Nova Scotia, a province of the Dominion of Canada, situated between lat. 43° 26' and 47° 5' N., and lon. 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 adjoining islets, is situated between lat. 43° 26' and 46° N., and lon. 61° and 66° 25' W.; it is bounded N. by Northumberland strait, separating 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. 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 counties, 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), Sydnev (2,900), Sydney Mines (2,500), Truro (2,500), Amherst (2,000), Lunenburg (1,500), Annapolis, Antigonish, Arichat, Bridgewater, Digby, and Shelburne 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 persons (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 occupations, 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 surface 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 Colchester co., the highest points being 1,100 ft. above the level of the sea. On the shore of the Atlantic the land is hilly and rugged, and for the most part continues to be so from 3 to 5 m. 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 Cape Chignecto, at the end of a peninsula jutting out into the bay of Fundy from the isthmus which connects Nova Scotia with the mainland, and having at either side of it Mines basin and Chignecto hay. The coasts throughout are lined with small islands, close to which there is deep water. Sable island in the Atlantic, 100 m. S. E. of the peninsula, belongs to the province. There are numerous small rivers, mostly navigable by coasting vessels for short distances. The most important are the Slmbenacadie, Avon, and Annapolis, emptying into the bay of Fundy, and the Clyde, Liverpool, La Have, Musquodoboit, and St. Mary's, into the Atlantic. The surface is interspersed witli numerous lakes and ponds, the largest being Lake Rossignol in the southwest, 10 or 15 m. long, by about 5 m. wide. - The geological formations of Nova Scotia range lengthwise with the peninsula from S. W. to N. E. Along the Atlantic coast nearly half the breadth is occupied by the lower Silurian, N. W. of which the country, including the isthmus between the bay of Fundy and Northumberland strait, consists for the most part of the upper Silurian and carboniferous groups.

Along the bay of Fundy S. of Mines basin is a narrow belt of triassic rocks, and in Annapolis co. occurs a small area of the Devonian formation. Granite, syenite, etc, are found in isolated localities in various parts of the peninsula. Cape Breton is occupied by the upper Silurian and carboniferous formations, with occasional areas of granite, syenite, etc The most valuable mineral products are bituminous coal, gold, and gypsum. The coal is found chiefly in the N. E. part of the peninsula and on Cape Breton, the three most productive counties being Cape Breton (S. E. portion of the island), Pictou, and Cumberland. Nearly all the gold has been mined in districts scattered through the lower Silurian belt. Guysborough co. produces more than half, Halifax and Hants cos. standing next. There are between 30 and 40 mines in operation. Gypsum is quarried chiefly in Hants co., but it occurs throughout the N. E. portion of the peninsula and on Cape Breton. Iron is mined in Annapolis, Colchester, and Pictou cos. to a limited extent only; but a superior quality of ore is abundant there, and also in Cumberland co. and on Cape Breton. Galena and copper ore occur in various localities. Limestone,, freestone, granite, and marble suitable for building purposes, and clay for brick making, are common.

The granite of Shelburne co. is celebrated. Grindstones are manufactured from the sandstone strata, chiefly in Cumberland co. The mineral product of the province in 1874 was valued at $2,104,033, viz.: coal (872,720 tons), $1,787,098; gold (9,141 oz.), $164,538 gypsum (104,140 tons), $104,-140; other products, $48,857. The total yield of coal from 1827 to 1874 inclusive was 13,-752,618 tons. The gold product from the opening of the mines in 18G1 to the close of 1874 was about 260,000 oz., worth $4,790,000.

The climate is remarkably healthy, and its rigor is greatly moderated by the almost insular position of the country and by the Gulf stream, which keeps the ports facing the Atlantic free from ice in winter. The thermometer ranges from more than 20° below zero to more than 90° above. Though the spring is backward, vegetation is remarkably rapid. The temperature sometimes varies 50° in 24 hours; but the weather is considered preferable to that of most other parts of Canada, as it is milder in winter and not so excessively hot in summer. The mean temperature of the western (where the thermometer rarely falls below zero) is higher than that of the eastern counties. Dense fogs are prevalent in spring and summer both in the bay of Fundy and along the Atlantic coast, but they do not extend far inland. The mean temperature at Digby, in the soutlrwest, for the year ending May 31, 1873, was 43-6°; at Halifax, 42.8°; at Pictou in the northeast, 41°; at Sydney, Cape Breton, 40°. At Halifax the mean temperature of summer was 02°; autumn, 48.4°; winter, 22.1°; spring, 38.8°; warmest month (July), 64.8°; coldest (February), 20.6°; maximum temperature, 93.10; minimum, - 14'4°. The total fall of rain during the year at the same place was 40.04 inches; of snow, 103.4 inches; total precipitation of rain and melted snow, 51.1 inches. - Along the S. shore the soil of the highlands is light and poor, but toward the north there are large tracts of fertile uplands.

The valleys are exceedingly rich. Nova Scotia has extensive tracts of woodland, from which lumber and ship timber arc obtained. Oak, elm, maple, beech, birch, ash, larch, poplar, spruce, pine, hemlock, etc, attain a large size. The rock maple yields sugar. Currants, gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc, are abundant. Apples, pears, plums, and cherries grow well, the apple orchards of Annapolis and King's cos. being particularly productive. The principal agricultural products are wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, Indian corn, peas and beans, potatoes, turnips and other root crops, hay, vegetables, and dairy products. The season in most parts is rather short for Indian corn, but it yields a full crop in Annapolis and King's cos. There are considerable tracts of marsh land reclaimed from the sea along the bay of Fundy by means of dikes, which produce abundant crops of grass. Considerable numbers of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine are kept. The wild animals and birds are the same as those generally found in other parts of North America, but, with the exception of some of the smaller species, their numbers have been greatly reduced.

The adjacent waters swarm with fish of various kinds - The manufactures of the province arc limited, consisting chiefly of coarse cloths (homespun) made and generally worn by the farming population, coarse flannels, bed linen, blankets, carpets and tweeds, leather, boots and shoes, saddlery and harness, furniture, agricultural implements, and in the vicinity of Halifax tobacco, paper, machinery, nails, gunpowder, carriages, pianos, etc. Ship building is extensively carried on. (For industrial statistics, see Appendix to this volume.) The fisheries of Nova Scotia are of great value, and constitute one of the chief industries of the province. The number of men employed during the year ending June 30, 1874, was 21,031; number of vessels, 529, with an aggregate tonnage of 20,163; number of boats, 8,923; value of vessels and boats, $1,024,905; value of nets and weirs, $568,426; value of catch, $6,652,301 59. The chief varieties taken were cod, mackerel, lobsters, herring, salmon, and hake. The value of fish oil preserved (included in the above total) was $188,878 30. The province has an important foreign commerce.

The value of goods entered for consumption during the year ending June 30, 1874, was $10,907,380; value of exports, $7,656,547, viz.: products of the mine, $1,050,-186; of the fisheries, $3,791,152; of the forest, $1,356,752; animals and their produce, $334,-449; agricultural products, $225,340; manufactures, $418,808; miscellaneous articles, including goods not the produce of Canada, $479,860. The principal countries to which the exports are taken are the "West Indies, United States, and Great Britain. The chief articles of import are cottons, silks, woollens, hardware, and other manufactured goods, molasses, sugar, and spirits. The number of entrances was 4,424, with an aggregate tonnage of 959,114, of which 1,850, of 406,988 tons, were in ballast; clearances, 3,752, agregate tonnage 881,263, of which 729, of 205,678 tons, were in ballast; built during the year, 181 vessels, of 74,769 tons. The number of vessels belonging in the province at the close of 1873 was 2,803, with an aggregate tonnage of 449,701. There are 306 m. of railway, viz.: Intercolonial, from Halifax to St. John, N. B., 276 m., of which 138 m. are in Nova Scotia; branch of the Intercolonial, from Truro to Pictou, 52 m.; and Windsor and Annapolis, from Windsor Junction on the Intercolonial to Annapolis, 116 m.

About 100 m. more are in course of construction, viz.: Western Counties, from Annapolis to Yarmouth, and Springhill and Parrsborough. The Shubenacadie canal (30 m. long), in connection with a chain of lakes and the Shubenacadie river, forms an inland water communication from the harbor of Halifax to Cobequid bay at the head of Mines basin. A canal less than half a mile long connects the Bras d'Or with the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton opposite Madame island. There are ten banks, with an aggregate capital of about $3,000,000, besides branches of banks of other provinces. The deposits in the government savings banks, exclusive of post-office savings banks, on May 31, 1874, amounted to $1,462,318 04. - The executive government is administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the governor general of the Dominion in council, assisted by an executive council of nine members (treasurer, attorney general, provincial secretary, commissioner of public works and mines, commissioner of crown lands, and four without office), appointed by himself and responsible to the assembly. The legislative power is vested in a legislative council of 21 members appointed by the lieutenant governor for life, and a house of assembly of 38 members elected by the qualified voters of the counties for four years.

Voting is by ballot, and a small property qualification is required. The supreme court, having law and equity jurisdiction throughout the province, consists of a chief justice, a judge in equity, and five associates, appointed by the governor general in council for life; and there are a court of error, consisting of the lieutenant governor and council; a court of divorce and matrimonial causes, held by a justice of the supreme court; a vice-admiralty court, held by the chief justice; a probate court for each county; and a county court for each county. Nova Scotia is entitled to 12 senators and 21 members of the house of commons in the Dominion parliament. The balance in the provincial treasury on Jan. 1, 1873, was $38,916 41; receipts during the year, $672,551 97, including $481,106 30 subsidy from the Dominion government; total, $711,-468 38. The expenditures amounted to $681,-275 23; balance in treasury on Jan. 1 1874, $30,193 15. The following were the principal items of expenditure: road service, $215,-416 27; education, $180,000; local works, $64,000; legislative expenses, $44,102 45; lunatic asylum (construction), $34,000; salaries of officers of government, $21,497 90; poors' asylum, $18,676 88; steamboats, packets, and ferries, $11,776; navigation securities, $11,468 98; mines, $10,500; immigration, $7,772 24; public printing, $4,818 25; provincial and city hospital, $4,000; transient poor, $2,587 50; blind asylum, $1,250. The provincial debt in 1875 amounted to $9,186,756. - The Nova Scotia hospital for the insane, at Halifax, was opened in 1859. The number of patients under treatment in 1872 was 329 (166 males and 163 females); remaining at the close of the year, 259 (130 males and 129 females). The institution is supported partly by the counties, partly by the province, and partly by pay patients.

The institution for the deaf and dumb and the blind asylum are also at Halifax. The former in 1873 had 40 pupils (partly from other provinces), and the latter 15. They receive aid from the provincial government, which also contributes to the support of the poors' asylum and the city hospital in Halifax. The number of convicts in the penitentiary at Halifax at the close of 1873 was 27. - Nova Scotia has a system of free public schools, organized in 1864. The schools are under the general supervision of the provincial superintendent of education with in-spectors for the several counties, and are immediately managed by boards of commissioners for the counties and of trustees for the different sections or districts. The number of schools in operation during the summer term ending Oct. 81, 1874, was 1,673; number of teachers, 1,744 (602 males and 1,142 females); number of pupils registered, 79,910; average daily attendance, 46,233; number of different children at school some portion of the year ending on the above date, 93,512 (48,604 males and 44,908 females); number of school sections, 1,932, of which 210 had no school any portion of the year; value of school property, $830,926 41; number of pupils for whom accommodation is provided, 88,258. Included in the above figures are 10 county academies, with 45 teachers and 2,614 pupils enrolled during the year.

Aid was granted from the provincial treasury to four special academies, having 14 teachers and 370 pupils, and also to Mount Allison male and female academies in New Brunswick. There are five colleges, as follows, with their statistics for 1874:

NAME.

Location.

Date of foundation.

Denomination.

Number of instructors.

Number of students.

Volumes in library.

King's college and university

Windsor.........

1788

Episcopal..............

5

17

6,400

St. Mary's college

Halifax..........

1840

4

46

1.400

Dalhousie college and university

Halifax

1820

Presbyterian...........

7

78

1,373

Acadia college

Wolfville........

1887

Baptist................

7

39

3.417

St. Francis Xavier college

Antigonisj

1855

3

41

2,096

These receive small grants from the provincial treasury, as does also Mount Allison college in New Brunswick. In Dalhousie university a medical department was organized in 1868, which in 1874 had 11 professors and 29 students. In Halifax is situated the theological department of the college of the Presbyterian church of the lower provinces of British North America. The Halifax school of medicine was incorporated in 1873. The provincial normal and model schools are at Truro. The number of teachers in the normal school in 1874 was 4; of pupils, 118. In the model school there were 9 teachers and about 550 pupils. The census of 1871 enumerates five young ladies' boarding schools, with 146 pupils. The total expenditure for educational purposes in 1874 was $619,361 87, viz.: public schools, $552,-221 40; normal and model schools, $4,733; special academies, $26,970; colleges, $35,337 47. Of these sums $175,013 65 was derived from the provincial treasury, viz.: for public schools, $157,480 65; for normal and model schools, $4,733; for special academies, $6,800; for colleges, $6,000. Of the expenditure for public schools, $107,301 39 was derived from county tax and $287,349 30 from taxation in the different school sections.

The number of newspapers and periodicals published in the province in 1874 was 38, viz.: 4 daily, 5 tri-weekly, 24 "weekly, 1 bi-weekly, and 4 monthly. - The following table from the census of 1871 gives the number of churches, buildings attached, and adherents of the principal denominations:

DENOMINATIONS.

Churches.

Buildings.

Adherents.

Baptist.........

234

267

73 394

Episcopal

142

193

55,124

Methodist.....

157

196

40,871

Presbyterian..

197

222

103 539

Roman Catholic

120

182

102 001

Miscellaneous ..........

47

47

12.871

Total........

897

1,107

387.800

Of the Baptists 19,032 were Freewill Baptists, and of the Methodists 38,683 were Wesleyans.

Among the miscellaneous are included 4,958 Lutherans, 2,538 Congregationalists, 1,555 Christian Conference, 869 Adventists, 647 Univer-salists, and 128 Bible Believers. - Nova Scotia is said to have been discovered by the Cabots in 1497; but the first attempt to colonize it was made by De Monts and some other Frenchmen, together with a few Jesuits, in 1604. They called the country Acadia, and for eight years made efforts to form settlements at Port Royal (now Annapolis) and some other places; but they were at length expelled by the colonists of Virginia, who claimed Nova Scotia by right of original discovery. In 1621 Sir William Alexander obtained a grant of the peninsula from James I., and in the patent it was called Nova Scotia. Alexander's intention was to colonize the country upon an extensive scale; but when the colonists arrived, in 1623, they found the localities where they intended to form settlements already occupied by foreign adventurers, and returned to their native country. In the reign of Charles I. the Nova Scotia baronets were created.

They were not to exceed 150 in number, and were in fact a kind of joint stock company for colonizing the country. (See Alexander, William.) The French obtained a footing in Nova Scotia a second time, and were not subdued till Cromwell sent a strong force against them in 1654. England, ceded the country to France by the treaty of Breda in 1667; but the English continued from time to time to ravage the French settlements, and in 1713 Nova Scotia was restored to them. For some years it was much neglected; but in 1748 efforts were made to colonize it by emigrants sent out at the expense of the British government. Some 4,000 settlers and their families reached the colony in this way, and founded the town of Halifax. The French, who were still numerous, caused considerable annoyance and loss to the English by joining the Indians in making war upon them, and they were at length mostly expelled. (See Acadia.) A constitution, with an elective assembly, was granted to Nova Scotia in 1758; and by the treaty of Paris (1763) France renounced all future claim upon any of her former possessions in North America. The same year Cape Breton and Prince Edward island were annexed to Nova Scotia, but the latter was separated from it in 1770. New Brunswick and Cape Breton were separated from Nova Scotia in 1784, but the latter was rean-nexed in 1819. After the close of the American revolution large numbers of royalist refugees from the United States settled in Nova Scotia, and their descendants now form a large portion of the population.

Responsible government was introduced in 1848. In 1867 Nova Scotia became one of the original provinces of the Dominion of Canada. - See "An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia," by Thomas C. Haliburton (Halifax, 1829); "History of Nova Scotia," etc, by R. M. Martin (London, 1837); "Geological Survey of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton," by D. Honeyman (Halifax, 1864); " Acadian Geology," by J. "W. Dawson (London, 1868); "Selections from the Public Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia," by Thomas B. Akins (Halifax, 1869); and " The Mineralogy of Nova Scotia," by Henry How (Halifax, 1869).