THE CLIMATE OF WESTERN CANADA 23 



nue other than a grain crop. "We cannot insure 

 against drought or frost but insurance of grain crops 

 against hail damage is possible and advisable for all who 

 cannot afford to lose a crop. 



11. Wide Variations from the Average Precipitation. 

 — Three instances will serve to illustrate the fact that 

 wide variations from the average precipitation are likelj 

 to occur. The average at Calgary for 31 years is 16.54 

 inches but in one year (1892) it was only 7.91 inches 

 while in another (1902) it was 34.57 inches. The aver- 

 age for Qu'Appelle is 19.19 inches, but in 1886 it was 

 10.14 and 1916, 26.54. The average for Winnipeg for 31 

 years is 20.50, but in 1886 only 14.84 inches fell, while in 

 1899 the precipitation was 27.19 inches. Even the 

 five-year averages depart widely from the normal, 

 the variation appearing to be greatest in western Al- 

 berta and least in eastern Manitoba. Because of these 

 wide variations from normal precipitation a more 

 diversified system of cropping is likely to prove less 

 risky and therefore in the long run is to be preferred. 



12. Evaporation. — One of the chief reasons why crops 

 have suffered less from drought in the northern end of 

 the Great Plains region than in those parts of the south 

 where the precipitation is the same, is the lower evapor- 

 ation in this latitude. Higher yields are invariably 

 secured in the north than from the same precipitation 

 on equally good soils in more southern latitudes. The 

 amount of total precipitation is not as satisfactory in- 

 formation as the amount of the "net" precipitation, 

 which is the total less the evaporation from the soil. Un- 

 fortunately data on evaporation is not yet available for 

 points in Western Canada. 



