NOVA SCOTIA, a province of the Dominion of Canada, is bounded on the n.w. by New Brunswick and the bay of Fundy, on the n. by the straits of Northumberland and the gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the other sides by the Atlantic ocean. It consists of two portions, Nova Scotia proper, a large peninsula connected with New Brunswick by an isthmus about 15 in. in width, and the island of Cape Breton (q.v.). The peninsula, about 280 m. in length, and from 50 to 100 m. broad, extends in an e.n.e. and w.s.w. direction:. Cape Breton lies n.e. of Nova Scotia proper, separated from it by a narrow strait called the gut of Canso, 16 in. long, and from half a m. to 2 m. wide. Sable island, which is 25 in. in length by 11 in breadth, and is surrounded by a dangerous, widely-extended sand-bank, is situated about 90 m. from the nearest coast of Nova Scotia, in lat. 44° n. and long. 60° west. It is formed of sand-lfflls thrown up by the sea, some of them being about 80 ft. in height. The island is covered with wild grasses, which support herds of wild horses, known as Sable island ponies. It is in the track of vessels trading between America and Britain, and owing to the number of wrecks that take place on its shores, a superintendent and several men are stationed here for the purpose of rescuing and aiding shipwrecked mariners. The area of the province is 18,600 sq.m.; pop. '71, 387,800. The coast-line is about 1000 m. in length, and the shores, which are much indented, abound in excellent bays and harbors, of which the chief are Chedabucto bay, Halifax harbor, St. Margaret's, Mahone, and-St. Mary's bays, Annapolis, Minas, and Chignecto basins, and Pictou harbor. There are numerous rivers, but few of them are over 50 m. in length; the most important are the Avon, the Annapolis, and the Shubenacadie. Nova Scotia contains about 400 lakes, of which the Bras d'Or, in Cape Breton, covers an area of 500 sq.m., or about one-sixth of the entire area of the island. The surface is irregular and undulating, but not elevated. flanges of hills traverse the center of Nova Scotia in the direction of its length. The Cobequid mountains, 60 m. from the Atlantic and 1100 ft. high, traverse the peninsula from the bay of Fundy to the straits of Canso. The soil in the valleys is rich and fertile, pro clueing all the fruits of temperate climates; and, especially in the n., the uplands also are fertile. The climate is remarkably healthy, its rigor being modified by the insular character of the province. and by the influence of the gulf stream. The mean tempera ture for the year is 42.09' at Pictou, and 42.6' at Windsor. The extremelimits of the thermometer may be stated at 15' Fah. in winter, and 95' in the shade in summer. The province abounds in mineral riches. including gold. coal. and iron. Gold was first dis covered in the colony in March. 1861, on Tangier river, about 40 m e. of Halifax. The chief diggings are along the Atlantic coast, and gold has been found in nearly 100 differ ent localities., An act of the legislature regulating the disposal of claims and the col lection of revin'pe,frotivtiif golif-Aelc14 wadvsterOn Mared,9'023 The gold mines have been worked steadily, and in many eases profitably. Iii18',1. the yield of geld was
19,227 oz., in value about $355,700; in 1S75 the yield was 11,208 oz., valued at $201,756.
In 1875, 781,165 tons of coal and 4,467 tons of iron ore were raised in the province. Of the entire area of the colony, 10,000,000 acres are considered good land, and of these 1,028,032 acres were under cultivation. Three-fourths of the whole area are comprised in the peninsula of Nova Scotia, and the remainder in the island of Cape Breton. The principal agricultural products are: hay, wheat, barley, buckwheat, oats, rye, Indian corn, potatoes, and turnips. The waters around the colony abound in fish, as mackerel, shad, herring, salmon, etc., and the fisheries are pursued with ardor and ever-increasing success. In 1873-74 the number of men employed in the fisheries was 21,031, and the total value of the fish caught, $6,652,301. In 1873-74 the imports amounted to 1:2,181,470, the exports to £1,531,300; the revenue for 1873 to £134,500, the expenditure to £136,200. The number of vessels that arrived in Nova Scotia during the yea: ending June 30, 1874, was 4,424, of 959,114 tons, and the number that departed 3,752, of 881,263 tons. There arc in the colony 1150 m. of telegraph, and 300 ni. of railway. It is provided with 5 colleges, 10 academies, and 1700 grammar, normal, and other schools.
Nova Scotia is supposed to have been visited and "discovered " by the Cabots in 1497. Its first colonists were a number of Frenchmen, who established themselves here in 1604, but were afterwards expelled by settlers from Virginia, who claimed the country by right of discovery. Under the French settlers it bore the name of Acadia (Acadie); but its name was changed for its present one in 1621, when a grant of the peninsula was obtained from James I. by sir William Alexander, whose intention was to colonize the whole country. Having found, however, that the localities they had fixed upon as suit able for settlement were already occupied, the colonists returned to the mother-country. In 1651 the French, who had regained a footing in the colony, were subdued by a force sent out by Cromwell. By the treaty of Breda, the country was ceded to the French in 1667. but it was restored to the English in 1713. After the middle of the 18th c., stren uous efforts were made to advance the interests of the colony. Settlers were sent out at the expense of the British government. The French, who had joined the Indians in hostilities :whist the English, were either expelled or mastered, and Cape Breton, which was French till 1763, and was subsequently a separate province, was united to Nova Scotia in 1819. Nova Scotia was incorporated with the Dominion of Canada in 1867, and is represented in the Canadian parliament by 12 senators, and 20 members of the lower house. It has also its own local legislature and lieutenant gover nor; the legislature consisting of a council and a house of assembly elected by the coun ties—which are 18 iu number—and the cities, the chief of which are Yarmouth, Truro, and Pictou.