PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, a British colony, is situated on the south aide of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, between 45° 58' and 47° 7' N. lat., 62' and 64' 27' \V. long. Its length from east to west is about 140 miles, and it varies in width from 10 to 30 miles. The area is 2134 square miles. The population in 1S48 was 62,678; in 1852 it was about 90,000. • Prince Edward Island is separated from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by Northumberland Strait, which varies in width from 9 to 30 miles. The island is almost entirely surronnded with red cliffs, varying from 20 to 100 feet in height. The coast is so intersected by bays and creeks that no part of the island is at a greater distance than eight milee from the ebbing and flowing of the tide. Hillsborough Bay enters the island from the south with a wide opening, but after wards becomes so narrow that it appears like a river, and is called Hillsborough River. The tide ascends nearly to its extremity, which is ouly about a mile distant from Savage Harbour on the northern coast. Farther west are Halifax Bay and Richmond Bay, the former iotersecting the island from the south, and the latter from the north, till there remains between them only an isthmus about a mile and a half wide.
The surface of the island consists of gentle ascents and descents. A series of heights intersect the island about the middle, running from milli to south. Streams and springs of fresh water are ahnudant. The spring and autumn are both of short duration. In the beginning of June summer bursts forth, and continues till the end of September, when the evenings get cool, and the autumn commences. During January and February the weather is generally steady, with the thermometer occasionally from to 20° below zero of Fahren heit ; but the air is dry and clear. In summer the heat is tempered by the sea-breezea The soil is generally fertile, and consists for the most part of a thin layer of decayed vegetable substances surmounting a light loam a foot or more in depth ' • below, a stiff clay resting on sandstone predomi nates. The island was formerly covered with large forest-trees, espe cially pine, the timber of which has been so largely exported to England that little more now remains than is required for ship building, home-building, and other local purposes.
The soil and climate of this island are particularly suited for agriculture. All kinds of grain and vegetables cultivated in England grow well ; and well-cultivated farms preview' wheat, barley, oats, green crops, and grames in abundance and of excellent quality. The horses aro small, but strong and hardy. The breed of cattle has been Improved by the introduction of Durham and Ayrshire bulls, and that of sheep by the introduction of Leicester and Southdown stock from England. Swine are plentiful. The fur-Is:mann animals have become scarce. Seals are found in the bays and along the coasts in summer and antsimn, and vast numbers sometimes come down on the ice when it breaks up In the Polar Seas. As a fishing station the inland is one of the best in the Onlf of St. Lawrence ; and the harbours on the north aide are most conveniently situated for carrying on this pursuit. Cod and mackerel are abundant in their respective seasons. The inhabitants however do not prosecute fishing as a branch of commerce, only taking what in required for their own con sumption; while from 200 to 300 fishing-vessels from the United States are engaged during the summer in fishing round the shores of the Wand.
Print* Edward Inland is divided into thr:eo counties ; Queen's County includes the central part of the island, King's County the eastem part., and Prince's County the western part. The settlements are dispersed all over the island, except the western end, which is still to a great extent overgrown with forest. Charlotte Town, the
capital and seat of government, is alinated in Queen's County, at the junction of the Hillsborough River with the York River, on an angular piece of ground which rises gradnally to the north-west. These two rivers, together with the Elliot River, form the inner Harbour, which is a well-sheltered basin about three miles wide, whence the united streams discharge their waters by a single channel nbout half tt mile wide into Hillsborough Bay, which is called the Outer Harbour, awl Is capacious and safe for vessels of any burden. The town is regularly built, with broad streets intersecting each other at right angles. The public buildings consist of the Colonial Building, a handsome stone edifice, containing accommodation for the legislature, public officers, and supreme courts of law and chancery; the old courthouse; an asylum for lunatics and indigent persons; an Episcopalian church, Roman Catholic church, Scotch church, Methodist chapel, and Baptist chapel. Thera is an academy established by the colonial legislature, and endowed with 200/. a year, and also a National school, partly supported by the colonial government The population of the town is nearly 5000. George Town, the capital of King's County, is situated on the eastern coast, on n point of land in the Bay of Three Rivers, or Cardigan Bay, which is formed by the junction of the rivers Cardigan, Montague, and Brudenell. The town is regularly built, and contains about 700 inhabitants. The harbour is excellent, amid is very con veniently situated either for fishing or trading. Prince Town, at the entrance of Richmond Bay, has been regularly laid down as the capital •of Prince's County, but has very few inhabitants ; but the village of St. Eleanor's, at the head of Richmond Bay, is a thriving place, and contains the county jail, the court-house, and an Episcopalian church.
The population of the island is composed of mixed races, about three-fourths of the whole number being natives of the island, chiefly descendants of the French Acadians, who remained after the colony was ceded to the British in 1763; of settlers from the Highlands of Scotland, who were introduced by the proprietors of townships subse quently to 1770; and of American loyalists, to whom lauds were granted at the close of the revolutionary war. Them are also about 300 Indians remaining on the island of the once numerous Micmac tribe. The remaining fourth of the population are immigrants from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Of the entire population nearly one half are Roman Catholics, about one-third are Presbyterians, and about one-ninth are Episcopalians. Free schools have been established throughout the island, and a visitor appointed ; them are also district schools with a visitor for each county.
The commerce of the island consists in the exchange of its agricul tural prodnce, timber and deals, and a small quantity of dried and pickled fish, for British and Amerieau manufactures and other articles of consumption. The manufactures of the island are of email nmouut, consisting of linen and flannel for domestic use, coarse woollen cloth, and leather.
The civil establishment consists of a lieutenant-governor, whose salary is paid by the British government, a chief justice, an attorney general, an assistant-judge, and a master of the rolls, and other offic•rs whose salaries are paid by the colonial government. The revenue of the island in 1852 was 20,8561.; tho expenditure was14,8571. By means of the sub-marine telegraph Prince Edward Island has communication with the neighbouring provinces and with the United States.