36 



Th^ Canadian Forestry Journal. 



TABLE OF RAINY DAYS. 

 (Average 1883 to 1902 — 20 Years.) 



TABLE OF RAINFALL IN INCHES. 

 (.Average 1883 to 1907 — 25 Years). 



Calgary, Alta 



Qu'Appelle, Sask.. 

 Winnipeg, Man.. . 

 Toronto, Ont 



Jan. Feb. Mar. Aprilj May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Totals. 



0.003S 



0.0130.016 



0.085 



0. 005^0.003 



1.1280.954-1.360 



I 



0.0240.262 



0.036 

 0.160 



0.356 

 1.142 

 1.467 



2.010 

 1.785 

 1.858 

 2.754 



3.060 

 3.580 

 3.319 

 2.844 



2.630 2.490 



2.594 

 3.003 

 2.856 



1.750 

 2.209 

 2.624 



0.991 

 1.446 

 1.253 

 2.855 



0.191 

 0.463 

 1.290 

 2.532 



0.004 

 0.400 

 0.728 

 2.104 



0.005111.696 



0.072 

 0.013 

 1.563 



13.336 

 14.983 

 25.041 



It would appear from these tables that Toronto is at a 

 slight disadvantage in the month of June. But of all the summer 

 months, June, July and August offer the least danger to the 

 forest. In these months the grass is green, the leaves are out 

 on the shrubs and trees, the sap is in the bark, and the ground 

 is moist from the shade of the trees. The chief danger periods 

 are in the spring before June, and in the fall after September, 

 when the woods are dry. The Ontario fire law is constructed 

 upon the idea that the most dangerous period is from May 1st, 

 to October 1st. My own observations in Ontario have led me 

 to doubt the wisdom of that law in this particular. 



The eastern provinces have a great advantage also in 

 regard to the wind. The average hourly velocity of the wind 

 at Winnipeg for the eight summer months of 1905, as stated 

 by the Meteorological Service, was 14.87 miles per hour, while 

 at Toronto it was only 7.36 miles per hour; just twice as great 

 at Winnipeg as at Toronto. The people of the East were for- 

 tunate in that respect last summer. Had the wind here been 

 as high as in the West, quite likely there would have been twice 

 the quantity of timber destroyed. Then, in the East the winds 

 are moist; there is no dry chinook. 



Again, in respect to population the East has the advantage. 

 When a forest fire starts in Ontario or Quebec, you can just 



