Census of Sieur de La Roque 171

the hypothesis that as a result of the failure of crops, 1749-1751, the cattle were consumed by the starving inhabitants or died from lack of fodder.

In addition to the live stock the habitans owned 4 schooners, one of 15 tons, one of 25, one of 26, and one of 45 to 50 tons; 4 batteaux; 15 fishing boats; and 11 small boats or canoes. There were only 4 flour mills and 2 sawmills for the entire colony.

Although the crops promised well, there was much land lying idle for lack of seed. The entire seeding for the year consisted of 1490 bushels of wheat, 129 bushels of oats, 181 bushels of peas, 814 bushels of barley, 8 bushels of rye, one bushel of linseed, one of sprat, and one-half bushel of buckwheat; but there was land cleared for sowing 2935 bushels of wheat if the settlers had had it to sow. In eleven of the newer settlements although small clearings had been made not a bushel had been sown; and even in the older settlements there was great dearth of seed.

This dearth of seed was due not only to the short- comings of official France in not keeping its promises to the Acadians who had migrated under assurance of liberal aid but also to a succession of misfortunes from 1749 to 1751. These may be illustrated from the Sieur de La Roque’s comments on Malpeque, one

of the oldest and most promising of all the settle- ments:

The lands in the neighborhood of the harbor of Mac-

pec are superior in quality to those of St. Pierre and the Riviére du Nord-Est, and even to all those we have

visited up to the present time. Nevertheless those who