262 DRY FARMING 



seldom that more than two or three per cent, of our crop 

 is damaged by hail. It is true that the average man pays 

 more in premiums than he gets out in awards for hail 

 damage but it is equally true that many uninsured farm- 

 ers have gone bankrupt because they could not stand the 

 loss of a crop. 



The justification for insuring against hail is not in the 

 probability of getting back more than is paid in, but 

 rather of insuring one's self against serious incon- 

 venience or even bankruptcy in case of loss of one or 

 more crops. 



214. Hot Winds. The hot winds that occasionally oc- 

 cur in southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan 

 increase very greatly both the evaporation of moisture 

 from the soil and its transpiration from the leaves of 

 plants. If the velocity of the wind could be economically 

 lessened in any way, such as by using wind breaks, much 

 damage could be prevented. In actual practice the only 

 ways of lessening the amount of injury from this source 

 are to store as much moisture as possible in the soil, to 

 use drought-resistant or drought-avoiding crops and to 

 follow as efficiently as possible the established practices 

 of "dry farming". In the very warm parts of the driest 

 areas the use of early maturing cereals such as winter 

 rye offers much promise as a result of partial avoidance 

 rather than resistance to hot winds. 



215. Dry Seasons. The average precipitation in the 

 West is about sixteen inches which is less than one-half 

 of that received in the corn belt of the United States, or 

 in Ontario, or in many parts of England. The monthly 

 distribution of this precipitation is very favorable; 

 nevertheless the low rainfall causes more low yields than 

 any other factor at the present time. Since we cannot 



