“There are five main zones or provinces,” replied Mr. Brock. “First there is what may be called the Appalachian province, of which the Canadian portion embraces south-east Quebec and the maritime provinces. The Appalachian region is characterised by rock formations which range from pre-Cambrian to carboniferous, and which are typically disturbed and thrown into a succession of folds. You will be aware that some of the eastern United States are in the foremost rank of the world’s mineral and industrial districts. They occur in the Appalachian region, the best developed State being Pennsylvania, which produces domestic minerals to a yearly value of nearly £2,000 per square mile. The same minerals occur over the Appalachian extension into Canada. Important deposits of coal, iron, and gold are mined in Nova Scotia. Of lesser importance, but of considerable value, are the gypsum, stone, and building-material industries in that province, where manganese, antimony, tripolite, and barite are also mined, while some attention is paid to copper; indeed, Nova Scotia already has an annual mineral production of about £200 per square mile. The comparison between £200 and £2,000 may not seem impressive, but it bears a fair relation to the difference between the density of population in Pennsylvania and in Nova Scotia. That matter of population is, of course, vital, since mineral production, like agricultural production, passes with the development of a country from methods that are rough-and-ready to those that are ‘intensive.’ Expert authorities have estimated the coal reserves of Nova Scotia at 6,000,000,000 tons. The thickness of the carboniferous system is believed to be in some parts 16,000 feet, and at the Joggins, on the north arm of the Bay of Fundy, is a remarkable continuous section showing 14,570 feet of strata, including seventy seams of coal. “In the matter of mineral development New Brunswick is still very backward. This is partly due to the covering of soil, but mainly to the forested state of large areas—conditions that make discoveries difficult. Indeed, very little of the country has been prospected. The principal products so far are gypsum, lime, coal, building material, grindstones, clay, and mineral waters. Iron promises to become important. Antimony is being mined, while copper, lead, silver, nickel, gold, etc., have been found. Shales rich in oils and ammonium salts occur in large quantity. We have just found very fine clay deposits in the maritime provinces. “South-east Quebec is already a high producer of economic minerals. In addition to possessing the main asbestos mines of the world, it has important industries in chrome-iron ore, copper, and pyrites. Iron ores and gold also occur there. And so I think I have supplied you with plenty of reasons for agreeing that the Appalachian area may ultimately give as good an account of itself in Canada as it has in the United States.”