MANUFACTURES AND TRANSPORTATION. The maritime situation of Nova Scotia is most favor able for purposes of trade with European and Atlantic seaboard States. The coast line (about 1000 miles long) has an unusual numlwr of in dentations, which offer exceptional harbor facili ties. The harbors on the Atlantic and the Bay of Fundy coasts are accessible the year round. Halifax (q.v.), on the Atlantic coast, is the har bor most frequented. The registered vessels built by the province number 155 steamers and 1966 sail boats. The tonnage for both the over sea and coastwise vessels which enter and leave the harbors is rapidly increasing, amounting in 1900 to a total of 3,700.000 and 6.000,000 respec tively. The Intercolonial Railroad, with termi imls in Halifax on the east and in Sydney on the north coast, connects Nova Scotia with the other Canadian provinces. Other lines traverse tho southern part of the peninsula, making a total of :143 miles for the province in 1901. As in the other provinces. t?overtiment subsidies have great ly aided in railroad construction. The hugest items of export are fish, coal, lumber. and min erals, while the imports consist largely of West India produce and British and American manu factured products.
No industry of the province has so bright a prospect as manufacturing. Aside from ship
building, which declined, manufac turing has never been important. Nova Scotia has the exceptional advantage at home of the iron ore, coal, and limestone (used as flux), and there fore seems destined to be a seat of iron and steel manufacturing industries. Coke is being manu factured, and :It Sydney in Cape Breton the iron and steel industry is being developed on an ex tensive scale. The forests afford a large supply of tanning harks. This has given rise to tho tanning industry. Another natural advantage to manufacturing is the great water power affiu-dea by the streams of the province. There are a numher of cotton mills. Sugar is manufac tured at Halifax. Extensive fruit-raising ex plains the number of earning factories. Butter and cheese factories arc increasing in number.
BANKs. In 1899 the chartered bank branches numbered 69. The clearing-house transactions in Halifax in 1900 amounted to $77,000.000. The post-office savings banks numbered 50 (1900), with 13,125 depositors and an average deposit of $261.44. There were also (1900) 15 Government savings banks, having 15,479 depositors, with an average deposit of $300.64.