Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/392

Rh 374 is subject to pronounced extremes of heat and cold, but is considered healthy, and epidemics are rare. In the interior the thermometer sometimes registers 95 Fahr. in the summer, while in the winter, which begins early in December and lasts until the end of March, the mercury frequently drops as low as 35 below zero. At Fredericton, the capital, the temperature ranges from - 35 to 100, the mean being about 42. The winters are severe, and snow falls to a great depth, especially in the north, where also wild and cold winds prevail. In the south the winters are milder and more broken. The most charming season is autumn, and particularly that part of it known as the Indian summer, which lasts about six weeks. Agriculture, dec. Vegetation is rapid. A very large portion of the country is well adapted for agriculture, the soil being exceedingly fertile. On the &quot;intervales&quot; or low lands enormous quantities of hay are grown, while the yield on the high lands varies from one to three tons per acre. Wheat, oats, buckwheat, rye, barley, hemp, and flax yield good crops, and potatoes, turnips, beets, celery, carrots, parsnips, and pease and beans grow well. The principal fruits are apples, plums, cherries, gooseberries, currants, strawberries, and raspberries. A large export trade of recent years has sprung up in the latter fruits. Hay has always been exported from the province to the United States, where it commands good prices. Farming is not prosecuted in New Brunswick to the extent it should be, and the inhabitants fail to raise enough produce to meet their own wants. The amount of land under crop in 1871 was 778,461 acres, and in pasture 385,105 acres. In 1881 these figures were increased to 849,678 acres under crop and 392,169 in pasture. The crops raised during the latter year were 521,956 bushels of wheat, 84,183 of barley, 3,297,534 of oats, 1,587,223 of buckwheat, 18,157 of corn, 43,121 of pulse, 990,336 of turnips, 6,961,016 of potatoes, &quot;159,043 of other roots, 414,046 tons of hay. The number of horses in 1881 was 52,975; of working oxen, 8812; of horned cattle, 203,748; of sheep, 221,163; and of swine, 53,087. In 1882 760,531 It) of wool and 78,203 lb of bees honey were raised. Commerce. New Brunswick ranks as one of the most amply wooded countries in the world. Great forests of trees cover an extensive portion of its surface, and lumbering forms one of its chief industries. The principal trees are pine, hackmatac, spruce, cedar, beech, maple, hemlock, birch, fir, elm, oak, larch, butternut, ash, poplar, chestnut, and sumach. Though lumbering and fishing form the main occupations of the people, many are engaged in the mining and manufacturing industries. The total value of the produce of the forest exported in 1881-82 was $4,724,422; of the fisheries, $753,251; of the mines, 140,908; of animals and their produce, 321,426; of agricultural produce, $256,994; of manufactures, $365,748. The total value of the exports was $7,474,407, and of the imports $6,707,244. The chief articles of export are fish, timber and lumber, iron, coal, gypsum, manganese, hay, &c. The imports embrace wheat and other grain, flour and corn-meal, salted meats, coffee, tea, sugar, molasses, tobacco, woollen, cotton, and silk goods, fruits, &c. Industries. Shipbuilding, which was prosecuted on an extensive scale some twelve or fifteen years ago, has fallen off considerably of late, owing principally to the fact that iron ships and steamers have taken the place of the wooden craft in the carrying trade. During the year 1882 the number of vessels built in New Bruns wick was 66, tonnage 16,820. On the 31st December 1882 the vessels registered in the province and remaining on the registry books of the several ports amounted to 1064, tonnage 308,961. In that year there were engaged in the coasting trade, including steamers and sailing vessels, 4435 craft, representing a tonnage of 415,029. The number of saw-mills in the province is 478, employ ing 7175 hands. There are also 166 flour and grist mills, and 83 tanneries. Other industries are lime-burning, shingle-making, manufacture of woollen cloth and cotton warps, cheese and butter making, sash, door, and blind factories, iron working, and brick- making. In 1871 the amount of capital invested in industries was $5,976,176; in 1881 it reached $8,425,282, 19,922 hands being employed in manufacturing, $3,866,011 paid In wages, and $11,060,842 worth of raw materials consumed. The total value of the articles produced was $18,512,658. Fisheries. The chief seats of the fisheries are in the Harbour of St John, on the islands at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, and on the north shore. Cod, haddock, salmon, trout, sturgeon, liolibut white fish, herring, shad, gaspereaux, smelt, bass, mackerel, and eels comprise the principal varieties taken. Of recent years the fishing .business has been most industriously pursued, and several firms have gone extensively into the canning of salmon, oysters, and lobsters for export. Fish-breeding establishments are in operation, maintained by the Government of the Dominion. In 1881 there were 205 larger vessels and 4284 boats engaged in the fisheries. Game, the. Game is abundant, wild ducks, teal, wild geese, partridges, woodcocks, pigeons, plover, snipe, &c., occurring in great quantity. No fewer than 270 varieties of birds have been already discovered, and ornithologists state that that number can be increased. Of wild animals the principal are the bear, wolf, deer, moose, caribou, lynx, fox, musk-rat, mink, marten, ermine, hare, squirrel, and beaver. Communication. Good waggon roads intersect the province wherever there is a settlement. Telegraphic lines are established throughout the country, and the means of railway communication are excellent. The Inter-Colonial, which is the principal line, runs from St John to Moncton and thence to Halifax, N.S. At Moncton a branch line extends to Shediac, while the main division proceeds in a northerly direction through the counties of West moreland, Kent, Northumberland, Gloucester, and Restigouche, crossing the Restigouche river at the valley of the Metapedia, where the scenery is varied and beautiful, and thence to Point Levis opposite the ancient city of Quebec. The head offices are at Moncton. The St John and Maine Railway runs from St John westward to the State of Maine, connecting at Fredericton Junction with the Fredericton Branch Railway, at M Adam with the New Brunswick and Canada Railway, and at Bangor (Maine) with all the great railway lines of the United States. The New Brunswick and Canada Railway runs from St Andrews to Woodstock, and has branches to St Stephen and Houlton (Maine). At Woodstock it connects with a branch of the New Brunswick Railway which runs between Fredericton and Woodstock and Edmundston in the new county of Madawaska. The Grand Southern Railway runs from St John to St Stephen, the Albert Railway from Salisbury to Hope- well, the Elgin from Petitcodiac to Elgin, and the St Martins and Upham Railway runs from Hampton to Quaco on the shore of the Bay of Fundy. The total length of the railways now (1883) is about 1002 miles. Population. The province is divided into fifteen counties, viz., Restigouche, Gloucester, Northumberland, Kent, Westmoreland, Albert, St John, Charlotte, King s, Queen s, Sunbury, York, Caiieton&quot;, Victoria, and Madawaska. Up to the 31st October 1882 9,937,433 acres were granted by the Government and occupied, leaving 7,455,977 acres still vacant. The population of the province, 285,594 in 1871, was 321,233 (164,119 males, 157,114 females) in 1881. There are two Roman Catholic dioceses, one at St John and the other at Chatham, and one see of the Church of England at Fredericton. The following table shows the religious denominations and the number of their adherents : Church of England 46,768 Church of Rome 109,091 Presbyterians 42,888 Baptists 81,092 Methodists... 34,514 Congregationalists 1,372 A large proportion of the population is composed of emigrants from Great Britain and their descendants. In the northern counties and in the valley of the Madawaska there are many settlements of French Acadians, and in the same localities and along the shores of the St John river there are Indians belonging to the Malicite, Micniac, and other tribes, numbering in all 1401. During the last forty years these have varied from 1200 to 1400. The tribes, though resembling each other in physique and appearance, differ very materially in origin and almost wholly in language. The ex tent of land granted to the Indian population by the Government of New Brunswick is 58,662 acres. Within the last six or seven years a most flourishing colony of Danes has been settled in the province. Administration. The affairs of the province are administered by a lieutenant-governor (salary $9000) and an executive council composed of six members with portfolios and three without offices or salary, assisted by a legislative assembly of 41 representatives and a legislative council of 18 members. The latter are appointed for life, and the former are elected by the people every four years. The lieutenant-governor is appointed by the governor-general of Canada in council. New Brunswick returns to the Canadian House of Commons 16 members, and 10 senators are appointed by the crown. The public revenue in 1882 was $643,710, and the expenditure $614,236. The principal source of income is the annual subsidy granted to the province, under the terms of the British North America Act of 1867, by the Dominion Government. This subsidy is computed on a fixed rate of 80 cents per head of population; $50,000 are allowed for government and $150,000 for export duty. In 1882 the amount paid on this basis to New Brunswick was $456, 903 20. It will increase until the population reaches 400,000, when the 80 cents will be regularly calculated on Adventists 738 Universalists 375 Other denominations 2,966 Of no religion 114 No creed stated 1,260 Jews 55