NOTES ON MANITOBA. l59 



matter to the test. By the time that the rains of May and June 

 come the roots have a firm hold of the ground, and gi-owth is 

 extraordinary. The July and early August rains nourish and swell 

 the ear of the now ripening crops, and complete the promise of the 

 early spring. Towards the end of August the winds change and the 

 almost i-ainless period sets in and continues all winter. The Farmer 

 harvests his crop without loss and in the highest possible condition ; 

 stacking it in the open without even the necessity of thatching it for 

 the winter. 



TO STOCK BREEDEES 

 The advantages are eqiially great. Storms of sleet or wet snow are 

 unknown on the "Western Plains. Such snow as does fall is always 

 dry and light, hence cattle and horses may be left out the whole 

 winter without the possibility of suffering from wet. Intense cold 

 they may experience, but stock-raisers know that where such cold is 

 dry rtieir cattle take no harm. Hence cattle can be, and are raised, 

 on the North-West Plains without the necessity for buildings for 

 wintering them. 



