TOURING QUEBEC AND THE MARITIMES 51 head of the Bay. How well they did their work may be judged from the fact that these dykes are more than one hundred and fifty years old. It is estimated that every year these marshes yield something like 40,000 tons of hay. The average yield is not far short of two tons per acre, while a yield of three tons and over is by no means uncommon. The soil is very rich, and if given anything like fair treatment, will con¬ tinue to produce fine crops of hay year after year without any artificial stimulants. It is said the only meadow lands in the world resembling these marshes are to be found in Holland, where a large amount of territory has been wrested from the sea by means of dykes similar to those so long in use in this part of the world. During the haying season a visitor on a clear day might stand on an eminence overlooking this great marsh body, and with the aid of a glass, count hundreds of men and boys busily engaged in harvesting this splendid crop of hay. It is always an inter¬ esting and inspiring sight, and one that would be difficult to duplicate in any other part of the world. "Tantramar! Tantramar! I see thy cool, green plains afar; Thy dykes where grey sea-grasses are, Mine eyes behold them yet." -—C. G. D. Roberts The Tantramar marshes are on a much larger scale than those around Grand Pre, which Longfellow has immortal¬ ized. Their vast stretches, fertility and loneliness grips one's imagination. Since the harvesters dwell on the higher land, they are uninhabited, for the marshes are behind the dykes and below the level of the higher tides. But barns dot the marshes, presenting a spectacle unique in charac¬ ter. Narrow ditches replace the customary fences and trees are absent.