Page:Tourist's Maritime Provinces.djvu/243

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NORTHERN NOVA SCOTIA
197

called for Queen Victoria, and the Government Farm of 220 acres. The recreation woods, of which the town is quite justly vain, are beyond the outskirts. Except for the laying of walks, the building of rustic spans and climbing stairways, man has intruded little of his handiwork in this shrine of trees and hurrying brooks. A mountain torrent gushing over rocky terraces creates a cascade which Joe Howe admired and which in memory bears his name.

Bible Hill on the opposite side of the well-kept town is occupied by the experimental farm, directed in the interest of Nova Scotia dairying and agriculture. Soil typical of the province is available for the growing of roots, grain and hay. The livestock barns boast prize cattle and horses. Among the latter are several thoroughbreds imported from various districts to raise the standard of Nova Scotia draught and carriage horses. The grounds are ornamented with flower-beds, which border the walks and surround the superintendent's dwelling. The Nova Scotians, tutored by capable specialists like Professor Cummings, head of the Farm and of the Agricultural School, and his associates, are awakening to the call of the land in a broader sense than ever before. Settlers from across the ocean have of late years been invited to tarry in this rich province by the sea instead of pursuing their journey half way across the continent to take up undeveloped claims under pioneer conditions.