FACTS ABOUT THE WEATHER OF 1899, 147 
some experiments along this line which might be interesting at this point, 
and also showing how great a protection to the soil is a covering of un- 
packed snow. In his experiments he used three thermometers, one of which 
he placed in the soil, the second on the surface of freshly fallen snow four 
inches deep, and the third at an elevation of forty feet. From a number 
of simultaneous readings the following, taken under the most favorable 
conditions, will bring out the points clearly. 
In one experiment the instrument on the ground read 26°, the one on 
the snow, 10°, and the one in the air above, 28°; in another experiment, No. 
I read 28°, No. 2, 17° and No. 3, 22°; and still another in which No. 1 read 
32°, No. 2, 30° and No. 3, 40°. It is distinctly stated that in these experi- 
ments the snow was ireshly fallen arid lay on the ground as a light, fleecy 
covering. But as the snow becomes more compact with settling, and con- 
verted into a covering of ice by continued thawing and freezing, this pro- 
tective character is lost, and the ground under such a covering will freeze 
to a great depth, and there is danger also of the plants under the ice be- 
coming smothered by having their air supply cut off. 
The texture of the soil, as regards compactness has much to do with the 
depth to which it will freeze, as does also its covering of sod, straw, etc., 
the bare, compact soil freezing deeper than the looser and covered soil. 
I have noticed that some of our northern horticulturists think that the 
amount of moisture in the soil at the time of its going into winter quarters 
has considerable to do with the vitality of the plant, and, as experience is a 
good teacher, there may be a good deal in this theory. We know that we 
have had extremely cold winters, and it is very likely that in the future our 
fruit growers will have to guard against the same extremes, and as no one 
is able to foretell the coming of the very cold seasons, prudence would sug- 
gest to him to use all the precautions that are known every year. He can- 
not order the rains to irrigate his soil at the right time to the right degree, 
but he can fill his soil with decaying vegetable matter, or humus, which is 
an excellent retainer of moisture, besides which, it keeps the soil friable, 
and,'so, less in danger of deep freezing. He cannot demand that the snow 
shall fall at the right time, and compel it to remain in the best condition, 
but he can cover his soil with a good mulch for winter protection. 
I can offer no suggestions from experience of my own, but unless these 
have already been tried and found wanting, I should think them worthy of a 
trial on a small scale, at least. 
Mr. Dartt: I have read that in a basement where cold settles 
and there is nothing to drive it out, it is a great deal colder than it is 
four feet above the ground. My theory is that the reason a top-graft 
stands better than a root-graft is on that account, and I thought your 
remarks proved that it was a good deal colder at the surface than a 
distance above the surface. 
Mr. Outram: I think that is so. 
