248 Forestry Quarterly. 



The condition strongly suggested an apparent advantage of a 

 treeless over a forested area in conserving the winter snowfall 

 and storing a supply of moisture for distribution in the late spring 

 when most needed. 



(5.) With rising spring temperatures and absence in the park 

 of protection against extremes of heat, a point is reached — the 

 usual "warm spell" — when the layer of snow and ice in the park 

 "breaks up" very rapidly and the water goes off with a rush, 

 resulting in a very small underground storage, and the further 

 consequence of a rapid drying or baking of the soil. 



(6.) In the forest, due to the high efficiency of the tree canopy 

 in modifying surface temperatures, and of the forest cover in 

 checking the velocity of the winds which at this season of the 

 year are strong and from the southwest, and blow with the regu- 

 larity of the "trades," the progress of melting proceeds more uni- 

 formly and is prolonged into late spring or early summer with a 

 minimum loss of water by surface run-off and evaporation and a 

 relatively high storage in the forest soil. 



