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 NOVA SCOTIA 521 E. by the Lago Maggiore and the river Ticino, S. E. by the province of Pavia, S. by the Po, which separates it from the province of Ales- sandria, and W. by the province of Turin; area, 2,526 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 624,985. The principal part of this province belonged to the former duchy of Milan, and is covered by the main ridge of the Alps, which encloses the valley of the Toce or Tosa, into which numerous lateral valleys open, each adding its tributary stream to the Toce, which finally discharges its waters into the Lago Maggiore. The soil is noted for its fertility. The prin- cipal products are grain, rice, hemp, and silk. It is divided into the districts of Biella, No- vara, Ossola, Pallanza, Valsesia, and Vercelli. II. A city, capital of the province, on the high road from Milan to Turin, 26 m. W. of Milan ; pop. in 1872, 29,516. It is surrounded with walls and bastions. Parts of the old fortifi- cations are dismantled, and afford pleasant walks. The cathedral is celebrated for its splendid high altar, for its frescoes by Luini and sculptures by Thorwaldsen, and for its ar- chives, rich in antiquities of the lower empire and the middle ages, and above all for its mu- sic. In Novara the priest Dolcino was con- demned in 1307 for preaching Manichaeism and communistic principles, and was burned alive at Vercelli together with his mistress Marga- ret, a nun whom he had taken from her con- vent. In the battle fought at Novara, March 23, 1849, between the Sardinians under the Polish general Chrzanowski and the Austrians under Radetzky, the former were completely routed, which led to the abdication of Charles Albert in favor of his son Victor Emanuel. NOVA SCOTIA, a province of the Dominion of Canada, situated between lat. 43 26' and 47 5' N., and Ion. 59 40' and 66 25' W. It consists of the peninsula of Nova Scotia and the island of Cape Breton, separated from it by the gut of Canso, 1 m. wide. (See CAPE BRETON.) The peninsula, inclusive of the ad- joining islets, is situated between lat. 43 26' and 46 N., and Ion. 61 and 66 25' W. ; it is bounded N. by Northumberland strait, separa- ting it from Prince Edward island, and by the gulf of St. Lawrence, N. E. by the gut of Canso, S. E. and S. "W. by the Atlantic ocean, and N. W. by the bay of Fundy and New Brunswick, with which it is connected by an isthmus 14 m. wide, separating Northumberland strait from the bay of Fundy. It is 260 m. long from N. E. to S k W., and 65 m. in average breadth. Its area, according to the Canadian census of 1871, is 16,956 sq. m., and that of Cape Breton 4,775 sq. m. ; of the entire province, 21,731 sq. m. The province is divided into 18 coun- ties, viz. : Annapolis, Antigonish, Cape Breton, Colchester, Cumberland, Digby, Guysborough, Halifax, Hants, Inverness, King's, Lunenburg, Pictou, Queen's, Richmond, Shelburne, Victo- ria, and Yarmouth. The capital, commercial metropolis, and largest city is Halifax, with 29,582 inhabitants in 1871. Dartmouth (pop. 4,358) and Pictou (3,462) are incorporated towns. Yarmouth (pop. 3,500), Liverpool (3,000), Windsor (3,000), Sydney (2,900), Syd- ney Mines (2,500), Truro (2,500), Amherst (2,000), Lunenburg (1,500), Annapolis, Anti- gonish, Arichat, Bridgewater, Digby, and Shel- burne are important places. The population of the province in 1784 was about 20,000. According to subsequent censuses it has been as follows : 1806, 67,515 ; 1817, 91,913 ; 1827, 142,578; 1838,208,237; 1851,276,117; 1861, 330,857; 1871, 387,800, of whom 75;483 resided on Cape Breton. Of the total population in 1871, 351,360 were born in the province, 3,413 in New Brunswick, 3,210 in Prince Edward island and Newfoundland, 577 in other parts of British America, 2,239 in the United States, and 25,882 in the British isles, of whom 14,316 were natives of Scotland, 7,558 of Ireland, and 4,008 of England and Wales; 130,741 were of Scotch, 113,520 of English, 62,851 of Irish, 32,833 of French, 31,942 of German, 6,212 of African, 2,868 of Dutch, 1,775 of Swiss, and 1,112 of Welsh origin, and 1,666 were Indians (Micmacs and Malicetes). There were 193,- 792 males and 194,008 females; 31,332 per- sons (13,719 males and 17,613 females) over 20 years of age unable to read, and 46,522 (18,961 males and 27,561 females) unable to write; 1,254 of unsound mind, 441 deaf and dumb, and 328 blind. The number of families was 67,811 ; of occupied dwellings, 62,501. Of the 118,465 persons returned as engaged in oc- cupations, 49,769 belonged to the agricultural class, 13,351 to the commercial, 6,755 to the domestic, 34,547 to the industrial, and 4,151 to the professional; unclassified, 9,892. The sur- face of the peninsula is undulating, and though there are no mountains there are several ranges of hills, most of which traverse the country in an E. and W. direction. The Cobequid range runs through Cumberland and part of Colches- ter co., the highest points being 1,100 ft. above the level of the sea. On the shore of the Atlan- tic the land is hilly and rugged, and for the most part continues to be so from 3 to 5 in. inland. The shore of the bay of Fundy S. of Mines basin is precipitous. The entire province has a coast line, not counting indentations of the land, of 1,170 m. The shores of the peninsula are indented with a great number of excellent bays and harbors, and between Halifax and the gut of Canso alone there are 26 commodious havens, 12 of which will accommodate ships of the line. Some of the principal inlets are Chedabucto bay, at the entrance of the gut of Canso ; Halifax harbor and Margaret's and Mahone bays, on the S. E. coast ; St. Mary's bay, Annapolis basin, Mines basin, and Chig- necto bay, on the bay of Fundy ; and Pictou harbor, on Northumberland strait. Among the most remarkable headlands are Cape St. George, at the N., and Cape Canso, at the S. entrance of the gut of Canso ; Cape Sambro, S. of the entrance to Halifax harbor; Cape Sable, the S. extremity of the province; and