two short portages in the whole distance. In the township of Yarmouth there are eighty, besides Lake George, which is of nearly the same extent as Rosignol, and although they are not to be found in equal number in every township, yet they are of frequent occurrence in all. From the head of the Shubenaccadie river they almost reach the Harbor of Halifax, and afford such an extensive inland navigation, that a company has been formed to complete the junction by means of a Canal. Between Windsor and the Atlantic, there is a similar connexion in two different places-one between the St. Croix and Margaret's Bay, and the other between the head of the Avon and Chester Bay. There is also a chain of lakes, situated between the source of the Gaspe reaux in King's County, and that of Gold River, in the County of Lunenburg, which nearly unites them. Some of these lakes are extremely beautiful, containing in general one or more small islands, which are covered with a luxuriant growth of wood, and vary in every imaginable shape; while the hills, with which they are generally environed, are often undulated in the most romantic manner. These highlands are, with few exceptions, well wooded, and embellish the scenery at every season of the year. The first frost in the autumn invests the foliage with an infinite diversity of colour, and in one night alters the whole appearance of the forest. The leaves of the maple become red-those of the birch yellow, and the sumach pink; while the elm, the oak, the evergreens and others, by preserving their colours, add to the variety of the landscape. The aspect of the country is, however, in many places deformed. A

large portion of the land on the Southern coast, for many miles in the interior is stony and barren, frequently devoid of trees, and presenting a dreary and desolate waste. There are also some inconsiderable bogs, covered with peat and aquatic grasses. One of the largest of these is the Carriboo bog, situated in Aylesford, the source of both the Horton and Annapolis rivers, which flow from thence in opposite directions, one discharging itself into the Basin of Minas, and the other into the Bay of Fundy. There are seldom any trees growing in these bogs, but in all are to be found the trunks of those which once stood there, and have been preserved by the waters that originally deprived them of existence. Although numerous, they are not very extensive, for the sur face of the country is too uneven to admit of their covering much ground. In other places where fires have raged, the forest has been destroyed, and tall dead trees, stretching their naked limbs in the air, threaten the traveller with destruction. Where these "burnt lands" occur, nothing can exceed the desolation and dreariness of their appearance. The fire, while it burns the stem of the tree, seldom consumes it, but hardens and preserves it from decay, and it not unfrequently maintains its erect position for years after it has been stripped of its foliage. If the ground has been dried by a previous drought, the fire consumes the soil and the seeds of trees contained in it, and a long period elapses before it is again clothed with a new growth of wood, which in many instances is altogether of a different kind from that with which it was previously covered. The soil of the country is so various, and the changes so fre

quent, that there is a constant succession of forest scenery. The birch, the spruce, beech and hem. lock, constitute the most predominant classes of woodland. These are to be severally found in extent, according to the properties of the soil, sometimes distinctly, but often intermingled with each other. In winter, when the ground is covered with snow, the appearance of the evergreen is peculiarly agreeable, and refreshes the eye when fatigued with the uniform glare of a white surface. The arable lands bear as yet a small proportion to the wilderness parts of the country; and these, as in all other places in America, are chiefly confined to the neighbourhood of the rivers, harbours, and coasts, though small scattered settlements are to be found in the interior, where the lands are of sufficient value to invite cultivation. But the appearance of the old townships will vie with any part of America for beauty. The extended and well cultivated valley of the Annapolis River, the diversified and picturesque country of Horton and Cornwallis; the richness, extent, and variety, of the views in the vicinity of Windsor ; the unrivalled beauty of Mahone Bay, with its numerous Islands; the whole country bordering on the Shubenaccadie; very many places in the Eastern parts of the Province, and the extensive townships of Newport and Yarmouth, cannot fail to excite the wonder of strangers, that they exist in a country which has always been represented as the most uninteresting part of America. The civil departments of the Province consist of divisions and counties. Of the former there are five-the Eastern, Middle, Western, Halifax, and Cape-Breton divisions. The Eastern divi

sion comprises the counties of Sydney and Cumberland, and part of that of Halifax. The Middle division consists of Hants, King's, Lunenburg, and Queen's Counties. The Western division includes Annapolis and Shelburne Counties. The Cape-Breton division comprehends the whole Island, which forms but one county. The Halifax division embraces only part of the county of that name, and includes the townships of Halifax, Lawrencetown and Preston. There are ten Counties-Halifax, Sydney, Cumberland, Hants, King's, Lunenburg, Queen's, Annapolis, Shelburne, and Cape-Breton, which are again subdivided into districts and townships. As these terms are peculiar to America, and differ in many places in their signification, it may be proper to add, that in this country, a division is merely a circuit, containing one or more counties. When professional men were appointed to preside in the Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, circuits was allotted to each of them, which were then called and have since been known as divisions-a term which has no other import than as connected with their duties. A district contains one or more townships, and is a subdivision of a county rendered necessary by its extent. It is, therefore, for the convenience of the people, set a part, and has the privilege conferred upon it of having a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, for the regulation of all its internal affairs. Each District is or should be furnished with a Court-House, but the Jail belongs to the County. The Sheriff's authority is commensurate with the County, and the Commissions of the Peace extend throughout the same.

The localities of Juries, both in real and personal, have also a reference to the county ; and the election of representatives, and the Jurisdiction of the Su preme Courts, is in no way affected by this local arrangement of districts. A township contains no certain definite quantity of lands, nor assumes any prescribed shape, as in Upper-Canada, where it is generally understood to extend nine miles in front, and twelve miles in the rear; nor is it endowed with all those various corporate powers, which the townships of New-England possess, beyond the election of a representative; which privilege is not enjoyed by all. The inhabitants have no other power than that of holding an annual meeting, for the purpose of voting money for the support of their poor.

Halifax County is divided into three districts -Halifax, Colchester and Pictou, and contains ten townships-Halifax, Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, Preston, Truro, Onslow, Londonderry, Pictou, Egerton and Maxwelton.

2d. Sydney County contains two districts and seven townships-Manchester, Guysborough, Dorchester, Arisaig, St. Mary, Tracadie, St. Andrews. 3d. Cumberland County contains two townships -Amherst and Wallace.

4th. Hant's County contains six townships-Windsor, Falmouth, Newport, Kempt, Rawdon, and Douglas.

5th. King's County contains four townships--Horton, Cornwallis, Aylesford, Parrsborough.

6th. Lunenburg contains three townships-Lunenburg, New-Dublin, Chester.

7th. Liverpool contains one township-Liverpool,