The little we know of Markland fits Nova Scotia very well. ‘Much wood and many beasts’ may, of course, be descriptive of Newfoundland and its caribou, but it would also be true of Nova Scotia. In the voyage of Mr. Hill of Redrife in 1593, given in Hakluyt, a casual run ashore at Cape Breton is thus described;—‘and as they viewed the country they saw divers beastes and foules, as black foxes, deere, otters, &c., &c.’. It is apparent that as late as the sixteenth century the fauna of Nova Scotia was sufficiently plentiful to strike a ship’s crew as soon as they went ashore. The description of the country given in the Flatey Book, which is unlike anything Icelandic and consequently sounds genuine, will suit the southern extremity of Nova Scotia, a very likely landfall, much better than Newfoundland. It is low-lying and wooded, as Champlain found between Port Mouton and Cape Negro,—‘the shores which I saw, up to that point, are very low, and covered with such wood as that seen at the Cap de la Heve’. As to the white sand we may compare Hudson’s description,—‘The land by the water side is low land, and _white sandie_ banks rising, full of little hills.’ While there is no sufficient extent of beach in Nova Scotia to serve for Furdustrands, there is enough sand as a local feature to suit the conditions required for Markland. In their identification of Wineland with New England rather than Nova Scotia, the older school are on even less questionable ground, however rash their speculations on points of detail. Indeed, there seems to be a tendency at the present day, which is exemplified in the conclusions of Mr. Babcock, to depart so far from Storm’s theories as to include a part of the New England coast-line. The addition of New England gets over the formidable difficulties before noticed, of want of space for the whole of Karlsefni’s expedition, and almost entire absence of the wild vine. Whether or no we must also include Nova Scotia in the ‘third land’ visited by the Norsemen, we shall be well advised to look for Hóp, at any rate, along the coast of the United States. Personally, I feel strongly that Nova Scotia is needed for Markland, and that Wineland must have been situated altogether to the west or south-west of it. Before entering upon the more detailed consideration of the voyages which forms the subject of the ensuing chapters, I would provisionally fix the broad lines of our research in accordance with the arguments adduced above. Helluland will then be in all probability Newfoundland and Labrador considered as one country, or perhaps Newfoundland alone; Markland will be Nova Scotia; and Wineland, the most important area in the inquiry, somewhere on the eastern seaboard of the United States. _Postscript on two recent theories._ It will be convenient here to deal with the theories advanced by two recent writers, whose works did not come to my notice until all the chapters of the present volume were written. These are: