Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/483

* NEW BRITAIN. 427 NEW BRUNSWICK. ■was the birthplace and liome of Elihu Burritt (q.v.). Consult Camp, History of Sew Britain (New Biihiin, ISS'J). NEW BRUNSWICK, brunz'wik. A province of the Uumiuion of Canada. It lies between latitudes 44° 30' and 48° 6' N. and longitudes 63° 47' and 6ft° .5' V., and is bounded on the north by Quebec and the Jiay of Chaleur, on the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Xorthuniber- land Strait, on the south bj' Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fiuidy. and on the west by the State of Maine and Quebec. It has an area of 28,200 square miles, including 100 square miles of water area. Topography. The coast on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is low and sandy, with numerous spits and lagoons; that on the Bay of Fundy is bold and rocky. The latter is protected from the scouring action of the extraordinarily high tides by a ridge of hard Cambrian rock with small areas of Silurian and Devonian as well as of the older Huronian and Laurentian systems. An- other ridge, composed of granite, traverses the province from the southwestern to the north- eastern corner. It forms the main divide between the eastern and western rivers, and has an aver- age height of 1000 to 1.500 feet, with a number of detached monadnocks from 2000 to 2.500 feet high. These ridges are regarded as outlying branches of the Appalachian system. They in- close between them a large, triangvilar tract of low. undulating plain, occupying the eastern half of the province, and underlain by the Carbonifer- ous system. West of the dividing range is a Silurian plateau much eroded and trenched by the valley of the Saint John River. The geology of the province is somewhat confused, and not yet definitely imderstood ; but it is probably in many respects similar to that of Nova Scotia (q.v.). Nearly all the western half of New Brunswick is drained by the River Saint .John, which, after forming for a long distance the boundary with Maine, flo's through the province in a southerly direction as far as the 46th parallel, then turns to the east, and discharges into the Bay of Fundy, through an estuary extending north and south for about fifty miles. The northeastern part of the province is drained into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence through a large number of small streams. There are numerous lakes. Gritnd Lake, in the south central portion, is the only one of considerable size. The coast line is 500 miles in extent, and is indented b}- spacious bays, in- lets, and harbors. The chief are: Fundy, Chig- necto, and Cumberland bays, the last two being merely extensions of the first ; Passamaquoddy Bay in the south ; Verte. Shediac, Cocaigric, Richi- bucto, and Jliramichi bays on the east: and the Bay of Chaleurs, 90 miles long by 12 to 25 broad, in the northeast. Clim.vte. New Brunswick is subject to ex- tremes of heat and cold. At inland points the extremes are greatest, the temperature some- times falling to 30° below zero in the winter and rising to 95° in the sununer. The atmosphere, however, is drier than on the coast, and the ex- tremes do not occasion great discomfort. Spring opens later and summer lingers longer than in the provinces farther west. The rainfall fiu' the province averages above forty inches. MlNi>rn. Although a larse part of the province is occupied by Carboniferous strata, the mineral coal is for the most part impure or in thin seams. Vol. XIV.— 28 k and is but little worked. The coal-like mineral "albertite,' formerly mined with great profit in Albert County, has long since been exhausted. Salt springs are numerous. Nickel and iron ore are found, as are also antimony and manganese. Gypsum, plumbago, grindstone, and limestone are very abundant, and the freestone of the prov- ince, unsurpassed for beauty and durability, com- mands a high ijriee in the States. FisilERlKS. From an early period fishing has been one of the leading industries. The waters on l)oth coasts rank anjong the best fishing grounds of the world. For a decade and a half the annual earnings from fisheries have been about .$4,000,- 000, Nova Scotia alone, among the Maritime Provinces, exceeding that amount. New Bruns- wick thus nearly ranks with Massachusetts, which is the leading .sea-fishing State of the United States. The herring, smelt, sardine, and lobster fislieries are of greatest importance, and in the first three New Biiuiswick leads all the other provinces. Agriculture. The kind and quality of soil vary greatly with the underlying geological for- mation, but it is generally fertile, though much of the surface is too hilly to admit of profitable cultivation. In most of the valleys, and in the diked districts^ for instance at the head of the Bay of Fundy, the fertility is of a high grade. Originally, the whole area was covered with forests, of which about one-half has been removed. The nature of the forests is not uniform, but they usually consist of both hard and soft woods. On the Bay of Fundy the species are largely confined to spruces and firs, as a consequence of the cold winds of that region. Snruce. fir. and tamarack also pre- vail in the western part of the province. But farther eastward the hard-wood varieties, such as maple, beech, ash, and birch, prevail, interspersed with spruce and pine. The elm abounds in the river valleys, and with it are fotmd the birch and red maple. In 1002 a law was passed for the establishment of a large national park and game preserve at the sources of the Tobique. Nipisiguit, and Jliramichi rivers. The destruction of the for- ests in New Brunswick, as in the other Maritime Provinces. seem.sfto have had .a climatic effect quite difl'erent from that which usually follows, namely, the rainfall increases, resulting in the growth of the soft woods — balsam, spruce, and tamarack — in the region where the hard woods were removed. Agriculture is the leading occupation, but it has not reached extensive proportions. The natu- ral growth of marsh hay in the valleys supplies an abundant and valuable hay protluct. About 180.000 acres are devoted to oats. Buckwheat, potatoes, and wheat are next in importance in the order named. The conditions especially favor the growth of turnips and other root crops. On the other hand, the climate is rather too severe for the large fruits, except in certain regions like the valley of the Saint John, where the hardier varieties are successfully grown. The smaller fruits, however, are abundant, and. ripening late, are put on the New England market at monopoly [iriccs. The situation of the province on the sea- board gives it a marked advantage in marketing prodice. Considerable attention is given to the raising of sheep, and more especially cattle, and in very recent years there has been a decided growth in the dairy industry.