THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
197 
Cheap 
Method of Snow Removal 
Bij John L. Cobbs, Jr. 
A v('iy iiiipoilaiit pari of llu‘ woi’k of the Forosl Service 
of the Deparlmcnt of Agrieulture is replanling tlie 
l)iirii(‘(l-()ver and (l('nii(le(l lands wliieh are eonlained in 
llie 152 Nalional Foi't'sls. About 12.000 acres of these 
lands are ivforcsled ('very yeai“ and in order to supply 
the n(‘C(‘ssary planting stock twendy-one nurs(‘rics with 
a total capacity of liiore than 57 million young trees are 
maintained. 
The majority of these nurseri(;s are located in moun¬ 
tain valleys of the West where the climate is exceedingly 
this is soimdliing of a joh and entails a considcral)l(; ex¬ 
penditure of holh money and valuahle lime. 
At the lleav(‘r (h('(‘k Nurscuy. on the Wasatch Na¬ 
tional Forest, in Utah, which has a capacity of 750,000 
[)laids, it was found that hy sowing finely pulverized 
dirt over the snow tin; melting was so hast(Mied that shov¬ 
eling was unnecessary. The first expcrimeids were so 
satisfactory that they were continued and have l)een 
adoi)t('d as the official snow removal method. 
Each fall sufTicicnl suj)plics of fine dark soil are stored 
On the edfjes which are poorly defined the soil was sown only one day t)efore the jiirtnre was la hen, spriny If) 10. 
Showing method of snow removal by sowing soil. 
rigorous. During the winter, when the thermometer 
drops far hclow zero and the snow piles up to a considcr- 
ahle depth, all opej-ations have to he practically sus¬ 
pended. 
In some places this heavy snowfall is a rather serious 
hindrance to early spring plantijig, since it often happens 
that the higher har(‘ slopes, where the planting is to he 
done, are exposed to the sun and warm winds, and are 
hare of snow^ long h(d‘ore the valleys in which the nur¬ 
series are located. On this account, it frc(|U(Mdly hap- 
p(Mis that the snow has to he removed from the nurscMy 
l>eds in order that the planting may he done at the most 
advantageous time. With two or three feet of snow', 
at the nurseries for use the follow ing spring. At the 
same time the heds of slo(*k to he used for planting are 
marked hy long stakes in order that they may he easily 
identified. About tw o or three w'eeks before the stock is 
needed the soil is sowm on the top of the snow, just as 
grain is sown. Hand sleds are used to transport the 
hulk of the supply, from which a hag slung from the 
worker’s shoulder is filled as needed. Ily this method 
one man can remove from three to six feet of compacted 
snow' hy one day’s woi’k if done sufficiently far in ad¬ 
vance. Many commercial nurserymen will doubtless 
he able to em])loy this simple practice to uncover stock 
needed for early planting, or to prevent losses from fungi 
wdiich work under deep snow" late in spring. 
