THK TKOST AND DROUGHT OF 190,'). — DOAXE, (527 



Rainfall. 



The amount of rainfall of any countrv is dependent npon 

 the sitnation of the conntrv, its ])ositi()n, the elevation of its 

 hills and mountain ranges, and tlir prc\"ailin<i- direction of the 

 winds. The intluenee of trees also lias some etfeet. 



The averaii'e annual rainfall in Halifax as deduced from 

 long-continued ohservations covering a ixn-iod of thirtv-seven 

 years, is r)5.i)27 inches. The rainfall of 11)05 was 47.795 

 inches — a deficiency of 8.132 inches, <>r 85 per cent, of the 

 mean. There was an excess of rainfall in January, February, 

 June, November and December, varying from 11 to 46 i>er cent, 

 and a deficiency during the remaining seven months. When 

 looked at in the dry light of statistics, the year recently ended 

 seems to have been not nn]n-ecedented, still it was an exception- 

 ally dry year. The iiundxM- of days on which ]3recipitation was 

 recorded, 182, was about the average, but the total precijiitation 

 for the year was very near the minimum. 



In the year 1894 the total ]n-ecipitation was 45.808 inches, 

 about two inches less than in 1905. A comparison of the two 

 years shows, however, that at the end of November the rainfall 

 of 1905 was slightly less than that of 1894, the difference of 

 two inches being made in December. In fact, a study of the 

 accompanying tables shows that the year from November 1st, 

 1904, to October olst, 1905, is the driest on record, the total 

 precipitation bei'iig only 41.685 inches or 74.5 per cent, of the 

 mean. This minimum approaches within about two inches of 

 the rainfall 39.51 inches reported for the year 1860, before the 

 meteorological observatory was established. The accuracy of 

 the latter will be accepted with less reluctance in future. 



Lon^ Lake, our great low service resen'oir, was raised to 

 overflow level by the melting of the great snows of 1904-5, an([ 

 water began to ran over the waste weir on the 30th of .AUirch. 

 The lake continued to over-flow until the 19th of Alay after 

 which the water began to fall. It reached its lowest level on 



