Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1855-12-14
Agricultural Benefits Of Snow.

the year, without any rcplenisbing streams
20 counterbalancc its effects, Il fact not
pleasant to contemplate, especially iran in
diyidual happens to be 'iraishtcnod in sup
ply. Hence, when a storm Of snow occurs
early in the season, as one did in this locali-
" ON the twenty ffth ult., the inquiry nat
uraly arises Of what benefit Is snow? We
scc is evil effects in the wrc,chcd state in
which it places our roads in the strained
and broken manner il leaves our trees, cs-
r"cially IL Il comes, No in this instance, b..
fore they have bcsn dcfoliatcd by the wind
and frost. in the dovucast and sorry look
It gives 10 all animated nature, man includ-
cd.
I, is not our purpose to assert the value
oran uutimcly snow, any more than that of
an un,imcly frost. Any one Of the rhono.
mcna of nature may ~ ATTENDED with evil
consequences, however beneficial and ncccs-
ury in a general way. Too much rain or
tan little; too backward a seas,u or too for.
ward and a thousand thing. generally b.
n,frial, NAV b. especially injurious Nature
work. by general laws, and in their imrar.
ial administration, doc, not stop 70 inquire
whether ur not thIs mans .''l i srwn, or
that mans harvest is secure.
Sa1w in ATTITUDES, whore the t'mp,niur,
5. surrisuily low low or IL io fnll, &, Of sic
,al imr1raur, to vegetable liic. Is re,u.
larly porous .,ructur, renders it an cyrrci-
iu-ly hal conductor ol cll,ric; and hence,
when covering ANYTHING either warm or
cold, and greatly differing in temperature
from the snow itself or from surrounding o'-
i,c;s, ii Tsquircs long period Of time inr
the equilibrium % d. restored.
Iftbc earth hc,omcs early co,crri with
snow. auI b,lorr the ground Is frozen, it
will r,aa,o above fr~rin. point during the
cutir, winter, c,ra Enough the atmospheric
temperature should g down many dr-rc,
below zero. So decided =. it' protection,
that It the s,il h. penetrated with fro't 20
n, depth of f.'ycral inches before the hll or
snow r,mr, on. the cal1ric of tho s1l.1il
will rrmo,, the frost. notwithstanding the
atmosphere ta. not at any time risen much
above lrr-,iuc point We were, when q boy,
much puzzled az thi' phenomenon. Tie
sr5aul hal h,rn frozen like stone brfor'
the snow fsll upon 1t, the weather contiuu-
ING many week. below freezing point and
yr, aflerwarl. on removing the snow, the
ground was found thawcl out, and easily
lifted with shovel. ofoaurs' a hny'' rra-
sou was given for this cirrumstanr', via -
that the snow was warm, AMI had thawed
out The ground, instead OF the trn" onc' that
''' n'o-o'n'"''ns rr'p.r''.' ''' '"'',' l''
ol the T''''"'n '' '.' neat 10 '.' '"' ''"''
strata "' 'h' '''.' anu '.'' ',,"S VI p" '"'
upper stratum '''. '..'.'.,' '''' ''',''
H.l'" f'A"''' ''-, ''.'''' Wv
winters 0' ''''u'''" '',.','',
'N.''u u! 'n'" "A' , '''''', ~ VIZ
I"'"'.'! Na'" '','''' vi ,"I''"' '',
want '' 'len i'I''''''on' we "A' " S'"
Illustration '' ''' g'''"' 'n""'''., w '"'"
IN our own ''"h''! '''' "'u'.'' '"' '''''
'ao~'''' Nen' D'"" 70 l''"' Wv '''''''"''
ckin our history '''n- "' '''' TIA" '"'oH
ty9 degrees "'l'" t'r'. Aha' was p''n'
OF depression 'ndi'A''l \ the hr'' ''m' 'h
aTs1o" "i ''A'y-'''en - ana i'r no"
long p.'''i l'''I'u''y,SV " ,gI ''''''' "
tell "i c"urs'' ''' res~er'P was o'''1'l
ruined, and orchards rs'ch were wont %
yield hundreds OF oa'le' o. 'p's"''' '''.''
Tr'duc'i 'h' year no'hinS D"' leaves w
"ur Horticultural show however there
were exhibited several matn'h''n''p'',m'n'
Of peaches, which, upon Inquiry were found
in every instance 10 have been producer up
on limbs that had by a fortunate accident
been bent down and covered with a snow
drift The temperature in their position
drd not probably fll q zero, and II they
could have laid upon the ground, would
barely have reached freezing point. The
earth AZ this severe period was manilrd with
a heavy fall, and w' trcmh.' at The possible
consequences which might have en'ned IN
case the ground had been exposed AMI de-
nuded. " 1t was, the frost did not pence
trat' to an unusual depth and the wheat
fields and the meadows came out in the
spring ir.sh and green from their long VIA
ter slumhers
Snow has been called thcTo'rman'' man
me INIT We Arc not aware that ANALYSIS