Of indigenous productions, Newfoundland exhibits no great variety. Its titnber is not abundant or valua ble. The principal use of it is for fuel and fishing-stages. Some attempts were made at one time to construct ships of the larger trees, which, it is true, occur in no great quantity ; but these vessels obtained, from seamen who had tried them, the ominous epithet of Newfoundland coffins : their utmost period of duration was seven years. The native animals of the island, are bears, otters, hea vers, red foxes, which are hunted in the winter season for their skins ; and herds of deer, which are hunted for an additional reason. A few small horses are reared by the inhabitants ; and some black cattle find a precarious livelihood during summer among the woods, returning home of their own accord at the beginning of winter, or every evening, if they have young. Goats are numerous, and chiefly supply the people with milk. The web footed dog of this island is celebrated for his aquatic powers; he serves in his own country frequently in the additional capacity of a beast of draught. The common opinion of his being the mongrel of a wolf and a European dog appears to be erroneous. He resembles the Green land dog in several respects, and seems to belong to a distinct species of his own. The animal commonly met with in England under this name is but half-bred.
Agriculture, it may well be supposed, can make no progress in such a soil and under such a sky. The ar tificial productions of this island are not more abundant than its natural. Potatoes are almost the only class of European vegetables, which the people have succeeded in raising properly. They constitute a most valuable, though insufficient portion of their ordinary food. Oats, or even wheat, will flourish during the warm months, but they do not arrive at perfection. Turnips, peas, sal lad, lettuce of various kinds, can be produced in gar dens; but the supply of them is so small, that even the common dandelion is an object of desire, Melons and cucumbers are occasionally raised in hot-houses.
No minerals have been discovered here, though coal is by. some thought to exist in considerable quantities. The gold Ore of the early navigators proved to be a spe cies of pylites. But the most valuable mine of New foundland consists in the produce of its waters, " like which," as Bacon said concerning it, " of all the mine rals there is none so rich." Besides abundance of sal mon in its rivers, the shores of this island arc frequent ed by numerous shoals of capelins, herrings, mackei el, and, above all, by enormous'multitudes of cod, the taking. and curing of which gives employment to above 100,000 persons. The Great Bank, where they are principally found, lies to the south-east of the island, and measures not less than 330 miles in length, and 75 in breadth ; the water on it, from 15 to 60 fathoms deep, being every -where peopled by those fishes, which, though millions of them have been taken annually, for nearly three centu turies, have not yet sensibly diminished in number. In
regard to the hands it employs, Newfoundland is by far the greatest fishing station in the world; and though no satisfactory estimate appears to have been formed of the exact quantity cured there of late years, it is known im mensely to exceed the produce of any other fishery. Lofroden, in Norway, probably does not bear to it a higher proportion in this respect than that of 1 to 5.* The ships intended for the fishery on the south-east coast, arrive early in June. Each takes her station op posite any unoccupied part of the beach where the fish may be most comeniently cured, and retains it till the end of the season. Formerly the master who arrived first on any station was constituted fishing admiral, and had by law the power of settling disputes among the other crews. But the jurisdiction of those admirals is now happily superseded by the regular functionaries who reside on shore. Each captain directs his whole atten tion to the collection of his own cargo, without minding the concerns of his neighbour. Having taken down what part of the rit;ging is removeable, they set about their laborious calling, and must pursue it zealously. Their mode of proceeding is thus described by Mr. Anspach, a clerical pet son, who lived in the island several years, and has since written a meagre and very confused book, which he calls a history of it.
'rhe boats used for this purpose vary in their size and in the number of their crews : some having only two hands, and these frequently boys and girls, merely old and strong enough to handle the line. Most boats, however, have four men, each with one line on each side of him, and these lines have two hooks ; so that in these boats there are no less than sixteen hooks in constant employment. Each hook is furnished with such bait as the season affords; namely, first thc entrails of the fish caught with jiggers ; next herring, niackerel, lance, capelin, squids, or young cod ; and in default of these, the flesh of sea-fowl.
" The boat having taken her station on a ledge, or other shoaly ground, each line being fastened on the in side of the boat, and the hooks baited, the man sits at an equal distance from the two hooks that are committed to his care, moving them from time to time ; as soon as the least tightness or niotion is observed in the line, it s drawn up with all possible speed, and the fish thrown into the boat, where the hook is then disengaged from its mouth; if it is of a large size, it is seized, as soon as raised to the surface of the water, with a gaff or large hook fixed to the end of a pole, in order to prevent the disappointment often experienced in consequence of the fish, even whcn within reach of the hand, either disen tangling itself from the hook by the excessive vivacity of its motions, and wideness of its mouth, or breaking the line, and disappearing at once with the hook and bait in its gills.