Description

In recent times it has been called
the "Garden of the Gulf," a living
mosaic of fields, woods, and streams.
But to its first European settlers Prince
Edward Island was a land of "interminable"
forest. All early accounts
agree that the forest covered virtually
the entire land mass. It created the soil
fertility that was exploited by those
who cleared and farmed the land. It
was the larder for much of the settler's
food and medicines; the source of heat
for cooking, warmth, and industrial
development; and the most indomitable
foe to those who struggled first to
clear it and then to combat its encroachment.
The story of the forest's conversion
to the present-day "Garden of the
Gulf is inextricably tied to the settlement
and development of the Island.