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CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



British Columbia. Compare, for instance, the number of rainy days for the 

 summer months at Calgary, Alberta; Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg, 

 Manitoba; and Toronto, Ontario. In our comparison, however, we must not 

 only consider the number of rainy days but also the quantity of rain falling 

 on those days; because, although a day may be considered rainy, there may 

 not be precipitation enough to count much towards putting out a forest fire. 

 The following table is a comparison for the four places mentioned, showing 

 the average number of rainy days in each of the summer months, and the 

 average quantity of rain falling in those months. It is compiled from statis- 

 tics furnished by the Meteorological Service published in a volume entitled 

 "Rain and Snow-Fail of Canada." 



TABLE OF RAINY DAYS. 

 (Average 1883 to 190220 Years.) 



TABLE OF RAINFALL IN INCHES. 

 (Average 1883 to 190T 25 Tears.) 



It would appear from these tables that Toronto is at a slight disadvan- 

 tage 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 fortunate 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. 



