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(6) Snow. Schlich (iv. 482) deals with the effect of snow on forests in breaking 
the branches,' and, exceptionally, breaking down the tree. A partial thaw, then a hard 
frost to consolidate the snow, and then a further fall of snow, may result in the aggregate 
in an enormous weight for the tree and its branches to carry, while swaying by the wind 
may complete the mischief. 
Gifford Pmchot points out that in many regions of the United States snow is so 
useiul in protecting the soil and the young trees that the harm it does is quite over- 
balanced by its benefits. 
In New South Wales snow falls on the tablelands and their spurs, and particularly 
on the Monaro and the mountain ranges there, but very little notice is taken of the 
damage it does for the reason, I think, that the forests mostly belong to the State, and, 
when they occur on private property personal interest in them is largely lacking because 
they were not planted by the hand of man. Much more notice is taken of the damage 
snow does in a severe season to Pine Trees (Pinus radiata (insignis)), because these 
are not only planted, but stand out prominently against the broad-leaved vegetation. 
In the coldest regions of New South Wales the trees are practically all Eucalyptus, 
and these have wiry, long branches, often pendulous and with few leaves. They have 
usually smooth trunks and limbs (the latter are almost invariably smooth), and thus 
the snow rests on the branches with difficulty and slides down the trunks with ease. 
The persistence of snow in the forests is connected with the question of stream 
flow, and Carpenter* notes that snow remains in the timber and in protected spots 
much longer than when exposed. This is due not so much to drifting as to shelter 
from the radiation afforded by the forest cover. 
(c) Wind. Schlich (iv. 455) states the damage done by winds in the following 
words : 
Winds dry up and disperse the soil-covering, blowing dead leaves from slopes and ridges, and heaping 
them uselessly in hollows ; they hinder the formation of dew, and spread the spores of fungi and the seeds 
of forest-weeds, f Easterly and north-easterly winds dry up the soil and young plants, and injure the 
foliage and fructification of trees, t Strong south-westerly winds cause a misshapen growth of the crowns 
of trees, especially near the sea-coast and on the south-westerly borders of forests, where the trees are 
stunted in height and have their crowns bent over towards the east ; they also break off blossoms and tender 
shoots, whilst damp winds near the sea-coast also injure trees by the salt they carry, which the rain washes 
from their leaves into the soil, rendering it salt and unsuitable for certain kinds of vegetation. 
Besides what may be called normal winds, there are exceptional gusts or more 
or less continuous blows at irregular intervals, called storms, which cannot be predicted 
much in advance, and sometimes they create much devastation) or at least disturbance 
of existing conditions. But the results of a windstorm, as we first contemplate the 
confusion it has caused, are not usually so great when we have had time to appraise 
matters. Wind does valuable pruning in both garden and forest; weak and dead 
branches and limbs, which have ceased to perform their functions, are hurled to mother 
earth; are partly pulverised; and contribute something to the soil. Dominant trees 
" Forests and Snow." Bulletin 55, Agricultural Experiment Station, Colorado, 
t Tho ilirections of winds are those of Britain. 
