Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island, a province of Canada, lies off the south shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and is separated from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by Northumberland Strait. About 150 miles long by 34 miles broad, it has an area of 2,133 square miles, the surface being undulating with no elevations higher than 500 feet. It has a fertile soil and a mild climate, so that heavy crops of wheat and other cereals with fruits and vegetables are raised; but the chief industry consists in fishing. Cardigan Bay to the E., Richmond Bay to the N., Hillsborough Bay to the S., and Egmont Bay to the S.W., divide the island into three peninsulas linked by isthmuses of no more than three or four miles broad. Until 1758 it was nominally French, and was known as the Isle St. Jean. The British then captured it, and have held it ever since.