VI. THE RAINFALL IN 1896. Bv F. W. W. DOANE, M. CAN. 

 Soc. G. E. CITY- ENGINEER, Halifax, N. S. 



(Read 10th May, 1897.) 



The systematic and accurate registration of the rainfall is a 

 matter of the greatest importance to the Engineer. It is abso- 

 lutely necessary in order to enable him to design intelligently 

 works for water supply, sewerage, water power, drainage of 

 roads, bridges, culverts, &c. 



He requires certain data to enable him to design dams 

 spillways, storage reservoirs, sewers, bridges, &c., so that every 

 possible requirement may be provided for. 



The quantity of rain that falls annually in any one place 

 varies greatly from year to year ; the extreme being sometimes 

 greater than 2 to 1. As a general rule, more rain falls in warm 

 than in cold countries, and more in elevated regions than in low 

 ones. Local peculiarities and conditions, however, sometimes 

 reverse this, and also cause great difference in the amount in 

 places quite near each other. It is sometimes difficult to account 

 for these variations. 



The earliest known records of rainfall were made in Paris in 

 1668. Sir Christopher Wren designed the first rain gauge in 

 1663. This great architect also designed the first recording 

 gauge, but it was not constructed until 1670. 



The rainfall records of some portions of the United States 

 cover periods extending into the last century. In Canada, the 

 average amount of rain falling in Ontario has heen taken by 

 the officials of the Magnetic Observatory at Toronto for the past 

 56 years. The meteorological station at Halifax was established 

 in 1869, and observations began at Truro in 1873,; a systematic 

 registration of rainfall has been made at Yarmouth since 1379, 

 and the record at Sydney dates back to 1893. 



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