return until the evening of the second day. Their boats are large, but not decked; they have two fore-and-aft sails and a jib. Each boat is managed by two men, and there is frequently with them a boy. The fishermen generally build their own boats during winter: the keel is of birch; the timbers of cedar; and the planks of pine or cedar. The boat has oars, an anchor and rope, compass, and small oven for cooking; the cost is about £18 for each boat and outfit. A boat will last from six to eight years, and so will the sails also, with care.

It is considered a good day's fishing at Miscou, or Shippagan, for one of these boats to take ten quintals of fish, which they frequently do. When first caught, 112 of the small fish, and thirty of the large size, are reckoned to the quintal. The fishermen generally split, salt, and cure their own fish; when they do not, 252 lbs. of green fish, salted and drained, are given to a curer, who returns a quintal, or 112 lbs. of merchantable dry fish.

The Bay of Chaleur cod are more prized in the markets of the Mediterranean, and will at all times sell there more readily, and at higher prices than any other. They are beautifully white, and being very dry, can better withstand the effects of a hot climate and long voyage than a more moist fish. The peculiarity of their being smaller than cod caught elsewhere, is also of great importance as regards the South American market, for which they are packed in tubs of a peculiar shape called "drums," and into which they are closely pressed by means of a powerful screw.

Hake are taken abundantly in the gulf, at night, and on muddy bottoms, as in the Bay of Fundy. But much more attention is given to their cure, and they are exported under the name of "ling." The haddock abounds, but the pollock are not found in the gulf, probably from the absence of those rushing tides and foaming currents in which they so greatly delight. The torsk, or cusk, is more common than in the Bay of Fundy, and is dry-cured

as a

"scale-fish." Halibut are often taken. They are cut in slices and pickled in barrels, in which state they sell at half the price of the best herrings.

Herrings are taken everywhere on the gulf coast of New Brunswick, around Miscou Island, and within the Bay of Chaleur. Immediately after the disappearance of the ice, at the end of April or early in May, vast quantities of herrings draw near the shores to deposit their spawn; the fishing continues until about the first of June, when, the spawning being concluded, the fish retire to deep water. These "spring-herrings," as they are termed, being taken in the very act of spawning, are thin and poor; of little value as an article of food, whether fresh or salted. Other herrings appear on the coast about the 20th August, and remain inshore for a month; these are called "fall-herrings." They are fat, and in good condition, furnishing excellent food, and a valuable commodity for export. It is admitted that, when first caught, the "fall-herrings" are fully equal in every respect to the best Scotch herrings; and if they were cured in the same manner, this fishery, from the increased price and demand, would become one of the most valuable fisheries of the gulf.

Mackerel abound in the gulf, and are the chief object of pursuit with the numerous American fishing vessels which annually resort to its waters. This fishery commences early in July, and continues until late in October. The mackerel taken in the early part of the season are generally very poor; they improve in quality as the season advances. Those taken latest are by far the best, being large and fat, and in the finest condition. The mackerel fishery, as such, can scarcely be said to be followed by New Brunswick fishermen. They take small quantities only with hook and line, to serve as bait for cod; and a few are taken in nets along the coast by settlers. This valuable and prolific, though somewhat uncertain fishery, has as yet been turned to very little account by the people

of New Brunswick; but, if properly understood, may be prosecuted very extensively, and with much profit, for the mackerel of the gulf bear a very high price, and are in great demand in the United States.

In the spring, the alewife or gasperau enters all the rivers which flow into the gulf, between Baie Verte and Shippagan, and many thousands of barrels are taken annually. The striped bass abounds all along the same coast; while the quantities of smelts are perfectly prodigious. The sea-eels are uncommonly large and fat, and many are salted for exportation. The cunner, or seaperch, is large and fine in the gulf. Shad are not plentiful, and those taken are thin and of small size, greatly inferior to those caught in the Bay of Fundy. The capelin is a small migratory fish from four to seven inches in length, not unlike the smelt. It is a very delicate fish, and large shoals draw near the shores every season, at places which are favorable for the deposit of their spawn. Flounders are found everywhere in great abundance and variety, as also the tom-cod and the skate; there are also other fishes of less value, among them the dog-fish, the livers of which yield oil largely.

Salmon of the finest description are taken in great numbers along the shores of the gulf, and in the estuaries of the rivers flowing into it. At the entrance of the Miramichi, more than 400,000 lbs. of fresh salmon have been put up in a single season, in tin cases hermetically sealed, for export to the United Kingdom.

The shell-fish of the gulf consist of oysters, of excellent quality; lobsters, in exceeding abundance; large and small clams, in great quantities; crabs, periwinkles, shrimps, mussels, and razor-fish, are found everywhere, in profusion.

RIVER FISHERIES.-The numerous rivers, lakes, and streams, which so bountifully water New Brunswick, are filled with fish of excellent quality, and in great variety. Besides those fishes which enter from the sea, in

cluding the salmon, the shad, the gaspereau, the striped bass, the smelt, the silver-eel, the sea-trout, and the sturgeon, there are others which remain constantly in fresh water, and may be taken readily.

The finest of the fresh-water fishes is the red or brook trout, which is found in nearly every lake and stream in New Brunswick, up to three pounds in weight, and sometimes even larger, affording excellent sport to the angler, and most delicious food. In the cold waters of the large and deep lakes the great gray trout is caught, up to twelve pounds in weight, but these are not of so fine a flavor as the brook trout. The striped bass passes much of its time in fresh water; it is a good fish for the table, and is sometimes taken of the weight of twenty pounds and upwards. After the fishes of the salmon family, it is unquestionably the most sporting fish in North America; its flesh is firm, white, and well flavored. The small white bass, commonly called the "white perch," is an excellent fish; it abounds in the St. John and its tributaries, but is not found in the rivers flowing into the gulf.-The yellow perch, the roach, the dace, the gudgeon, the carp, the sucker, and the chub, are all found in the fresh waters of New Brunswick; as also the white fish, commonly called the "gizzard fish," and spotted burbot, usually designated "fresh-water cusk," both good in their season. Eels are found everywhere, scarcely any piece of water being with out them.

Sturgeon of large size ascend several of the principal rivers for the purpose of spawning. They are sometimes caught, but their flesh, being coarse and strong, is rarely eaten, owing to the abundance of fishes of better quality.

The following is a statement of the official value, in pounds sterling, of the fish exported from New Brunswick during six years, distinguishing the several countries to which the same were exported :

Totals, 27,319 38,971 46,059 56,950 56,345 47,193

It is believed that this statement does not include the value of much of the fresh fish which is sent to the United States in ice, or of the larger quantities of fresh and halfcured fish which go from the fishing grounds in coasting and trading vessels, without being reported.

GEOLOGY OF THE PROVINCE.

So large a proportion of New Brunswick is now covered with dense forest, and, as yet, has been so imperfectly explored, that no very precise description of the geological formation of the country can be given. At present it can only be stated generally, that according to the information hitherto obtained, New Brunswick consists mainly of certain rocks, which may be thus described:

1. The primary rocks of granite, gneiss, and mica slate, which form a broad belt extending directly across the province, near its centre, in a north-easterly direction. This belt is a spur or branch of the great chain of Alleghany mountains. It enters the province from the United States above Woodstock, embracing Mars Hill, near the Des Chutes river, and the range of hills known as the Tobique mountains, all of which, however, are less than 2,000 feet in height, except one, which rises to the height of 2,170 feet. At the western end, this belt of hilly country is supposed to be forty miles wide; it narrows gradually in its north-easterly course, and the hills decrease in height, until they finally disappear before reaching the Bay of Chaleur, near Bathurst.

Another belt of similar rocks enters the province from