42 THEISLAND ACADIANS

...are located along, or crossed by, rivers and streams, most of which are bordered by meadows, the inhabitants preferring those areas to any others because it would cost them hardship and labour to create meadows; besides, the fishing there always provides them with means of survival, and the soil is of the same quality as in the interior of the island. (TR)**

Gradually, as the population grew and all the natural meadows were taken up the colonists had to cut and clear the forest to increase the size of their farms. This arduous and painful task did not appeal to the Acadians who were more accustomed to building dykes and draining marshlands. The clearing process resulted in disastrous forest fires which on several occasions destroyed the crops in some com- munities. According to the settlement patterns of the Acadians on the Island, it was customary for at least part of the farm to have access to a waterway. They did not, therefore, venture very far inland*’.

Wheat and peas were the principal crops of the colony. They were the main ingredients for the bread and soup which constituted the basic diet of the population. In 1739, about 670 bushels of wheat and 150 bushels of peas were planted. Sieur de la Roque’s census of 1752 gives us a very good idea of the types of crops at the time. As a matter of fact, the inhabitants had sown 1,490 bushels of wheat, 129 of oats, 181 of peas, 8 of barley, 8 of rye, 1 bushel of flax and 1 of buckwheat*®.

According to the same census, one thousand acres of land had been cleared in the colony, but only six or seven hundred acres had been seeded®*’ due to a lack of seed. In previous years, a large portion of the crops had been destroyed by natural disasters. Thus the settlers had to look elsewhere for their seed, namely in Louisbourg where it was not always available.

fle Saint Jean was never able to fulfill its role as a supply colony for Louisbourg during the French regime. Because of the disasters that struck their tiny colony, the inhabitants often depended on help from Louisbourg to survive. There were several good years but the crops could only feed the local population. In fact, at no point did the Island export wheat or peas, even to Louisbourg®®.

The colony suffered various types of plagues: field mice, grasshop- pers, rust and forest fires which destroyed the crops of a single com- munity one moment and of the whole colony the next. The area