Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/404

Rh 384 NEWFOUNDLAND golden plover, various species of sandpipers and curlews, the brent goose, ducks, petrels, gulls, and the great northern diver are met with everywhere. The great auk, now extinct, was once found in myriads around the island. The little auk, guillemot, and the razor-billed auk are abundant. No venomous reptiles, toads, or frogs occur. Of molluscous animals the common squid, a cepha- lopod about 6 or 7 inches in length, visits the coasts in immense shoals in August and September, and supplies a valuable bait. A gigantic species of cephalopod was discovered in 1873, which excited much interest among naturalists: the body varies from 7 to 15 feet in length, with a circumference of 5 or 6 feet ; from the head ten arms radiate, the two longest (tentacles) being from 24 to 40 feet in length, and covered with suckers at their extremities ; the other eight arms vary from 6 to 11 feet, and on one side are entirely covered with suckers. Professor Verrill, of Yale College, has dis tinguished two species one he named ArchitcutMs Harvcyi, after the discoverer, and the other Architeuthis monachus. Flora. The pine, spruce, birch, juniper, and larch of the forests of the interior furnish ample materials for a large timber trade as well as for shipbuilding purposes. The white pine grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet in some places, and is 3 or 4 feet in diameter. The mountain ash, balsam poplar, and aspen thrive well. Ever greens are in great variety. The berry-bearing plants cover large areas of the island. The maidenhair or capillaire yields a saccha rine matter which is lusciously sweet. Flowering plants and ferns are in vast varieties, and wild grasses and clover grow luxuriantly. Garden vegetables of all kinds, and strawberries, raspberries, goose berries, currants, c., thrive well. fisheries. These constitute the grand staple industry of the country. The most important is that of the cod, which is the most extensive of the kind in the world. During six years from 1877 to 1882 the average annual export of codfish from Newfoundland amounted to 1,326,259 quintals (cwts. ). (For earlier statistics see FISHERIES, vol. ix. p. 266.) The cod are taken on the shores of the island, on the Banks, and along the coast of Labrador. The Bank fishery is now prosecuted chiefly by the French and by Americans, Newfoundlanders occupying themselves with the shore and Labrador fishery. The aggregate annual catch of cod at present in the North-American waters is estimated at 3,700,000 quintals, say 150,000,000 fish. The value at $4 a quintal would be $14,800,000. Nearly four-fifths of the entire returns of the Newfoundland fisheries arise from the cod fishery. While the cod fishery does not show any marked advance in the quantities taken during the last thirty years, the market value of dried codfish has risen more than 50 per cent, and the average value of the exported products of the fishery may be fairly reckoned at $5,500,000 per annum. Adding to this the local consumption, we must place the entire annual value at $6,364,000, or 1,325,834 sterling. The last census (1874) showed that there were 26,377 able- bodied fishermen in the colony, and 45,845 persons engaged in catching and curing fish out of a population of 161,374, 1197 vessels of a tonnage of 61,551 tons, 8902 fishing rooms in actual use, and 18,611 boats employed in the shore fishery. There are now (1883) about 53,000 persons engaged in catching and curing fish out of a population exceeding 180,000. The French Newfoundland fisheries on the Banks and along the shores average from 400,000 to 500,000 quintals, the number of men employed being 5000 to 6000. The cod fishery has been prosecuted for about 380 years, but, notwithstanding the enormous drafts every year, to all appearance the cod are as abundant as ever. They begin to appear on the coasts of the island about the first of June, at which time they move from the deep waters of the coast to the shallower and warmer waters near the shore, for spawning purposes. Their approach is heralded by the caplin, a beautiful little fish about 7 inches in length, vast shoals of which arrive, filling every bay and harbour. The cod follow in their wake, feasting greedily upon the caplin, which supply the best bait. In six weeks the caplin dis appear, and their place is taken by the squid about the 1st of August. These also supply a valuable bait, and are followed by the herring, which continue till the middle or end of October, when the cod fishery closes. The cod are taken by the hook-and-line, the seine, the cod-net or gill-net, the cod-trap, and the bultow. Newfound land exports cod to Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Great Britain, the West Indies, and the United States. Brazil and Spain are the largest consumers. Next to the cod fishery in value comes that of the seal, which is not more than eighty years old. At present the average annual value of the seal fishery is about $1,100,000, being an eighth part of the entire exports. The number of men employed is from 8000 to 10,000. Steamers were first used in 1863, and now there are about 25 engaged, some of them from 400 to 500 tons burthen ; sailing vessels are rapidly diminishing in numbers. According to law, no sailing vessel can clear for the seal fishery before the 1st of March, and no steamer before the 10th. The young seals are born on the ice from the 15th to the 25th of February, and increase in bulk so rapidly that they are in perfect condition by the 20th March. The seals frequenting the coasts of Newfoundland have regular migratory movements. They are found on the ice from the middle of February till May, when they commence their northerly move ment. In June they are seen in enormous numbers on the Green land coast, where they spend two or three months. As the early winter sets in they begin their southern migration, keeping ahead of the ice as it forms, and moving towards the coast of Labrador, feeding in its fiords and bays. Reaching the Great Banks by the close of the year, they feed&quot; there till the beginning of February, when their northern migration begins, to meet the ice on which their young are to be brought forth and cradled. For more than sixty years they have borne an annual draft of from a quarter to half a million without showing any sensible diminution in their numbers, but the introduction of steam has given increased facilities for following the old seals at a later period of the season, and for shooting them on the ice, a practice which may ultimately lead to their extermination. There are no finer salmon streams than those of Newfoundland, but no proper measures have been taken for their preservation, and in consequence such practices as closing the mouths of the rivers with nets at a time when the fish are ascending to spawn, and con structing weirs, traps, and dams, have been followed to such an extent that in many of the rivers salmon are almost exterminated. The average value of the pickled and fresh salmon exported, during the last ten years, has been about $106,000 per annum. Until recently the chief mode of curing the salmon was salting. In 1842 the export was 4715 tierces ; in 1871, 3977 ; in 1880, 6765 ; in 1881, 3689 ; and in 1882, 3825 tierces. The methods of preserving salmon in hermetically sealed tins and of exporting it in ice have been lately introduced with success. Of tinned salmon 34,584 Ib were exported in 1880, 20,000 Ib in 1881, and 10,000 tb in 1882, while 68,551 It) of frozen salmon were exported in 1881, and 313,000 Ib in 1882. The chief seats of the herring fishery are Fortune Bay, St George s Bay, Bay of Islands, Bonne Bay, and the whole coast of Labrador. The finest fish are those taken off Labrador and in the Bay of Islands. The average annual value of herrings exported during the seven years 1877-83 was $358,359. The value of the herrings sold to the French and Americans as bait is about $150,000 per annum. Allowing 73,000 barrels for home comsumption, at $3 per barrel, we have as the total value of the annual catch of herrings $727,359. Fifty years ago the mackerel, once very abundant, deserted the Newfoundland waters, and have not since reappeared. But few holibut or haddock are taken. Within the last few years the exportation of preserved lobsters has increased rapidly. Lobster factories have been established at various points. In 1881, 1,299,812 ft of preserved lobsters were exported, and 46,428 K of frozen lobsters, the total value being $111,408. In 1882 the export was 1,265,224 Ib of preserved lobsters, the value being $105,432. Agriculture. Up to a comparatively recent period the people of Newfoundland were so exclusively engaged in the fisheries that no attention was given to agriculture ; and persons who were interested in keeping the inhabitants on the sea-coast employed in fishing systematically represented the country as hopelessly barren. That this is not the case has been conclusively proved by the geolo gical survey. According to its Reports there are in the valleys on the western coast 1320 square miles &quot; perfectly capable of being re claimed and converted into fairly productive grazing and arable land&quot;; and these valleys are also for the most part well wooded. In the great valleys of the Gander, Gambo, Terra Nova, and Exploits there are 3320 square miles of land suited admirably for settlement. There are also many smaller fertile tracts around the heads of the bays, along the margin of the smaller streams, and in the islands, so that in all there are 5,000,000 acres of cultivable land. At present these fertile tracts are almost wholly unoccupied, but the railway now being constructed will render them accessible and promote their set tlement. The last census showed that only 34,293 acres are actu ally cultivated, the value of the produce being $612,350 per annum. Minerals. The first copper mine was opened in 1864, and at the end of 1879 the customs returns showed that copper and nickel ore to the value of 1,000,000 had been exported in the interval. At present Newfoundland stands sixth among the copper-producing countries of the world. The mines are all situated around the shores of the Bay of Notre Dame ; and until the interior is opened by roads and railways this will be the chief scene of mining enter prise. From one of these mines Betts Cove 35,000 tons of ore were taken in 1877. The ore is found in proximity to the serpen tine rocks, but more immediately associated with a chloritic slate which occurs both above and below the serpentine. The area of serpentine rocks in the island is estimated at 5097 square miles. Many other minerals besides copper have been found, such as lead (in many places), silver, and magnetic iron ore ; gold was recently discovered in one locality. In St George s Bay there are largo workable seams of coal as yet untouched ; a seam of excellent cannel coal, 3 feet in thickness, was discovered there many years ago. Mr Jukes estimated the coal basin at 25 miles by 10. Gypsum exists in great abundance in the Carboniferous region, especially at