32 Rhodora [FEBRUARY 
‘THE WEIGHT or IcE-cOVERED 'T'wias.— On the morning of the 
18th of January, 1909, the trees about Providence were covered with a 
thick coating of clear ice which resulted in the breaking of quite a 
number of branches, though not to the extent that one might have 
expected. The writer became interested in ascertaining the additional 
weight placed upon the smaller twigs by this icy coating. The figures 
obtained may be of interest to others who have never made accurate 
weighings under similar conditions. Several ice-incrusted twigs from 
each of three different plants were selected. Those from the Lilac 
and Apple were cut from unbroken branches. ‘Those from the Elm 
were picked up from beneath the tree, although there were hundreds 
of unbroken twigs on the tree, just out of reach, having apparently 
even more ice on them. 
The ice-covered twigs were weighed and after the ice had melted 
a second series of weighings were made of the surface-dried twigs. 
The results may briefly be enumerated as follows:— 
The weight added to the Lilac, when compared with the surface 
dried twig, ranged from 244 to 757 per cent., except in one case where a 
large portion of the twig was found to have been dead and dried before 
the icy coating formed; in this case the percentage was 1330. "The 
percentage of additional weight in the case of the Apple was from 
633 to 983, and in the Elm from 1133 to 2470.— J. FRANKLIN COLLINS, 
Providence, Rhode Island. 
Vol. 11, no. 121, including pages 1 to 16, was issued 13 February, 1909. 
