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Un dee symboiea suivants apparaitra sur la demiire image de cheque microfiche, salon le caa: la symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Lea cartea. planchea, tabiaeux, etc.. peuvent dtre filmte A dee taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document eat trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul ciichA, il eat film^ d partir da Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut an baa, en prenant le nombre d'imagea n^aaaaira. Laa diagrammes suivants iliustrent la mithode. ata lure, 1 J 5X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 BM REMARKS ON THE I CLIMATE, PRODUCE, AMD NATURAL ADVANTAGES o p NOVA SCOTIA. IN A LETTER TO THE Right Hon. the Earl of MACCLESFIELD, L O N D O Ni Printed for J. Debrett, oppofite Burlin^ton-Houfe, Piccadilly. [Price One Shilling.] V '• j I I J M Y L C R D, am but lately arrived in England from l^^ca Scotia, a country now become I ^ub;e(^ of much converfation, in which ■ ; i v'^ry erroneous opinions prevail con- cerning (he climate and foil, (Sec. oi that couati/, and th's propagated by artful and defigning people, ftreiigthened and fup- ported by many gentlemen who have had h\n a very tranfient and fuperficiai know- ledge, and whofe judgment in general of th:; whole, were formed from what they fa.v on tiie coaft, and that chiefly about H all [ax. If more than thirty years refidence, and the greateft part of that time fpent in A 3 acquiring Si^r^i ...LJ i imwiii ii f I 6 ] acquiring experience in agriculture, can be a foundation for a knovvledg'r of that country, 1 am fo far qualified, and there- fore fliall take upon me to defcribe it with the flrideft regard to truth -, which I hope will remove all unjuft prejudices, either defignedly, artfully, or ignorantly railed to miflead worthy minds, regarding a country that may be made of the great- eft importance to thi^ IS. It is now generally fuppofed there will bp confiderable emigrations from his Ma- jefty's European dominions (and other parts) to the States of America; might it not he juft and wife to turn thefe voluntary exii =.s, by the force of truth, to populate our remaining polleflions in that part of the world ? ^ Your exalted rank, and well known charader for love of truth, juftice, and your country, point your Lordfliip out as the fitteft perfon to addrefs on this oc- cafix^n. It is therefore, my Lord, with the I [ 7 ] the mod humble fubmifllon, I requcfl: your Lordfliip's patronage of the few fol- lowing matters of fad. And Jirji^ as to the Climate, The Penlnfula of Nova Scotia, is from 5 to 7^ fouth latitude of London, confe- quently the fun's wamth and influence there, muft be greater than here. If at any time the cold is more fevere in win- ter, and the froft more intenfe, the differ- ence arifes from the winds, which, when blowing from N , W. and W. N. W. pafs over wildernefles, and largt tra£ts of un- cultivated lands, interfperfed with many rivers, and extenfive lakes, and lie con- gealed generally till the middle of April, in froft and fnow j but thefe fnows melt when the winds come about to the E. S. E. and from thence to the W. S. "^7. and are frequently in the winter carried off all the cleared lands, fo as to render it a detriment to the people, the roads being beft whilfh the fnows lies upon them. I \ [ 8 J tliem, and the weathtT is the clcLUefl and jmofl: wliolelome for man and head whilfl the cold winds continue. It may appear flrange, that no feverity of weather pre- vents the people working undur tiie fliciter of the woods, except rain ; tho* there may be Tome few days too fevere to permit delicate people to be lon^i: ex- pokd to it. To prove^ my Lord, that iiny extraordinary feverity of the wcatlier^ which is now remarked, will be no longer complained of when that country iliall be fettled and cultivated like Eu- rope, I took a thermometer, and hung it out of a window, in a northern afped", cxpolid to the wind at N. W. I imme- diately removed the fame thermometer into a fouthern one, fheltercd from the wind, and expofed to the fun, and the fudden and almoft inftantaneous effcc^^ was a change of 40°. And after all, notwiihrianding fo much has been faid about the fe verity of the winter, very few of the Europeans change their or- dinary cloathing, except thofc who expe(fl to be long expoied to the open nir ^ and wlicu \ WWA \ 9 J ^vhen at liomc, they may keep themfclv^s as warm as they plcafe. Every body knows the abundance of wood they have for fuel, but few imagine that they have both coals and turf; the former of which there is in many parts of Nova Scotia, and alio many bogs. And here it may be afked, Why are coals frequently im- poited from Eng . d into Halifax? The anfwer is. The ditnculty and expence of di^'ging and trn'^rporting coals from onr nunes (efpecialiy during the war, whea labourers were difficult to be had) rt-.- ders that method (the fmall quantity they bring being only for ballaft) much cheap- er. Bur the King's troops in America were chiefly fupplied from Cape Breton mines. The want of laboureis, in like; manner, affecls the cutting and tranf- porting wood for faie. But this is an affair with which the countryman and fettler in genv.Tal have nothing to do. They have their wood in plenty at no great dillance, which they cut down at leifure in winter, and bring with eafe and little expence to their doo»s : a quan- B tity E I" ] thy of wood fufficient to fupply two fires for a week (and which is equal to one^ third of a chaldron of coals) coH:, before the war, only eighteen-pence for cutting and piling; that is, a chaldron of coals, or vvhac is equal thereto, three cords of wood, would coft, the cutting aqd piling, four (hillings and fixpence. Again, niy Lord, that that climate is favourable to the production of all kinds of grain, roots, fruits, and vegetables, which Britain produces, is a demonftrable truth. The feafons, indeed, for fouling, are not exa6lly the fame y but good huf- bandry produces good grain. They (from fome experience) prefer the fpring to the fall for fowing their wheat, becaufe it is net expofed to fb many injuries and accidents, as it would be in cafe ot au open winter. Nor is the grain, perhaps, inferior, nor the inconvenience greater to the farmer in the courfe of his bufinefs ; if he plows his ground in the preceding fall, and having nothing to do upon his lands thus plowed, then to fov^^ hib to' [ n ] grain, and lightly to barrow it, he may get all his wheat into the ground before the middle of April j even though the the froft, in the beginning of that month, ihould not be entirely out of the ground, which rarciy happens. The ground is then, by the winter frofls, light and mellow. But even fliould the whcat-fowing be deferred till the middle of May, as may fometimes happen, through bad weather, but more likely careleilhefs, good crops have been pro- duced and reaped, almoft as early as that fowed in a lefs advanced feafon. After the whept, they fow oats, peafe, beans, barley, and Indian corn, which fucceeds very well. And though it (hould be the latter end of May, or even the middle of June, yet their barley fOwed fo late, will be good. They then plant potatoes, that root fucceeds with them very well ; great quantities are raifed, and cattle are fatted with them. Turnips are fowed from the latter end of July to the middle of Au- gull:, and grow to a large fize, which ihey draw before the fevere froft comes, B 2, and [ .2 T and put them in pits or cellara, to pre* ferve them from it ; and with thefe, ay well as with potatoes, they feed thei?' flore hogj, and fat their (lieep. Rye is the only grain fown in the f^ill, which is often reaped in July, and wheat and peafe, &c. about the middle of Au- guft: but if later, there feldom ariles any injury, never having long continued rains,, the fall of the year in that country being (generally) remarkably fine ; and the fea- fon for hay-making is mod commonly good ; eight-and-forty hours being ge- nerally fufficient to cure it. Mowing be- gins the firfl or fecond week in July^ though in June red clover is fit to mow> if the land is rich. As to the foils in this country, they are, as in mod others, of different natures : but amongft them there is one, I believe, .almofl peculiar to Nova Scotia; and not exceeded by any in the world in point of richnefs and fertility. [ '3 1 This foil is found on the fides of river^^ which have a communication with the Bay of Fundy ; the rapidity of the tides in that Bay, occafions a great muddincfs; which fubfiding in eddies, form bodies, in a few years, of marfh-land, compofed entirely of thofe light floating particles in the water. Thefe marih-lands, when they arife to a level of common high tides, are dyked, which inclofe them from fpring- tides ; thefe are made at no great ex- pence ; and then, by the help of drains, they become more firm and dry, earlier in the fpring than uplands. Plow thefe lands the third year after they have been dyked and drained, and from one plowing only, their produce will be extremely great j often as' far a* forty or more bufliels of found good wheat, commonly weighing fixty pounds a buQiel, of eight gallons Wincheller meafure. And what may be thought aftonilliing, my Lord, twelve years fuc- ceifively^ this hnd has continued to yield lar'>-e crops, without change of grain, reft, or h ' r H 1 or manure ; and the becter fort of it, after thefe crops, naturally produce red clover in great abundance, which rife through the Hubble, and the greatcft part of the uplands do the fame, if manured. As to white clover, or trefoil, that arifes fpontaneoufly, with a variety of other natural gralfes, foon after opening and clearing the woods. This country has the advantage of lime-flone in mod parts, alfo beds of marl. And the fides and bede of the rivers near the Bay of Fundy, produce excellent manure for the uplands. Alfo, as the length of the winter oblige them to fodder their cattle longer than in Europe, their barn and ftable-yards con- fequently produce very confiderable quan- tities of manure. • To remove the fear which may arife from the thoughts of a long winti-r, it may be neccffary to explain, my Lord, the manner of their wintering their cattle, in the parts adjacent to the Bay of Fundy. Snow I I C ^5 ] Snow (with fmall froft for a night or two) does not begin to fall in that country, in general, before the middle of November, neither of which remain: but the cold and fevere weather increaks, bv a gentle gradation, till about Chrift- Eias ; then the cold fets in; and the fnow falling pretty deep, the ftock of cattle muft have fodder thrown out to them, as faw people houfe their young cattle or horfcs all the winter. This fodder con- lifts of flraw, and of two forts of hay, diftinguifhed h^ fait and /^/ grafs, both cut on mardies not dyked ; the flat fort is exceeding good, and of which one acre often produce three tons and more. The milch cows, and working horfes and oxen, are kept in the houfe, and fod- dered every night with their befl: hay, for about five months or more, that is, from December towards the middle of April ; and notwithftanding the confinement, a piurrain among(t the cattle, or rot amongfl; the iheep, have never been known in that country. When the fnows are carried off [ i6 ] off by rain and thaws, which frequent!'/ happen in the winter, at thefe times the cattle try to get abroad -, and they could fubfid very weH. But as no country yields better, or more plentiful crops of hay, as well lis pafture, the provident farmer need not be under any apprehenfions as to the length of the winter. All kinds of fruit, roots, and vege- tables, that have been tried in this country, fuceed as well as in England ; and fome are brought to greater perfedion in the natural way. Permit me now, my Lord, to take up a few moments more of your Lord- ihip's time, in examining fome of the na- tural advantages of Nova Scotia, which, if thoroughly underftood, will render it an objedl ineilimable to Great Bri- tain. Firil, t '7 1 Fird, iny Lord, it is the neareft part of the American continent to any part of Europe. And as its coaft, on the At- lantic Ocean, is the neareft to the coaft and Banks of Newfoundland, the people of New-England acknowledge, that three voyages to the Banks, will not take up more time from Nova Scotia, than two from theirs. Again, its own coaft, from the Bay of Chaleur round to Minas-bafon in the Bay of Fundy, abounds with all forts of fifh, fuch as cod, mackarel, herrings, with moil: kinds of (hell-fi(h, and other fea-fi(h. The rivers are furni(hed, like- wife, with falmon, fturgeon, bafs, fhad, ale-wives, eels, &c. &c. &c. And as no country is better provided with numerous nnd convenient harbours, fo it exceeds all others for the purpofes of carrying on the moft extenfive filhery, with the de- cided advantage of beginning their fpring filhery much earlier than that of New- foundland, Cape Breton, or Gulph of St. Lawrence, C The [ 18 ] The winter not being near fo fevere, their fpring commencing earh'er, and what is ftill of more confequence, their coaft is loon freed of all ice, except that part near Cape Breton and Gulph of St. Lawrence. Whereas the coafts of Newfoundland and Cape Breton are generally late in the fpring, incumbered with large bodies of floating ice, that extend many leagues, which are driven from the Gulph of St. Lawrence after it breaks from thofe ihores in the fpring. Thefe mijjht feem fufficient reafons, and what muft in time give the preference to the Nova Scotia fifliery. It* But when it is confidered further, that they have other and greater advantages, which neither Newfoundland nor Cape Breton have, or ever can have, fuch as a plentiful country at their backs, not only to -fupply the filliery with all forts of pro- vifions, but alfo with the greateft variety of good timber for building vefi'els, and with mails and fpars of all (izes, which it [ 19 ] k is well known thefe countries are not fo well provided with, it fliould feem in- dividuals muft: be blind to their own in- terell, not to fly to inhabit fuch a coun- try, and the nation infatuated, not to hold out to them all the encouragement that fuch a population deferves. The great and invaluable fifhefy n the cxtenfive coafts of Nova Scotia, has hi- therto been almoft entirely carried on by the people of the New- England pro- vinces ; many of whom have become fettlers there, finding the lands worth cultivating, and for the convcniency of curing the fifh, which they daily caught in boats. New-England, in confequencq^ drew all the profits of that fifhery, as from thence they fent all the neceffary {^applies, for which they had the fifli in exchange. The political alteration that has lately taken place, muft of courfe break thefe connections, and all the benefits center in this nation 3 provided men of property C 2 enter I " 1 enter into that bufinefs, fomewhat in the manner the Newfoundland iifhery is car- ried on : only here they can do it to much greater advantage (as is before remarked) having a plentiful country to fupply pro- vifions for thofe employed in the fifliery. And here thefe people may remain the winter to their advantage, as they will find ample employment by clearing land, cutting wood for fuel, and poles for fencing ; and alfo in making pot-afn. Whereas in the other filheries, the greateft part of the people go out and return an- nually, in which there is a confiderablc rifk ; and the expence cannot be much Jefs than ten pound a- year for each indi- vjdual's two paflages, and their lofs of time. In this province are alfb mofl forts of timber, which generally grow to a very great fizcj alfo abundance of pine-trees of dimenfions fit for the largeft fhips. Thefe lay long neglected ; and it has beei> but four or five years paft when feveral fhip loads have been brought from thence for for his Majefty's navy. The marts are cafily conveyed, as well as the farmer's produce, by means of lakes and rivers, (with which that country abounds) to the (liips in harbours Before T clofe this letter, my Lord, I muft beg leave to point out fome further advantages this country may be of to Great Britain, if (he intends to hold any poflcfTions in the American hcmif- phere. There can be no doubt but that the many great advantages pofTefTcd by this country will draw multitudes to inhabit it. The general goodnefs of the foil, par- ticularly in the interior parts, and fiiliery on the coaft-j will amply fupply them with all the necelTary comforts of life ; and in the diligent profecution of thefe two branches of fifhing and farming, they will find the greateft profits, without attempt- ing manufadlures of any fort. Even me- chanics in general quit their trades, tho' mod in demand, and who received the h i (rh p rt- [ " ] highefl: wages, and become cultivators of land; in which they never fail making themrdves a comfortable living, if fober and induftrious: And towards the decline of life, may enjoy the fruits of their la- bour in eale and plenty, and leave their children handfomely provided for; whom, if they follow the example of induftry, become rich and refpedable. Confe- ijuently all their wearing apparel (and that chiefly made up, even their (lioes) is carried from England, as is alfo the iireatell: rart of their houTchold fuini- ture. It is well known there are rich mines in that country, even fome of filver, cop- per, iron, and coals. There are quart ies of free ftone, the bed of grindftones be- ing to be had there; and clays of dif- ferent loits, ^it foi- bricks, tiles, and potter's v.'^.Ks. The bed of lime dones, with immenfe quantities of plaider of Paris. Still no attempts are made to ma- nufaaure thofe, except fome articles they cannot do without in their buildings. [ =3 ] The fitiiation alfo of this coantry (liould be conddered as of the grcatefl: impor- tance, from the prote6ion and fuccour it could give on occafion, to Newfoundland, Cape Breton, the iiland St. John's, the Gulph of St. Laurence, and even Quebec: It lies alfo extremely convenient for fend- ing fpeedy fuccours to our Weft India iflands ; and is provided v ith moil aricles of trade fit for thefe markets, equal, (if not luperior) to any Province upon that continent. And in cafe of the neceffity to employ a fleet in America, no place ciri be more proper for the rendezvous of the Brit^fh navy Can any harbour be more lo than that excellent one of Hali- fax ; placed as It is near the center of the coaft, eafy of acc^ifs, and open at all fea- fons of the year, with a plentiful country behind it, to fupply the feamen, or any number of troops which it may be thought necefiary to keep in garrifon there, with refrediments of all kinds? Nothing can ; a flronger proof of the truth of this, than at near the commencement of the late f 24 1 late war, his Majefty*s troops at Bofloii had fifteen liundred head of neat cattle fcnt thither, befidcs a great number of iheep, hogs, and poultry, with roots and feveral (liip-loads of hay and oats. This great fupply from fo young a fettlement, it was imagined, would have exhaufted the country. But that was not the cafe, my Lord ; for when the troops came from Bofton, they found every thing in abun- dance ; nor has there been the lead ap- pearance of a fcarcity ever fmce. Many people are of a miilaken opinion, my Lord : the fettlement of the country began with that of Halifax. To corred this error, we need only recoiled, that the eftablifhment of Halifax was under- taken at the conclufion of the war in ,1749, when Cape Breton was reftored to the French : and the objedt of this efla- blifhment then was, to be a check upon Louifbourg, by their keeping an interven- ing force between it and the Colonies; and alfo for th?: great purpofc of prcted- ing our Newfoundland fifhery. To form this [ 25 ] this fcttlement of Halifax in a barren and unfavourable foil, furrounded as it was with enemies of Indians, and with fecret ones of French, it coft the nation large fums, which money was entirely expend- ed on Halifax and its inhabitants, with the Lunenbourg fettlement of Germans, and to ered: a few fmall forts in the back country, the garrifons of which were ge- nerally kept (hut up by the furrounding Indians; In this ftate it remained till the year 1760, when the former -^C(:^^ [ 27 ] iiland of St. John's, in the Gulph of St. Lawrence ; and even this ifthmus is di- vided by rivers within three miles of each other, confequently the peninfula is almoil an ifland : and as we poflefs both fides of the Bay of Fundy, or at leaft all the nar- row parts, the entrance mi^ht be eafily fecured from furprife or attacks by water. The great advantage for the defence of this country, when more populous, is ob- vious from its many lakes and rivers, which, with a fmall expence, will afford a mod eafy and expeditious communica- tion to all parts. Further, my Lord, (hould the wifdom of adminiftration fee fit to efl:abli(h the town and harbour of Halifax, as an arfe- nal and place of ftrength, perhaps it would be thought expedient to remove the feat of civil government to a more centrical and plentiful part of the country : and the expediency of fuch a meafure, together with the utility, and confequent- ly the pleafure it will give to the greateft part of the people, may be thought wor- thy confideration. I have I 28 T I have the honour to be, with the high- eft confidcFation, and with the moft pro- found refped. My L0RD3 Your Lordfhip's « moft obedient, and , devoted humble fcrvant. The AUTHOR. f\# **»^-^i;^4|'^'^j t,