ON CLIMATES. 



The true index to a climate is the flora in its Botanic gardens; 

 faulty 9nly from the fact that these gardens are usually situated 

 under the sheltering influence of some large town, and therefore, 

 not a true record of what might be grown in bleak exposures in 

 the same latitude. 



The same is true of the meteorological stations. They, too 

 often, like our McGill College Observatory, record the tempera- 

 ture and winds of a sheltered city rather than that of the open 

 country. 



We frequently heard of very low temperatures in Russia, 

 which do not seem verified by the Government records. Ther- 

 mometers often differ at very low temperatures, especially when 

 below-forty. Yet the statements I quote in my report were made 

 by careful observers, usually men on the Forestry Staff, and I 

 therefore, with this caution, state the temperatures as given to me. 

 In this part of Canada we suffer from drought but not from dim- 

 inished rain-fall. I must explain this apparent contradiction. 

 England is a land of verdure, the lawns are like velvet, the trees 

 and thatched roofs covered with moss. What a contrast to our 

 dry climate, and yet the annual rain-fall of London is nearly thir- 

 teen inches less than that of Montreal. It is from aridity of air, 

 and consequent rapid evaporation that we suffer. 



In Russia we find fruit cultivated largely in climates where the 

 conditions of extreme cold, dryness of air, and scanty rain-fall are 

 greatly intensified. 



In the Government of Kasan, above latitude 55 where the 

 winter temperature is five degrees lower than in the city of 

 Quebec, the rain-fall a good deal less than one-half, the evapora- 

 tion as great, we find apple growing a great commercial industry^ 

 the industry, in fact, in twelve peasant villages. This is the coldest 



