“Food supplies were sometimes meagre when the first Europeans settled along Nova Scotia bays and rivers.
Inland, a boundless nearly unbroken forest canopy greeted them, much of it comprised of old growth eastern hemlock.
Settlers generally regarded the enormous trees of the Acadian forest as an impediment to homesteading and growing food. They hurriedly cleared the trees to cultivate potatoes, other vegetables, and livestock feed.
Hemlock trees were among the least valued of Acadian forest species since the soils beneath hemlock stands generally produced poor crops, and even its wood properties had limited application…”
