in? L_ .,b

LIVING CONDITIONS 0N P. E. I.

Late l8th Century.

Prince Edward Island was very disappointing to many of the immigrants in the late l700's. New London, for example, consisted of l6 log cabins which looked like cow stables; these cabins were very drafty and cold. It was not uncommon to awaken in the morning with a large icicle on one's nose and on one's mustache. Beds consisted of a pile of straw covered with a blanket. An open fir burned in the middle of the floor with the smoke escaping through a hole in the roof.

The food ration consisted of salt codfish, salt eels and potatoes. The living conditions wer generally atrocious and the people were indifferen to the filth around them.

When spring returned to the Island, condition improved; geese, ducks, rabbits and other animals were easily caught. Greens and other edibles bega to grow and, of course, it was warmer. But with the return of fall deprivation again set in.

Early l9th Century.

In l820 the population of Prince Edward Islan had grown both by natural birth and by immigration to 23,000.

Most of the immigrants to P. E. I., became farmers. Agriculture was very primitive; many settlers used only a wooden plough which ploughed a shallow furrow. The inability to cultivate the soil properly allowed weeds to damage the crops of wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. The potato crop was planted and harvested with a plough.

Oxen were used as beasts of burden; horses and cattle were small and light in weight due to poor breeding and improper care. Usually the animals were fed only straw during most of the long winter.

In summer the hogs and cattle roamed the wood for food, and the sheep produced only a small amou of wool.