The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1856-03-13
The Virtues Of Snow.

The Virtues Of Snow.
Professor Page. of Washington, COM
muni -a,es the following to the National
Intellisencer. 1t is a tradition of long
standing among country people that
hard winter with abundant snow guaran-
tees good crop year. Mr.. Page gives
some of the philosophical processes which
tend to this result:
THE SNOW.
The snow was proserbia!ly called the
poor farmers manure before scientific
analysis had show that it contained lar
ger per centage of ammonia than rain
The snow serves as protecting mantle to
he tender herbage and the roots of all
plants against the fierce blasts and cold Of
winter. An examination of snow in ST.
IBERIA showed that when the temperature
of the air was seventy-two degrees below
zero the temperature of the snow little
below the surface was twenty nine degrees
above zero, over one hundred degrees dif
ference. The snow keeps the earth just
below its surface in condition to take on
chemical changes which would not hap
pen if the earth were bare and frozen to a
great depth. The snow prevents exhala-
tons from the earth, and is powerful
absorbent, retaining and returning to the
earth gases arising fromvegetable and ami
NAL decomposition. The snow, though
it falls heavily at the door Of the poor and
brings death and starvation to the fowls
of the air and the beasts of the field, is yet
of incalculable benefit in climate like
ours, and especially at this time, when the
deep springs of the earth were failing and
The mill streams were refusing their mo-
tive powers to the craving appetites OF
man. If, during the last month. the
clouds had dropped rain instead of snow
we might have pumped and bored the
earth IN vain for water; but. with foot OF
snow upon the earth and many feet upon
the mountains, the hum Of the millstones
and the harsh notes Of the saw will soon
and long testify to its benevolence.
Bridges, earth. works and the fruits Of en-
,neering SIX Il and toll NAV be swept a
way, but man will still rejoice in the gen
eral good and adore the benevolence oil
Him who orders all these things aright.--
The snow is great purifier of the atmos-
phere. The absorbent power Or capili-
AIRY action ofsnow is like that of sponge
rcharcoal. Immediately after snow has
fAllen melt it in a clean vessel and taste il
and you will find Immediately evidences OIL
its impurity. Try some day or two old
and it becomes nauseous, especially in
cities. Snow water makes the mouth
harsh and dry. II has the same etfec'
upon the skin, and upnn the hands and
feet produces the painful malady of chill
blains. In A pine countries snow water
has been thought to be productive of the
disease called the goitre. The following
easy experiment. illustrates beautifully the
absorbent property ofsnow: Take a lump
Of sno " "a piece of snow crust will answer
well J Of three or four inches in length and
hold it in the flame of a lamp; not drop
of water will fall from the snow, hut the
be drawn up into the mass of snow b,
capillary attraction. It is by virtue oI
this attraction that the snow purifes the
atmosphere by absorbing and retaining
sits noxious and noisome gases and odors
CHAS. G. PAGE.