Nova Scotia formerly comprised the Province of New Brunswick, but is now reduced to the length of 256 miles, and the breadth of 100 miles. The island of Cape Breton, which belongs to it, is 100 miles long, and 72 broad. The area of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton is over 18,000 square miles. The population is estimated at 370,000, the Census of 1861 having given 330,860 and the ratio of increase having been on an average of four per cent. per annum; but emigrants are rarely attracted to the colony. In 1861, of the people, 294,000 were native Nova Scotians, 16,000 were of Scottish, 9,000 of Irish, 3,000 of English origin; France, which founded the colony, had only 88 representatives on land. The English Church had 48,000 members, the Scotch Church numbered 88,000, the Church of Rome 80,000; there were 56,000 Baptists, 34,000 Wesleyans, and, wonderful to say, only 3 Deists. When it is considered that the coal-fields of Nova Scotia are the finest in the world, that her mining wealth is extraordinary, that her seas, lakes, and rivers teem with fish, that her forests yield the finest timber, that the soil gives an ample return to the farmer, and the earth is full of mineral resources, it is surprising that emigrants of limited means have not been tempted to try their fortune, in spite of the threatening skies and somewhat rigid winters. Nearly five millions and a half acres of land are still in the hands of the Crown, of which upwards of four million acres are open for settlement, and the average price is about 1s. 8d. an acre. From a very trustworthy work prepared by Messrs. Hind, Keefer, Hodgins, Robb, Perley, and the Rev. Wm. Murray, to which I am indebted for much valuable information, it would appear that the climate of Nova Scotia is by no means so severe as it is reported to be, both in Great Britain and the United States. Though, at some seasons, the weather is very severe, as compared with England, Ireland, the South of Scotland, and a great portion of the United States of America, still it is more conducive to health than the milder but more humid corresponding seasons in those countries. The length and severity of Nova Scotia winters are greatly compensated by the mildness and beauty of autumn—which is protracted, not unfrequently, into the middle of December—as well as by the months of steady sleighing which follow. The extreme of cold is 24° Fahr. below zero; the extreme of heat, 95° above, in the shade. These extremes have not been often attained to of late years. The mean temperature of the year is 43°. There are about 100 days in which the temperature is above 70° in summer. There are about twenty nights in the year in which the temperature is below zero. The coldest season is from the last week of December till the first week of March.
The following table exhibits the annual mean temperature of several European cities, as compared with Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Toronto, C. W.:—
| Latitude. | Fahrenheit. | |
| 44° 40´ | Halifax | 43·8 |
| 43 39 | Toronto | 44·4 |
| 52 31 | Berlin | 47·5 |
| 53 23 | Dublin | 49·1 |
| 50 7 | Frankfort | 49·5 |
| 49 39 | Cherbourg | 52·1 |
| MEAN SUMMER TEMPERATURE. | ||
| Fahrenheit. | ||
| Halifax | 62·0 | |
| Toronto | 64·5 | |
| Greenwich | 60·9 | |
| Berlin | 63·2 | |
| Cherbourg | 61·9 | |
The annual quantity of rain which falls is about forty-one inches. Of this quantity about six and a half inches fall in the form of snow. The annual depth of snow is eight and a half feet. Much of this quantity of snow is not allowed to rest long in its solid form. There are about 114 days of rain on the average in each year; much of this occurs in winter. The average number of days of snow in each year is about sixty. Violent tempests are not of frequent occurrence in Nova Scotia. The prevailing winds are the south-west, west, and north-west. In summer the north, north-west, and west winds are cool and dry. In winter they are cold and piercing. The south and south-west are mild—agreeable—delightful. The north-east brings the greatest snow-storms; the east and south-east the most disagreeable rain-storms. Spring commences in Nova Scotia with the beginning of April. Seed-time and planting continue till the middle of June. Summer begins with the latter part of June, and embraces July and August. Vegetation is very rapid in the middle and western parts of the province, where the hay crop, and usually nearly all the grain crops, are harvested by the last week of August or first week of September. Autumn is the finest season in Nova Scotia. It is mild, serene, and cool enough to be bracing, and the atmosphere is of a purity that renders it peculiarly exhilarating and health-giving. The “Indian summer” occurs sometimes as late as the middle of November, and lasts from three to ten days. The winter in Nova Scotia may be said to comprise about four months. It begins, some seasons, with the 1st of December, and runs into the month of April. In other seasons it begins in the middle of December and ends with the last of March. The mean temperature of spring is 49°; of summer, 62°; of autumn, 35°; of winter, 22°. Similarity in agricultural productions furnishes a very fair criterion for the comparison of the climates of different countries. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, Indian corn, potatoes, turnips, mangel-wurzel, tomatoes, and other roots and grains grow in abundance and perfection in Nova Scotia. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, and a multitude of smaller garden-fruits attain the utmost perfection. In some sections of the country peaches and grapes ripen in the open air. The climate of Nova Scotia is highly favourable both to health and length of days. Men and women frequently attain to the age of eighty years with the full possession of their mental faculties, and in excellent bodily health. It is not unusual to find men enjoying good health at ninety; and not a few reach one hundred years, while some pass that extreme boundary. Let the proportion of deaths to population in Nova Scotia he compared with that in Great Britain and the State of Rhode Island:—
Nova Scotia, 1 in 70·71, or less than 1½ per cent.
Rhode Island, 1 in 46·11, or more than 2 ”
Great Britain, 1 in 44·75, or more than 2 ”
The climate of Nova Scotia is not noted for the generation of any disease peculiar to itself. Diphtheria has, of late years, been its most terrible scourge.
Prince Edward Island—called so after the father of Queen Victoria—is another member of the great group of British colonies and dependencies. This island, which is about 130 miles long and 30 miles broad, has less than 100,000 inhabitants. It contained less than 5,000 souls in 1770, when it was separated from the government of Nova Scotia, and was erected into an independent province under unfavourable circumstances, arising out of the unfortunate conditions which were made when the land was allotted to the original proprietors. The early history of the colony afforded a remarkable exemplification of wrong-doing with good intentions, and the errors of the first English rulers who regulated the settlement of the province were not atoned for till many years of patient effort on the part of the people had been devoted to a removal of abuses. The island is under a Governor named by the Crown, whose Cabinet consists of an Executive Council of nine, selected from the Legislative Council and from the House of Assembly, the former consisting of twelve, the latter of thirty members, elected by the people.
Newfoundland is 420 miles long, and has an extreme breadth of 300 miles. The population is now about 130,000. Notwithstanding its name, there is reason to believe that it was known to Icelanders and Norwegians, to Vikings and Danes, four centuries before Cabot came upon his Bonavista. The early history of our connection with this great island is not creditable to those who had influence with the home authorities. In 1832, following the principle of universal suffrage, which was considered applicable to a colony, though it was rejected at home, a Legislative system was erected on the basis of manhood franchise, the only qualification being that the voter should have been a year in the same house. The Governor, who is of course a representative and nominee of the Crown, is assisted by an Executive Council of five members, and the Parliament consists of a Legislative Council of twelve and a House of Assembly of thirty members.