WINTER TRAFFIC THROUGH FORESTS. 189 



therefore the time for bringing up supplies of different 

 kinds, for military operations intended to be put into 

 practice upon the opening of spring. In the American 

 forests also, it is the time for the lumberer's work, and 

 timber cutting proceeds apace. For the hunter too, 

 the sledge and fallen snow afford a ready means of 

 dragging home a deer to camp or to the settler's log 

 hut, as heavy loads glide easily along its soft surface. 

 Meat and provisions of all kind will also keep as long 

 as the cold weather lasts. In the Russian markets for 

 instance, travellers' accounts show that it is a common 

 practice to stack the bodies of pigs, sheep, and quarters 

 of beef, much like firewood, as there is no chance of 

 its spoiling until the frost breaks up. We mention 

 these matters here in order to bring into notice certain 

 advantages, by no means to be despised, in those coun- 

 tries where long and severe winters, with heavy frosts 

 and snows, are ot annual occurrence. 



