Page:Handbook of Meteorology.djvu/243

 in order to hold the section firmly. It is advisable to cut at least three sections. The melted snow may then be measured in the tube, taking one-third of the total. Melting the snow may be expedited by pouring into the barrel containing the snow a measuring tube exactly full of hot water, thereby reducing the snow to a condition sufficiently liquid to be measured. Two inches must be deducted for the water added; one-third of the remainder is the depth of equivalent rainfall.

In mountain regions where the depth of a single fall may be several feet, such a method of reduction is out of the question. Several convenient expedients are employed. A gauge 40 inches high with an interior diameter of 10 inches provided with a Nipher shield, is used at the station where not less than two observations a day are made. The accumulation of snow is weighed from time to time on a spring balance, the dial of which reads hundredths of an inch instead of ounces. A mechanical device lifts the receiver from its support so that it can be readily removed to the swinging arm that carries the balance. This