PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

son should try it, and I venture the asset- tion that our advantages in this respect will make your wits acute and your memory re

I 153

tentive. The health thus derived will make your soul delight in her mansion, sporting herself at the casements of your eyes.

AGRICULTURE.

‘ BY PROF. J. C. Ream”.

The history of agriculture in Prince Ed- ward Island must of necessity be the history of the development and progress of the Province. Forests and fisheries have each contributed their quota to the wealth of the people, but agriculture was, is, and appar- ently always will be, the chief occupation and mainstay.

And no compensation for this circum- stance is necessary. The inherent wealth of the soil, its ease of transference to the accu- mulations of men, and an exhilarating cli- matic environment place the people of Prince Edward Island at no disadvantages econom- ically with the other Provinces of the Do- minion. Such a statement is made, not to appeal to vanity or provincialism, but to as- sert the honest conviction of one, who, though not a native. has lamed to love the responsive soil, the living verdure, the rest— ful landscape, the exhilarating climate, and the hospitable people. To such an one has fallen the honour to chronicle the privations of the pioneer, the statesmanship of the statesman, and the accomplishment of the agriculturist of Prince Edward Island.

The‘honour of the first occupation of the Island is disputed, France and England each

claiming it. - One thing is certain, however, that up to 1763 French rule, French cus- toms, and French methods predominated. Frequent hostilities between France and England in Acadia—or Nova Scotia as it is now called—drove the French residents to

emigrate, and Prince Edward Island became the popular refuge.

Nearly three hundred and fifty years ago the sound of the axe and the rustle of the sail joined with the murmurings (if solitude. In 1663 the first attempt was made to induce immigration and to introduce the white man’s civilization. War, adventure, and am- bition, each in its own selfish way, has con- tributed its meagre help to populate the Island, but Prince Edward Islanders proudly trace their inherent patriotism. and love of law and order, not to the spirit of force, but to the conquest of willing hands and strong hearts.

In 1763 British law, British order, and British freedom took the place of the French regime. For one hundred years, the Fleur- de-lis had proclaimed French domination, but had not proclaimed peace and prosperity to the people. The settlement of the land had been slow and the population fluctuat- ing. \Var with all its cruelty and privation had forced the loyal French first from Aca- dia to Prince Edward Island and then back again as the victorious Briton gradually

tightened his grip on the North American

Continent. In I 713 France relinquished her hold on Acadia and left her sons there to ince, and founded settlements at Port Joie, face the humiliation of submission to a for— eign power. Rather than submit, nearly three hundred of them located in this Prov- now Charlottetown. at Pinette and Crapaud. and a little later at St. Peters, Rustico and