CANADA'S TWO SEASONS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1954, 10 January 1914, Page 14

CANADA'S TWO SEASONS

I' WINTER AND SUMMER SPORTS. KEEPING WARM INDOORS. (By Chas. E. Sligo, formerly of Toronto "Daily Star.")" ! 'Canada is the laud of climatic extremes. The month of April opens with the land under the grip of winter; tho St. Lawrenco is still frozen liartl, though probably the ico is beginning to break, and tho sleighs arc still skimming over the snow-bound streets of Montreal. April closes in summer, and in tho first week flf May the thermometer may be up to 80 in the sliado. In ono short month ice and snow disappear from tho face of tho earth and t£,e> waters, lawns turn from a lifeless brown to a vivid green, and • lyuds 6well and begin; to burst. Thero is no gradual transition from summer to winter. One day you are in winter and tho next day tou are in summer and tho housewife puts out the furnace which lias been going in tho basement all winter, confident that it will not' bo required again. Tho word "winter" is hardly in tho Canadian _ vocabulary. Only when pressed will the Canadian admit that it snows occasionally, and then ho will chango tho subject to heat waves. Tho descriptive phrase, "Our Lady of tho Snows," is deeply resented, and it-is not good form to use it to a Canadian under any circumstances. Tho national tenderness on this point is simply duo to a recognition of the fact that tho Canadian winter deters many peoplo from settling there, and that in consequence it is well to say as little about it as possible. The winter has many important advantages from tho commercial point of view. It breaks up the soil and to a large extent, accounts for the fertility of the prairio; it makes the lumber industry in its present form possible; and suggests a cheap form of transportation by sleighing over snowbound plain and frozen lake, of which tho Canadian has made the most. Cold but Comfortable Winters. The Canadian enjoys his winter, and so also do all immigrants who have sufficient vigour to follow any of the sports of skating, hockey on the ice, snow-shoeing or toboganning. Englishmen are said to feel the first few winters less even than Canadians, and it is surprising what degree of comfort even dclicato and old people may have. Indoors it is more comfortable in a severe Canadian winter than in a comparatively mild English winter. With tho mercury about 50 degrees below zero the system ef heating with open fires is qnito impracticable, and so the media of heating in Canadian homc3 aro hot water, steam, or hot air. Tho furoaco is usually in the basement, and on tho approach of cold weather it is lit and kept going night and day till the weather becomes mild. Tho equipment is al-.va.vs designed to heat every room of tho houso evenly and uniformly, and it may range from a steam system, with radiators in all the rooms, to a stovo in the basement With a jacket to heat air, which is then carried through pipes round tho house. Sometimes to save expense tho pipe is nßt taken into every room, but carried above tho doors of several bedrooms, and the occupants can then regulate the temperature, raising it by opening the door to admit tlio heat. Open fires aro often used in conjunction with the heating system, but more for their cheerfulness than actual heat. -The chief terrors of an English winter aro getting up in the morning, and later in the day moving from warm rooms to ,icy : rooms, but the Canadian escapes theso hardships. The temperature, is agreeable in every part of tho house at every hour of tho day and night; one washes and dresses and breakfasts in comfort, and a glance at tho thermometer outside, but visible from tho window, gives the temperature and a clue how to dress. House work is greatly lightened, as there aro no fireplaces to clean, and- tho furnace only requires attention every few hours'. In Canadian boardinghouses ono of tho cardinal sins is to open olio's bedroom window, because this means an escape of warm air, complaints by other boarders, and an increase of tho landlady's coal bill. Trams, trains, public buildings, and halls are all comfortably heated—in fact, ono is far inoro comfortablo with the thermometer 40 degrees below zero in Canada than with a. freezing temperature in New Zealand. Tho general complaint of strangers is that houses and •■buildings aro too warm. When talks of the Canadian climate, it is necessary to mention which part of Canada is referred to, for a country of continental magnitude has necessarily several climates. Canada is not usually associated with the latitude of tho Riviera, but the Niagara fruit-belt in Southern Ontario is as far south as Home, and this favoured spot has a mild winter, extremes of heat and cold being further tempered by three immense frosh r water lakes which ' almost surround it. Tho Atlantic tempers the .climate cf the maritime provinces, which escape the extremes of Saskatchewan and 'Manitoba. Hero tho Indian summer, that glorious spell of weather upan which North America can always depend, lasts till almost Christmas. Montreal has it fairly cold, but gladly yields pride of place to Winnipeg as being tho coldest spot on earth. In Winnipeg it touches 50 below zero, and an Arctic wind sweeps across frozen lakes, getting colder and colder till it reaches Winnipeg. Woollen coats, which aro generally worn in tho East, aro usoless to keep out tho cokl here, and everyone wears skins. In Edmonton tho mercury once touched 60 below zero, and stayed thero for a fortnight, but still Winnipeg retains its titlo to bo the coldest town. The western parts of tho prairies benefit, by a warm wind from tha Rockies, which tho Indians called the "Chinook," and the foothills afford feed all tho year round, a. fact which made the country round Calgary and to tho west a famous ranching ground. Tho climate of British Columbia is the mildest variety found in Canada, being more' distinguished for rain than cold.

Sport and Social Life, Some of tho pleasantest phases of Canadian sport and social Jifo aro associated with winter. Thoro aro good toboganning slopes near all the centres of population, but Montreal has, such fino winter playgrounds that tho most typical winter scenes may bo witnessed there. Mount Royal, whoso wooded slopes afford grateful shado to thousands on hot ovenings in sumer, is, in winter, frequented for snow-shoeing and toboganning. Tho broad St. Lawrence is ice-bound, and drays cross tho river at Montreal, wliero Atlantic liners churn tlioir way in summer. Ice-cutting is an important industry. A very largo quantity is cut .out and stored underground or in cool ohambers, against the summer, when it is very acceptable t-o the shopkeeper r,nd house-wife. A winter carnival is sometimes held at Montreal, the chief feature of which is a castle or palaco built of blocks of ico and lighted by electricity. ITio effect ,is 0110 of dazzling brilliance. King Frost plays somo pretty tricks even in the business part of tho city. After a firo the remains of the building stand decked with wreaths and pillars of ico, the wator freezing in fantastic shapes ns soon as tho fire begins to slacken. The pavements of the side-streets are thickly covered with frozen snow, it being as much as the corporation can do to keep tho main streets reasonably clear. Snow on the side streets lias tli'e advantage of protecting the gas and water-pipes, which have to bo buried bolow tho froßt-lino. Apart from tho ]ar£« wn spoftt jj»u§Uy is hjotmEov.-

elling, Montreal is involved every 'spriiigT in a heavy expenditure for repairing;;: streets, the frost eating into dormiuing them, so the :■ taxed substantially for tho trcnios. This is a fact generally ovec{\ looked by those who growl nt. ; Streets, but any sjieeies of bo excused from 6110 who -happens,- on^ ! Montreal in April, when tho snowlonj;! the side-walks is melting and tho frost;: is coming out of the streets, leaving" holes exposed. About this' time "of? tho year tho low-lying parts" of. tho city used formerly io bo Hooded, owing";:! to ice-shaves on tho St.-..'Lawrencea., These ice-shoves, caused by the piling' up, opposite Montreal, of ice down by tho river, have on'.Occasion's penetrated into the streets, and-dam-? aged buildings, but now both ice and' water are kept back by protective, works, tho latter by a wall built just': outsido tho wharves. ■< If the most typical winter scenes areto be witnessed in Montreal, tho most typical summer scenes are tho so of Toronto, which has tho advantage of : lying on Luke Ontario. Opposite the; city is an island, which is a favourite, pleasure resort, and breaks tfio force of winds, making tho harbour and bay. comparatively safe. On a. hot summer evening this water is covered with launches, row-boats, and more especially canoes, which retain their supremacy as. an inexpensive and pleasurable form of boating. The ambitiwi of the average (Toronto youth is to liavo a canoe and a gramaphonc, and a girl to put in tho canoe in the evenings. East of Toronto are several beaches, and adjoining them well-wooded parks and public spaces, t ! M> .,."'k°' 0 having a. charming blend of civilised covnfort and simplicity. Welllaid streets run down to the beaches, lined l with handsome summer residences, tho ouen window e-f ona of theso comes the notes ef a grand piano, and from a tent pitched in a wood just behind the strains of -a-grama-phone. A -fire is blazing on tho beach, and a group of adults and children are gambolling round it. There are paths winding apparently hap-luwiardly through _ tho wood, which, .however, is hung with electric light, and not far olt several rinks are being played on a bowling green under tho electric light ■ there is a Wonderland, with water ehutcs, joy wheels, bands, and sideshows of all kinds.

flie main street of the suburb is lined with soft drink shops, picture shows, and a- few other shops, and the soda fountains are surrounded by people waiting tlieir turn. The capacity of the Canadian girl for soft drinks and ico creams is past belief. Ice creams- and lc-o cream" sodas are made in as many different varieties as cocktails:, tho differences beino; chiefly in tlie flavourißgAt some soda fountains you have a four-page printed menu from which to order. For tell cents you may have a Cupid's Lrn-o Feast, a'Merry Widow, a Sunny Jim, or a Buster Brown, and for fifteen cents a Sail Boat or a fancy ejzg drink. It is a. Canadian trait to tickle tho palate at .all hours. In the' West t-lio men sit behind the -shopfront windows with which the social rooms of hotels aro provided, chew tobacco, and expectorate everywhere but in the spittoon—generally on four feet or legs. In tho East tho'men chow gum, and so do somo of the girls, while others confine themselves to chocolates, peanuts, and pop corn. It is seldom tho nativo Canadian is not chewing something. Despite its extremes, the Canadian climate is healthy and exhilarating There is almost invariably a zest in tho air. I first realised this on reaching St. John after creeping through a succession of Atlantic fogs. There was snow on_ the higher ground, a tonic in the wind, brilliant sunshine flooding all around, and a blue sky that had somehow got lifted higher than ail Eng.lisli sky ever dared. The air of .the prairies and tho Rockies has tlvo same tang in it, and tho weather has the F-n.mo cheerfulness all tho year roufidTho summer is hot and brilliant, and the winter is cold and brilliant. There is only one month that is ant to be depressing—that is April, when tho frost is coming out of the ground and tho rain out of the sky.