William Lawson Grant

“ The south-west peninsula of Ontario has its climate greatly modified by the lakes which almost enclose it. As the lakes never freeze, the prevalent cold north-west winds of North America are warmed in their passage over them, and often much of the winter precipitation is in the form of rain, so that the weather has much less certainty than in the north. The summers are often sultry, though the presence of the lakes prevents the intense heat experienced in the states to the west and south. ”

“ Agriculture.—About three-fifths of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and in 1910 the amount invested in lands, buildings, implements and stock was double that invested in the manufactures of the whole Dominion. Nearly all the farms are worked by their owners, and a simple and efficient system of land-transfer is in use. The farming population in the older parts of the province tends to decline in numbers, owing to emigration, partly to the towns, but especially to the newer lands of Manitoba and the west. ”

“ Climate.—The climate of Ontario varies greatly, as might be expected from its wide range in latitude and the relationships of the Great Lakes to the southern peninsula of the province. The northern parts as far south as the north shore of Lake Superior have long and cold but bright winters, sometimes with temperatures reaching 50° F. below zero; while their summers are delightful, with much sunshine and some hot days but pleasantly cool nights. Between Georgian Bay and Ottawa the winters are less cold, but usually with a plentiful snowfall; while the summers are warm and sometimes even hot. ”

“ Steamers not of too great draught can run the rapids going down, but vessels must come up through the canals. All the other rivers in southern Ontario are tributaries of the lakes or of the St Lawrence, the Ottawa, navigable in many parts, being the largest, and the Trent next in importance. In northern Ontario lakes are innumerable and often very picturesque, forming favourite summer resorts, such as Lake Temagami, the Muskoka Lakes and Lake-of-the-Woods. ”

“ The great agricultural development of the western provinces, in which manufactures are little advanced, has given a great impetus to the industries of the older provinces, especially Ontario.
Communications.—Numerous lakes and rivers afford means of communication, and obstacles thereon have been largely overcome by canals (see Canada) . Railways gridiron the province, which contains over one-third the total mileage of the dominion; their construction is aided by provincial and municipal subsidies, in addition to that paid by the federal government. ”

“ The district north of the Height of Land, long supposed to be a barren wilderness, has proved in part suitable for agriculture, and is steadily increasing in population. Mixed farming and the raising of live stock is becoming more and more the rule, so that the failure of any one crop becomes of less vital importance. ”

“ Owing to tariff restrictions, the United States’ market is being more and more abandoned, and improvements in cold storage are making it possible to export to Great Britain increasing quantities of butter and cheese. The collection of milk by the creameries and cheese-factories is carried on with great efficiency. The number of horses and sheep is stationary or declining, but the raising of hogs, formerly abandoned in great part to the western states, is becoming an increasing industry. ”

“ In all the river valleys, and especially on the fertile diked lands along the head of the Bay of Fundy, many rich and prosperous farms are found varying in size from 100 to 240 acres, and good crops of wheat, oats, buckwheat and all the staple grains and roots are grown. The raising of sheep and cattle, and the production of cheese and butter, are becoming industries of importance. ”

“ The province supplies over two-thirds of the iron ore mined in the Dominion, but much is still imported. The output of gold is decreasing. The nickel mines in the neighbourhood of Sudbury are the largest in the world, outrivalling those of New Caledonia. In the same district, and chiefly in connexion with the nickel mines, large quantities of copper are produced. When in 1905 the rich silver area was found in northern Ontario, a rush was made to it, comparable to those to the Australian and Californian goldfields. Cobalt, the centre of this area, is 103 m. ”

“ A laudable attempt has been made to keep the education department free from the vagaries and the strife of party politics, and the advantages of political control have been as much felt as its drawbacks. ”

“ Municipal ownership does not prevail to any extent, and in the larger cities the powers of certain great corporations have tended to cause friction, but such matters as the provision of electric power and light are gradually being taken in hand both by the municipalities and by the province, and a railway and municipal board appointed by the local legislature has certain powers over the railways and electric tramlines.
Finance.—By the British North America Act, which formed in 1867 the Dominion of Canada, the provinces have the right of direct taxation only. ”

“ Secondary education is imparted in high schools and collegiate [1] institutes. These may exact fees or give free education at the option of the local trustees. There are also numerous private schools. Of these such as are incorporated are aided by exemption from municipal taxation. In and around Toronto are numerous boarding schools and colleges, of which those for boys are on the model of the great public schools of England. Of these the most celebrated is Upper Canada College, founded in 1829, and long part of the educational system of the province, but now under private control. ”

“ Ontario is thus pre-eminently an agricultural province, though the growth of manufactures has increased the importance of the towns and cities, and many of the farmers are seeking new homes in the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. This emigration accounts in large measure for the slow increase of the population, though there has also been a slight decrease in the birth-rate. The population was long entirely confined to the southern and eastern sections of the province, which comprise an area of about 33,000 sq. ”

“ With the cession of French North America to Great Britain in 1763, the Indian lords of the soil rose under Pontiac in a last attempt to shake off the white man, and in 1763–1765 there was hard fighting along the western frontier from Sault-Ste-Marie to Detroit. Thereafter for almost twenty years, Ontario was traversed only by wandering bands of trappers, chiefly belonging to the Hudson’s Bay Company; but in 1782 bands of American loyalists began to occupy the fertile country along the Bay of Quinté, and in the Niagara peninsula, the first settlement being made in 1782 at Kingston. ”

“ This whole section of the province is densely wooded. The southern region embraces the district along the Bay of Fundy. Its coast is rocky and bold and interrupted by ravines. Inland the numerous rivers, flowing through the soft sandstone and conglomerate rocks, have cut broad valleys, the soil of which is extremely rich and fertile. Along the shores on the east coast, and for some miles inland, the country is flat and composed of mosses and marshes, but beyond that distance it rises into gently sloping hills, which extend as far as St John. ”

“ Either owing to the beauty of its scenery or to the excellence of its education New Brunswick has produced a school of poetry, headed by Charles Roberts, which is unique in the Dominion.
Agriculture.—The great predominance of the lumber industry has tended to keep agriculture in the background. There is also a steady flow of the most active young men to the greater opportunities offered by the Canadian and American west. Thus the area under crop tends slowly to decrease. ”

“ Women students are admitted to all the universities save Ottawa on the same terms as men, and form nearly one-third of the whole number of students. Theological colleges are supported by the various religious bodies, and are in affiliation with one or other of the universities.
The public and high schools tend rather to follow American than British methods, though less freedom is allowed to the local authorities than in most of the American states. ”

“ In addition to the ordinary literary and scientific subjects, manual training, domestic science, agriculture and kindred subjects are taught in the public and high schools, and in the larger towns technical institutes are being founded. Many of the rural schools have gardens, in which the elements of agriculture, botany and kindred subjects are taught in a practical manner. ”

“ Much splendid timber has been needlessly destroyed, chiefly by forest-fires, but also by improvident farmers in their haste to clear the land. Increased attention is now being paid by both provincial and federal governments to preservation and to reforestation. Special areas have been set apart on which no timber may be cut, and on which the problems of scientific forestry may be studied. ”

“ In 1902 the provincial government set aside a large area of the highlands at the sources of the Tobique, Nipisiquit and Miramichi rivers for a national park and game preserve.
Mines and Fisheries.—The mineral wealth of the province is small, though gold, iron, copper, lead, zinc and plumbago have been worked on a small scale at various times. Coal seams are numerous, but are worked solely for local consumption. Albertite, a species of coal found in Albert county and giving a very hot flame, is now exhausted. Limestone and gypsum are extensively quarried near St John and in Albert county. ”

“ Free text books may be issued at the discretion of the local authorities, but in most cases are provided by parents. Every school, public, separate or high, shares in the provincial grant, but the chief financial burden falls on the local authorities. ”

“ Manufactures.—The chief manufactures, apart from the shipping of St John, are connected with lumbering and with agriculture. The making of paper pulp and of furniture is growing steadily in importance. Co-operation in the manufacture of butter and cheese has produced excellent results, and numerous cheese and butter factories are scattered through the province. In no sense, however, does New Brunswick play an important part in the manufactures of the Dominion.
Communications.—The rivers are still the main arteries of the province. The roads, though improving, are as a rule bad. ”

“ Wheat, barley, oats, peas, potatoes and other roots are staple crops, the average yield of wheat being about 20 bushels an acre; cattle are increasing in number and improving in quality, and all branches of dairy farming prosper. ”

“ In all these an adequate training is given in law, theology and the literary subjects, but for science, whether pure or applied, most of the provincial students go either to the United States or to the universities of Upper Canada. ”

“ Owing to the low rate of salaries, the percentage of women teachers, especially in the public schools, is steadily increasing, and now amounts in these to almost 83%. The same cause has also reduced their age, and the teachers are in many cases exceedingly immature. ”

“ The other inlets of consequence on the east coast are Miramichi, Richibucto, Buctouche, Cocagne and Shediac Bays; on the south coast are Passamaquoddy Bay, St John Harbour and Chignecto Bay.
New Brunswick At the mouths of the rivers are in nearly every case excellent harbours. To the province belong the islands of Campobello and Grand Manan, at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, from both of which important fisheries are carried on. ”

“ Along the western border this area is 400 to 600 ft. high, but near the coast it is low and flat. “The Carboniferous area of New Brunswick is continuous across the isthmus [of Chignecto] with that of Nova Scotia, so that from Miscou on the Bay of Chaleur to Sydney on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton, the whole coast of the Gulf of St Lawrence is bordered by coal-bearing rocks” (S. E. Dawson, North America, London, 1897) . North-west of the Carboniferous a belt of 40 to 50 m. wide is occupied by Ordovician and pre-Cambrian formations, with large masses of intrusive granite. ”

“ The institution of a minimum salary by the provincial department led to such resistance that it was withdrawn, but a distinct advance in salaries has taken place since 1906. In the rural districts an attempt is being made to increase efficiency by the consolidation of several small schools and the conveyance of the children to one central building. ”

“ Geology.—Along the Bay of Fundy, for about 30 m. inland, is a band of hard Cambrian and Cambro-Silurian rocks, with smaller areas of Devonian, Huronian and Laurentian. The city of St John is built upon very hard Cambrian slates, in which interesting fossils are found. North of this belt grey sandstones and conglomerates of Carboniferous age occupy a triangular area, the apex of which is near Oromocto Lake, the south side extending to Nova Scotia and the north-west side to Bathurst. ”