THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE : 21 
ful and favourable to most forms of agriculture. The prevailing features 
are long, cold winters; short springs and warm bright summers. Though 
cold, the winters are most exhilarating for the atmosphere is dry and there 
is abundance of sunshine. A heavy snowfall protects the winter wheat 
and the grass from damage by frost, and being a non-conductor of heat, 
the deeper the snow the warmer the ground. The fertilizing elements 
it contains filter into the ground with the thaw; its presence gives the 
soil a rest and prevents leaching in the winter; by slow permeation it 
keeps the soil moist much longer than does its equivalent in rain and its 
slow melting on the heights is a check on wasteful floods. 
Statistics of Climate.—The Bureau of Statistics at Quebec city 
publishes monthly a meteorological bulletin showing the precipitation 
and temperature from observations made at seventy-nine stations in 
the province. The information is given by the Federal Meteorological 
Service with the assistance of the Running Streams Commission of Quebec. 
This bulletin is sent gratuitously on request to interested persons. 
The tables which follow show the monthly average temperature, 
the monthly precipitation, and monthly duration of sunshine for several 
years at widely separated localities both in the long-settled areas and 
in those in which colonization is now in progress. 
MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE: MONTREAL AND QUEBEC 
Months 
January........ 
February. ...... 
Match. oy 
April. ......... 
May..... .... 
June........... 
July. .......... 
August......... 
September... .. . 
October. ....... 
November......| 
December... .. 
Montreal 
1923 ' 1924 ' 1925 | 1921 ' 1922 ' 1923 | 1924 ! 1925 
Quebec 
1921 | 1922 1 
17.5 
12.8 111.5 | 14.3 
1641 9.11114 
30.1’ 18.9 30.1! 
38.3 141.0! 
50.2 
8.5 
13.7 
14.1 
28.7 
30.9 
9.0 
13-3 
26-8 
7:2 
5.7 
16.0 
33.01 36-1 
18.9! 
33.9 ' 
22-6 
31.7 
5.2 
18-6 
27-5 
| 38.0 
8.3 
16.6 | 42.4 
42.5 
30.9 
50-5 48.8 
62.4 "' 62:1 62.8 
72-5 67.5 65-1 65-5 
66.91 66-4 65.71 67-4 6961 63-0 64.0 62.0 66-1 
61-91 60.6 59-11856-5'57.3 57.7 58.1 56-4!55.4 53.1 
46.9 44.8 48.1 148.3140.0 43.8 42.2 46.7145.8 38.1 
20.71 35.8 1 35.6 | 35.8 | 33.41 27.7 131.5 ' 33.2] 33.81 30.0 
19.21 18.31 20.7 1 15.0 | 20.2 15.1! 141 26.5" 10.9 | 16-8