flux " in the blast furnaces, add to the value of the iron deposits. See also:Gold occurs in workable quantities in the See also:quartz all along the Atlantic coast, and several small but successful mining enterprises are in operation, yielding about $500,000 annually.

Large deposits of See also:

gypsum occur, especially at Windsor in Hants county. See also:Manganese and See also:copper are also worked on a small See also:scale. Agriculture.—The See also:attention paid to lumbering, fishing and shipping, and the subsequent emigration westwards have lessened the importance of this industry. Mixed farming is however largely carried on, and of See also:late years See also:dairy farming has been greatly extended and improved, and much See also:butter and See also:cheese is exported to England. Both the Dominion and the provincial governments have endeavoured to introduce scientific methods. Nova Scotia ranks second to Ontario in its See also:production of apples and peaches. The centre of this industry is the valley of the Annapolis, where, it is said, one " may ride for fifty miles under See also:apple-blossoms." At the See also:head of the Bay of Fundy and on Minas Basin the low-lying meadows produce splendid crops of See also:hay. Owing to high Fundy tides, the See also:air in the neighbourhood is constantly in See also:motion, the result being a cool temperature, even in the height of summer, which is well fitted for stock-raising. Roads and Railroads.—Road-making See also:machines are employed for the improvement of the See also:ordinary highways, and See also:steel See also:bridges are replacing the wooden structures; but the roads in the country districts still leave much to be desired. The Intercolonial railway, owned and worked by the Dominion government, is the chief means of communication with the other provinces, and for the See also:carriage of local See also:traffic. Besides the See also:main See also:line from Halifax to See also:Amherst, a See also:branch runs from Truro to Sydney, and another from See also:Oxford Junction to Pictou and Stellarton. The Canadian Pacific railway has See also:running rights over it from St See also:John (N.B.) to Halifax; on its completion, similar rights will he granted from See also:Moncton to Halifax to the Grand See also:Trunk Pacific.

The Dominion Atlantic railway extends from Windsor Junction, near Halifax, to Yarmouth; the Nova Scotia Central railway from Lunenburg to See also:

Middleton on the Dominion Atlantic railway. A line along the Atlantic coast connects Halifax and Yarmouth, whence a daily line of steamers sails for See also:Boston. Other lines connect Halifax with a number of the S.W. coast and inland towns, and a line has been projected from New Glasgow to Guysborough and the coast. Several smaller lines are owned by the various coal-mining companies. See also:Telegraph and See also:telephone lines extend all over the province, and there are two See also:cable stations—one at Canso and the other at Sydney. The Marconi See also:Company has stations for wireless telegraphy at Halifax, Cape Sable, Sable Island and Glace Bay. See also:History.—Nova Scotia may well have been the See also:Markland of early Norse and Icelandic voyages, and Cape Breton was visited by the Cabots in 1497-1498, but not till 1604 was any See also:attempt at permanent colonization made by Europeans. In that See also:year an expedition was headed by a Frenchman, See also:Pierre de Guast, Sieur de Monts (156o-c. 163o), who had received from See also:Henry IV. full See also:powers to explore and take See also:possession of all lands in North America lying between the 4oth and 46th See also:parallels of north See also:latitude. De Monts and his friend de Poutrincourt (d. 1615), endeavoured to form settlements at Port Royal (now Annapolis), St Croix (in New Brunswick) and elsewhere, but quarrels See also:broke out with the See also:Jesuits, and in 1613 the English colonists of See also:Virginia made a descent upon them, claimed the territory in right of the See also:discovery by the Cabots, and expelled the greater part of the inhabitants. In 1621 See also:Sir See also:William See also:Alexander obtained from See also:James I. a grant of the whole peninsula, which was named in the patent, Nova Scotia, instead of Acadia, the old name given to the colony by the French.

During the reign of See also:

Charles I. the still existing See also:order of Baronets of Nova Scotia was instituted, and their See also:patents ratified in See also:parliament. The treaty of St Germain-en-Laye (1632) confirmed See also:France in the possession of Acadia, Cape Breton and New France; but fierce feuds broke out among the French settlers, and in 1654 a force sent out by See also:Cromwell took possession of the country, but by the treaty of See also:Breda (1667) it was restored to France by Charles II. Continual fighting went on between the French and the British colonists of New England, the Indians taking part, usually on the side of the French; in 1710 the province was finally captured by Great See also:Britain and ceded to her in 1713 by the treaty of See also:Utrecht, under the name of " Acadia or Nova Scotia," the French remaining masters of Cape Breton. Perpetual quarrels went on concerning the boundaries of the See also:district ceded; the English claim comprised the See also:present Nova Scotia, See also:Prince See also:Edward Island, most of New Brunswick and the Gaspe peninsula, while the French restricted it to the S. half of what is now Nova Scotia. In 1749 Halifax was founded as a counterpoise to Louisbourg in Cape Breton, and over 4000 colonists sent out, but the French opposed the new settlers. In 1755 about 6000 French were suddenly seized by Governor Charles Laurence (d. 176o) and hurried into See also:exile. After undergoing many sufferings, some eventually found their way back, while others settled in Cape Breton, or in distant See also:Louisiana. By the treaty of See also:Paris in 1763, France resigned all claim to the country. In 1769 Prince Edward Island (formerly Isle St See also:Jean) was made a separate government. Meanwhile, See also:immigration from the New England colonies had filled the fertile meadows left vacant by the Acadians. A later influx o See also:American See also:Loyalists led in 1784 to the erection of New Brunswicx into a separate colony.

In the same year, Cape Breton was also separated from Nova Scotia but reunited in 182o. During the See also:

wars of the American and French revolutions Halifax See also:grew apace. Hither, in See also:June 1813, came the " See also:Shannon " with her See also:prize the " Chesapeake," captured off Boston harbour. Meanwhile, between 1784 and 1828, a large Scottish emigration, chiefly from the See also:Highlands, had settled in the counties around Pictou, and the lumbering industry See also:rose to great proportions. Agriculture was for some See also:time neglected, but in 1818 the letters of " See also:Agricola " (John See also:Young, 1773-1837) gave it an impetus. Representative institutions had been granted as early as 1758, but power long rested mainly in the hands of a Council of Twelve, comprising the chief See also:justice, the Anglican See also:bishop and other high officials. In 1848, after a long struggle, responsible government was won by the legislative assembly, led by See also:Joseph See also:Howe. In these See also:political struggles, education was often the See also:battle-ground, the fight ending in 1864 in the See also:establishment of free primary and secondary schools by Dr (afterwards Sir Charles) See also:Tupper, and the re-organization on an undenominational basis of Dalhousie University (see HALIFAX). In 1867 the province entered the new Dominion of Canada. For some years after-wards an agitation in favour of See also:repeal was maintained, but gradually died away. Since then its history is a See also:record of uneventful progress.

End of Article: NOVA SCOTIA

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