368
THE WEST SHORE.
centra of the Horseshoe Fall in a solid column of water
of twenty foot, and it ii estimated that 1,500,000,0(10 cubic
feet pans over the fall every minute. Thin great water
system of riven and lakes affocU the climate of the older
provinces of Canada, and the other large rivers, with the
numerous bodies of frosb watur distributed over so large
portion of the whole surface of the Dominion, help to
preserve an equable climate, and afford many facilities
for local tranKrt
The degrees of latitude are a very partial guide to
the character of the Canadian climate as compared with
that of the British Isles, and auy statement of the mean
temperature of the two is deceptive. The severity of
the winter, as tested by the thermomoter, loads to a very
exagguratod improasion of Canadian experiences. Owing
to the dry, cloar, bracing atmosphere which genorally
prevails, the souse of discomfort produced by the raw
eastorly winds and damp fogs of an English spring sug
gests an idea of cold such as is rarely thought of in a
Canadian winter. There are, indeed, every winter a few
days of intense cold, as in the summer there are briof
period of equally intense heat, when the thermomoter
ascend, or descends, through a scale unknown in the
more oquablo English olimato. But throughout the
greater port of the winter season in Canada the sky is
bright and clear and the weather thoroughly enjoyable.
Open sleighs are in use by all. Skating, snowshoeing,
tologgsuiiig and other outdoor exorcises are iu universal
favor, and the sound of the sleigh bells in the open
thoroughfare adds to the exhilarating sense produced by
the pure bracing atmosphere. In the Province of Quebec
the snow begins to lie early in November; in Ontario it
is fully a mouth later; and it differs correspondingly at
various localities throughout the Dominion. But every
where the appearance of the snow is hailod as seasonable
and beneficial. It protect the wheat sown in autumn
from the frost, affords facilities to the farmer for brine
iug his produce to market, aids the lumberman in collect
ing the fruiU of his labor in the forest at suitable points
for transort by water with the spring freshets, and so
contributes alike to business and ploasure.
The following table of averages will be of service in
comparing the climate of various portions of the Domin
ion. It is compiled from official reports and represents
the averages of several years' observations at the chief
station in each province. Two points are selected in
British Columbia owing to the great difference in climate
between the coast and interior:
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is iiu m;s
II Ut I
- - 11J
J- April. fW. W
0m i i u ii.i ui
Ui 11.1 u Ho 1U
brm H'viwtrk ... H.I I: .4 li 41.1 ttt
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S- ik B.C. ttl hui 114 II I U.I
Vw-kC. ... ;. tu.1 iu ha
As will be seen from the above table January is Uie
coldest month of the year. Throughout the whole of
Canada steady sleighing is reckoned upon during Janu
ary and Feltruary. In Quebeo and in Manitoba a longer
jwriod of sleighing oaa be relied upon. In Xova Scotia,
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and also on
the Pacific coasts, the temperature is modified both in
summer and winter according to vicinity to the sen.
Abrupt changes of temperature occur both in summer
and in winter. A period of great cold early in the month
of January is so frequently followed by a complete
change that its periodioity is reckoned upon under the
name of the January thaw. Snow finally disappears in
Quebec about the middle of April In Ontario it is
generally gone a month earlier. The table of average
fall of snow given above shows its prevalence at various
central points in each of the provinces of the Dominion,
from October to the end of April.
Plowing usually commences in Ontario about the
middle of April, and in favorable seasons is prolonged
into the month of Deoember. But throughout the Do
minion, stretching as it does across the continent, the
period varies with the locality, and is affected by the
vicinity of the great lakes or other local influences. Cat
tle are turned out to graze in April, feeding in part upon
(he tender shoots of the spring forest growth, until the
appearance of the young pasture with the disappearance
of the snow. Before the end of July harvest begins; and
with the rapidity of growth undor the warm Canadian
skies, the hay, grain and root crops follow in swift suc
cession, the cleared laud is brought again under the plow,
and the autumn sowing of wheat is carried on till an
other abrupt change brings the season to a close. In
this way the Canadian climate is marked by the striking
contrast of two seasons summer and winter bringing
with them alternations of fruitful labor and of repose
intermingled with profitable industry and pleasure. This
characteristic prevails with slight variations throughout
the greater part of the Dominion. Manitoba presents in
this respect no marked diversity from Quebec or Ontario.
Spring opens nearly at the same time from Bed River to
the Athabasca. Early in April the alders and willows of
the Saskatchewan country are in bloom; the prairie anem
one covers the southern exposures to the very yerge of
the retreating snow. May there brings with it more of
the true summer boat than in the provinces on the Si
Iwrenoe. But the nights are cool, and throughout the
period of greatest heats the cool night breezes beget a
welcome and refreshing change, accompanied with heavy
dews. This protects the cereals from the effects of
drought even in the driest seasons, and produces a rich
growth of prairie grass, making the climate peculiarly
favorable for the stock farmer. The Iter. Professor
Brycc, of Winnipeg College, thus writes:. "The winters
of the Northwest, upon the whole, are agreeable and
singularly steady. The moccasin is dry and comfortable
throughout, and no thaw, strictly speaking, takes place
till spring, no matter how mild the weather may be. The
snow, though shallow, wears well, and differs greatly
from Eastern snow. Its flake is dry and bard, and its
gritty consistence resembles white slippery sand more
than anything else. Generally speaking, the farther
West the shallower the snow, and the rule obtains even
into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. In Southwest-